Happiness. The constitution only guarantees the right for American people to pursue happiness. You have to reach out and catch it.-Ben Franklin

Have you seen the Happy movie? It is a gift. I watched it on Netflix and admit to more than once. Have you thought about happiness in your life? This movie explores what makes people happy. Prof. Ed Diener, Ph.D. researched happiness. What he discovered was that our ability to be happy is based on 3 criteria. Think of a pie chart. 50% is genes. 10% is your circumstances such as income, job, health, money and such, and 40% is intentional activity- what you can choose to do. In this latter category actions that build dopamine in the brain have a direct impact on a person’s happiness level. They followed and tracked people all over the world from the slums of India, to the bayous of Louisiana, to the streets of America , and the sands of Namibia. The rickshaw driver from the slums of India was just as happy as the average American. Happiness is important in our lives. Research shows that people can do really well when things go really badly. An excellent example in the movie was Melissa Moody. She did not let a terrible accident and 30 plus surgeries keep her from finding her happiness in life. I am grateful for this gem of a movie and all the research and work that went into making it.

One aspect of happiness is adding variety to your day. This increases dopamine. In this image our girl was thrilled when we threw her water toy out in the deep snow for her to retrieve. This was a new thing for her.

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ― Dalai Lama XIV

Peace.