“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” —Denis Waitley

Did you know that March 20th is International Happiness Day? It was proclaimed as such by the United Nations in July 2011.  The UN recognized happiness as a “fundamental human goal” and called for recognizing that 'progress' should be about increasing human happiness and wellbeing, not just growing the economy.  I’m not convinced that that the UN is the right organization to take on this issue, or that it needs to become a political goal, but I’m on board for radically increasing the world’s happiness quotient.

The UN initiative is being coordinated by the non-profit Action for Happiness (ActionforHappiness.org), and supported by over 50 on- and off-line groups that support and promote happiness. Vanessa King, a board member at Action for Happiness, reviewed happiness research and found 10 keys (they spell out GREAT DREAM) that consistently make lives more fulfilling,:

Giving -                                Do things for others
Relating-                             Connect with people
Exercising-                         Take care of your body
Appreciating-                     Notice the world around
Trying Out-                         Keep learning new things

Direction-                            Have goals
Resilience-                         Bounce back
Emotion-                             Have a positive approach
Acceptance-                       Be comfortable with who you are
Meaning-                            Be part of something bigger

Members of the movement make a simple pledge: to try to create more happiness in the world around them by taking actions based on the GREAT DREAM. I invite you to act and create more happiness in your own life, family, and community. The ActionforHappiness.org website has some great resources, including a book list, descriptions of inspiring projects, downloads, and links to other websites of interest.

To a happier and more fulfilling life!

Ana