EXPERT ANSWER: Harvard, Stanford, and University of California all teach happiness science. <wait for audience response>
SARCASTIC RESPONSE: Are America’s top universities teaching Idiots?! I think not!
As I champion the
message of sustainable happiness day in and day out to all walks of life from
housewives to state Judges, I quite commonly get asked about the “Happy Idiot”
Syndrome.
Generational, Societal, Cultural, Scientific, and Spiritual messages are wrapped up in the human experience of happiness.
The message of the happy idiot syndrome must change just as much as the message of the ‘pursuit’ of happiness. Respectively the inaccurate messages are "you are dumb if you are happy" and "you can achieve sustainable happiness outside of yourself."
What does it really mean to be a happy idiot?
A happy idiot connotes, a person who is out of touch with reality
and is ignorant of all the terrible things happening in the world.
Surely, if the happy idiot knew about the war, homelessness,
slavery, disaster, and the list is endless, they would not be happy!
This common way of thinking must change.
It must become updated to the current view of happiness
science where one actually has control of your emotional state and you learn
how to be happy just like any other topic in your life.
Let’s take a bird’s eye view….
You want world peace right?
Arguably, most people on Earth would agree they would desire
peace on Earth.
If this was so, people would be laughing and smiling.
People would be happy and healthy.
This begins with you.
You making the happiness decision
To be happy right now.
In the first step of sustainable happiness, you become
empowered over your own happiness.
This means you actually sign a declaration
written by Lionel Ketchian, Founder of The Happiness Clubs Worldwide.
I ____ <insert your name>
Do solemnly decide
to adopt the happiness decision
By being happy now
Rather than react to my problems
I will use happiness to respond to them
Forsaking all negative thoughts
Regardless of circumstances,
I all ways I will choose happiness
For the rest of my life.
This seems easy to do yet let me highlight the two main
challenges where the work comes in:
Forsaking all negative thoughts
And
Responding to circumstances with happiness
Those two intentions are what will help to create peace on
Earth.
When you are positive thinking, your brain is expanding and
working at an optimal state. Here is an excerpt from an informative and practical report conducted by the Mayo Clinic:
The health benefits of positive thinking
Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
- Increased life span
- Lower rates of depression
- Lower levels of distress
- Greater resistance to the common cold
- Better psychological and physical well-being
- Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
- Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
And when you are responding to circumstances with happiness,
you are solution focused with a bent toward high emotional intelligence, thus
tackling the challenge with a flourishing mind and solution focused mindset.
By all means, I am not encouraging you to stick your head in
the sand and ignore the world’s suffering.
I am encouraging you to take charge of your own happiness
instead of waiting for the world’s suffering to end because then you can become
part of the solution with a clear working mindset and the ability to creatively
problem solve to help in stopping the daily devastations.
Let’s move from the myth of the happy idiot to the truth of
the creative change makers.
My thinking on
happiness is influenced by people who have PhDs, MDs, ancient philosophers, spiritual
gurus, a Nobel Peace nominee, and empirically based data.
Different than a ‘Happy Idiot.”
Dr Aymee Coget
Sustainable Happiness Doctor
Author of Forthcoming Book : Sustainable Happiness in 5 Steps
sfhappinessdoctor at gmail dot com
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