30 Jun 5 Important Things to Know about Happiness
Check out this interesting article from the Huffington Post…
by Kate Bratskeir
What’s the one thing you need to be your best, happiest, most successful self?
According to Rolf Dobelli, the answer is … nothing.
"We do not know what makes us happy or successful," the author of "The Art of Thinking Clearly," told The Huffington Post in an interview. "But we do know for sure what destroys success, what destroys happiness." So the key to happiness starts with de-cluttering: The removal of all the things that makes us feel more drained than delighted.
While many happiness gurus champion so-called positive thinking, Dobelli suggests that negative knowledge — knowing what not to do — can be much more powerful. This de-cluttering can be material, but it is often ideological: If we can change our thinking to reflect this mental de-clutter, Dobelli says we're more likely to be productive. Most of the time, the author says, adding gadgets and practices we think will bring more to our life only ends up weighing us down.
Want to learn more? Below are five of his philosophies for discovering happiness (or rather, ridding distress). Read on and then, tell us in the comments what you think about these principles.
1. Know That Human Beings Are Extremely Bad At Forecasting Happiness
When you are bursting to buy that shiny, new car, know that the happy high you're experiencing is a fleeting one. In fact, Dobelli says that jubilant sensation you get from a big, material purchase will only last for up to six months, so buy wisely. "Be very careful," Dobelli warns, "generally, things do not make us happy, experiences, tasks, challenges and projects do." In other words, try to rid the desire for instant gratification — some things are worth the wait.
2. Remove The Notion That 'Life Is A Dance'
"If you live like there's no tomorrow, you'll be in jail five minutes later," Dobelli laughs. The author says it's important to plan — doing the hard thing now will make life easier in the long run. "Forget that carpe diem thing," he suggests, and realize that life takes effort, planning and forethought to be excellent. Don't let this tip get you down, spontaneity lovers — the chapter this ideology comes from is titled "Live Each Day as If It Were Your Last — but Only on Sundays." There's room to let your plans fall by the wayside: Doing so may seem like an oxymoron, but you're best scheduling unplanned days for once a week.
3. Stop Following The Herd
We're hard-wired to copy our peers; it's a habit we developed thousands of years ago when, if you saw your fellow caveman running from a sabertooth-tiger, it was wise to play copycat. In modern times, however, Dobelli says we benefit from straying from the pack…
…keep reading the full and original article HERE