What It Takes To Be Happy

I don’t think I’ve ever had a client come to me for therapy or coaching who said they wanted my help to be happier. Now that I think about it, I’m sure it’s never happened; meaning, they’ve never said those words.

Clients have asked for a lot of things; to end their depression, to make more money, to find work they love, to save a “failing” relationship, to “lose weight,” to improve their management or leadership skills, to increase their sales and the list goes on.

But don’t all those things have a lot to do with happiness? If you think about it, most (if not everything) we do is motivated or connected to our desire and quest to feel happy, to be happy. We may use other words to describe what we are going after, such as “fulfillment,” “meaning,” “self-esteem,” “gratitude,” or “contentment,” but they all are connected to the goal of being happy.

I wasn’t taught growing up that happiness was all that important. Meaning, I didn’t hear much at all about the importance of happiness in my family growing up, school, college, graduate school or in the church I was brought up in. I learned a lot of things; not so much about happiness. Sure, I was taught that the bill of rights stated every human being had the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” but that was about it!

If the subject of happiness is important to you, let’s explore it together. Over a series of posts, let’s talk about it. I’ll share my thoughts and you share yours by leaving a comment or question. Anything is fair game. Happiness and self-esteem, happiness and money, happiness and beliefs, happiness and behavior, happiness and morality, happiness and career success, happiness and sexuality, happiness and relationships, happiness and spirituality and so on.

What would you like to know about happiness?

What do you already know you would like to share?

There is a lot to say for happiness and about happiness, so let’s begin!

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