According to a Harvard Medical School Report on Happiness, 50% of our happiness is genetic, 10% depends on your circumstances (job, home, mate etc...) and the other 40% is under your power to control. I found that statistic rather shocking. I was most surprised that only 10% is circumstantial. That means you could be a garbage man, living in a shack, eating spaghettios every night and that would only affect your happiness level 10%! When I think of people being unhappy, I usually think it is due to their circumstances, but that is not at all true. The really encouraging news, especially if you're not genetically predisposed to being happy, is that 40% is under your control. That is a big number. One of the books that changed my life when I was going through an especially hard time, was Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. After reading that book, I started to put his suggestions into place and my life really started turning around, for the better. Everyone is going to have hard times, and difficult circumstances in life; how you handle them and what you do with them helps define who you are as a person. Another book I read when I was going through a hard time (thinking about getting divorced) was Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting. This book explained that by generating positive vibrations and thoughts, you attract positive circumstances into your life. Like attracts like. It approached the information with a scientific bent, while The Power of Positive Thinking focused on religious quotes and stories, but both were about increasing positivity in your life. As Abraham Lincoln said: "A man is about as happy as he makes his mind up to be." Well, at least that's 40% true. What makes you happy? Being outside, exercising, cooking, writing, meditating? Try to do what makes you happy on a daily basis and you, and people around you, will reap the benefits.
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