Happiness

I was working with a client yesterday and I asked what his goal was. He answered "to be content  in life". I asked him why he used the word content instead of happy. He replied that he did not think that happiness was an option. I thought that was a bit sad. He is young, has a good job, a wife and a healthy child. Why was happiness not an option? I guess that is why he needs a life coach. We began to delve deeper into the meaning of happiness. Happiness is a mindset. Anyone can have it. You have to participate actively in your life to get it. It needs to come from within. Not from things. While a new car is nice, it isn't the vehicle for happiness. Unhappy people tend to see things as either black or white. Good or bad. No grey area. Happiness needs grey. Grey allows you to see the different shades of life and sift through them until you find the one that suits you best. Happy people focus on others. That is where the saying "it is better to give than receive" comes from. Sometimes this skill needs to be learned. For some people it is not easy. but it will be worth it.