The Happiness Formula

The Happiness Formula

A few months ago I found myself in an audience listening to some thoughts from Dr. Deepak Chopra. I knew he was as a Doctor as well as an author and a global influencer, but to this point I had never read his books or had any opportunity to listen to what he had to say. He has spent many years studying the idea of happiness and on this day he laid out a very simple formula that has stuck with me and I felt this Thanksgiving Day would be a good time to share it.

Why does anybody do anything? Regardless of the initial answer, if you keep asking a person this question the answer inevitable comes to the statement that they want to be happy. Happiness is the goal of all goals. Upon studying this Dr. Chopra has found a simple formula for happiness that he shared with us on that day.

H=S+C+V

H is of course Happiness or our Happiness level.
S= Set Point. Do you see a problem or opportunity? Is the glass half full or half empty? This set point or mind set is determined during the first few years of life. As young children we mirror our environment growing up. We are programmed to see the world a certain way. The good news is that we can change this set point if we begin to question and challenge our beliefs.
C= Conditions of living. Do you have enough of the basics needs in life? Enough to fill your basic desires including material needs? This is understandably a major factor in happiness.
V= Voluntary actions that we take each day. The choices we make are comprised of two different types. The first is purely for personal pleasure. Examples include a glass of wine, a movie with friends, or picking up a new car. This type of action leads to happiness that is very fleeting. It's short term benefits are usually only good until the next action. The second type is the more lasting kind, the part which gives meaning to your life. Here the key is benefiting your happiness by performing voluntary actions that help others. If you want to feel happy fast, just do something to make somebody else happy. You see the happiness is immediately returned to you and its in the form of lasting happiness. Give it a try.

I believe this simple formula is great to examine every once and a while. Today is a great day to reflect on this formula and how it relates to your life. Remember you can control your happiness by examining your situation re-evaluating your mindset and increasing your voluntary acts that benefit others to ultimately increase your own happiness.
Have a HAPPY Thanksgiving!

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Jay Ragusa
Gofer Ice Cream LLC
www.GoferIceCream.com