Comments on: Cheer Up! The Happiness Consultants Have Arrived

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:24:55 +0000

Happiness coaches? What a riot. C. Clinton Sidle in his book "The Hungry Spirit" talks about happiness and leadership, and human effectiveness. He says he's learned being an effective human being is less about mastering certain skills and more about fostering a certain attitude in yourself as well as in others. The factors that contribute to happiness also contribute to success and inspire you to make positive contributions to the world.

By: deb

deb — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:25:47 +0000

I think seeking or knowing a sense of joy, which is deeper and more sustaining and not about personal agenda, is maybe a better goal. I can find purpose and joy in the overall picture , but trying to be happy would make me crash from reality too often. Happy sounds selfish or childlike.

By: shrinkingthecamel

shrinkingthecamel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:09:21 +0000

Can I retweet these?

By: shrinkingthecamel

shrinkingthecamel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:09:03 +0000

Happiness vs. purpose? That is a great question – are people focused more on one than the other regarding their work and careers? Do they know the difference? What difference would it make in their lives if they starting working on their purpose rather than for happiness? I think it would change everything.

By: shrinkingthecamel

shrinkingthecamel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:06:56 +0000

Maureen, you have summed it up well. It is up to each of us to take responsibility for making our own contentment – even if it is hard work! Happiness will never come from external circumstances or events.

By: shrinkingthecamel

shrinkingthecamel — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:02:57 +0000

Thanks Glynn. (me too!) Pretty simple stuff, though.

By: Michael Holmes

Michael Holmes — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:51:00 +0000

Bradley, you’re right: what is happiness? It is so subjective and based on soooo many things. I’m not for the “happiness” movement.

But I do agree that we should all (or at least most of us) find some sense of purpose in our work. People with purpose in their jobs are not always “happy” but they do their jobs well and contribute to the overall company.

We need purpose not happiness

By: Leon de Rijke

Leon de Rijke — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:15:07 +0000

I guess you’re right with the conclusion of this happy-talk being a quest for a more meaningful spiritual life.

Besides getting this meaning and happiness from work I think we could also bring them to work.

By: nancy

nancy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:21:12 +0000

that orange is kinda creepy looking…just sayin’

By: nancy

nancy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:19:25 +0000

If only we’d stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time. ~Edith Wharton

Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible. ~St. Augustine

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Man must search for what is right, and let happiness come on its own. ~Johann Pestalozzi

My crown is called content, a crown that seldom kings enjoy. ~William Shakespeare

As people spin faster and faster in the pursuit of merely personal happiness, they become exhausted in the futile effort of chasing themselves. ~Andrew Delbanco

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. ~Freya Stark, The Journey’s Echo

Happiness is your dentist telling you it won’t hurt and then having him catch his hand in the drill. ~Johnny Carson