Imagine there was a Happiness Lottery. Once per week some lucky person would be awarded a lifetime supply of happiness. Of course there would need to be some payment for the ticket. Since the normal lottery requires a small amount of money in exchange for the chance at the big cash prize, it stands to reason that the Happiness Lottery would require a small happiness sacrifice to get into the big drawing. How many times would you play? How much of your daily happiness would you sacrifice on the long odds of Happiness Lottery? My hope is that you wouldn’t hang your hope for happiness on luck but rather come up with a systematic plan to create happiness and compound that which you already have.
- The first step would be to take stock of what assets you already have. Be grateful for the people and situations that are already in your life that cause happiness. Write down the happiness assets that you have in your life. The more grateful you are for what you already have, the less likely that you are to squander it.
- The second step would be to look for ways to create more. Accentuate the areas where you are creating great happiness and put more time into happiness areas that may be lagging.
- Diversify your portfolio. Don’t expect all of your happiness to come from one area. If you lean too heavily on one happiness source, tough times in that area will leave you living very thin. Friends, family, hobbies, entertainment and a slew of other possibilities exist for you to have a balance to happiness.
- Cut down on waste. Recognize where you are putting in great efforts but getting little returns. Perhaps an area that used to be your biggest happiness producer is now a leach but you don’t see it.
- Watch out for thieves! There will be thieves looking to steal your happiness if you let them. With money we use banks, vaults and safes to protect our assets. With happiness we need to vigilant watchers of our world and who we allow access to it.
Happily ever after is a nice idea for the end of a fairy tale but it’s not a realistic plan. The lotteries, both monetary and happiness, are not a plan. They are a pipe dream. Happiness and finances both need to be cultivated through some strategic planning. Very rarely are either the result of the luck of the draw.
Happy days are yours to create!
Pete
Huryk Unlimited 