Pursuit of Happiness - Three Ideas That Never Fail

Maxwell Maltz defined happiness as a state of mind in which our thinking is pleasant, for a good portion of time. Pursuit of happiness represents actions we deliberately engage in for the purpose of becoming happier.

Benjamin Franklin said, "The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

So how does one go about this pursuit? Here are THREE ideas that will help in finding happiness in your life:

1. Pursue Goals: Working on long-term goals that are important to you, is an excellent recipe for finding happiness. Identify and set goals that you consider as deeply meaningful to yourself, and take steadfast steps towards attaining them; you will find that this provides an immeasurable amount of satisfaction and contentment. The only key is - the goals you set should resonate with your psyche.

It doesn't matter if these are material goals, or relationship goals or spiritual goals. While the happiness that is attained through material goals may be relatively short-lived, and typically doesn't last as long as that attained through other types of goals - thereby quickly leaving you with the need to find other goals to pursue - it still doesn't take away from the fact that the pursuit of such goals adds value to your life. As long as your goals strike a chord deep inside you, and attaining them adds immense value to your being, pursuit of such goals always adds to your happiness and your sense of fulfillment.

2. Help Others: Very few things come close to the joy of giving, especially to those in need. Help others taste happiness by giving, without expectation of reciprocity, and it almost surely comes back to you, multi-fold. This is not necessarily limited to donating material goods to the needy. It also includes doing those little helpful things, or otherwise bringing joy to your family or other people you are involved with, thereby deepening your inter-personal relationships.

So how to find happiness? Simple answer - Give Happiness!

3. Stay Healthy: All the wonderful tips that are supposed to lead us on the road to happiness would serve little purpose, if we spend most of our time and energies stressed out and anxious about our health. By taking care of our health, we set ourselves on a strong footing to pursue other avenues that we expect would become our keys to happiness. As someone rightly said "Health is Wealth" - one can extend that to say "Health is Happiness" as well.

"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?" -Albert Camus

Prashant is the owner of: http://www.self-improvement-advice.org

The website deals with self improvement advice, ideas and tips focusing on stress management, memory improvement, self confidence, anger management and more - interspersed with several highly inspiring, contextually relevant self improvement quotes.

Learn more about what is happiness, and how to master the art of happiness