A Happy Last Mile

Life is a struggle. Find your weaknesses and work on them. Set an example by working hard. Don't be lazy. There are lots of problems in the world, we can't solve them all but we can do our part by solving the ones where we are.

In moving forward, there is a world view that argues against excessive celebration and pseudo-happiness. Life is hard. There are always wolves at the door. Pretending otherwise is just lying. You are bottling up your problems. When it comes to the world of being happy - there have always been reams and reams of books on the subject but aren't they all just fluff? Aren't motivational speakers just those guys who had failed at life until they realised they were good at public speaking and so they printed a bunch of T-Shirts with 'YES!!!' on them, and went on a road-show of sell-out audiences until they were super rich?

There are certainly lots of First World Problems and focussing on disease, depression, poverty, war etc. makes sense. In looking at Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, it is very tempting to look at the bottom few rungs and say that is where we should push all our energy. We can try be happy later.

It may be that to go the last mile in solving some of those problems at the bottom, we need to work harder at the top. It also turns out that more and more serious consideration is being shifted towards the positive side. Here are 5 non-fluffy, well-researched and entertaining books on the subject of happiness...

           

The field of Positive Psychology has risen as an attempt to use 'scientific understanding and intervention to aid in the achievement of a satisfactory life rather than merely treating mental illness'. In the clip below, Shawn Achor argues that it is not success that leads to happiness, but happiness that leads to success.

 

Hat Tip: @JamesEnders for pointing towards: 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-happiness-leads-to-success-2014-9?utm_content=bufferb3081&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer