The Key To Happiness

[Tom Riach]

THE KEY TO HAPPINESS 
by Joseph Tom Riach

Vivid Views  is my series of articles, blog posts and press releases show-casing my work as an author and reflecting my many years in business and self-employment. They are a blend of my real life experiences, professional insights, personal views and fun stories.
My hope is that in them you find enlightenment and inspiration.                                 'The Key To Happiness' is the 11th in the series.

   Most people want to be happy but often they don't know what they are looking for. So inevitably they never find it. And even if they did find it, since they don't know what they are looking for, how would they ever recognise it?

   There are those who associate happiness only with financial wealth. Their view is mistaken. Most such people truly want to be rich. Yet even those, if asked to define the exact amount of money and assets they wish to acquire and the time frame within which they intend to acquire it, will be incapable of answering. How can you get to where you hope to be when you don't know where you are going?

   This is not to say that happiness and material wealth cannot coexist in your life but you first must understand that true wealth, and therefore happiness, is an attitude of the mind. Purely pursuing money can become an obsession which prevents you from enjoying life. Conversely, living in poverty is no walk in the park either! The fact is that money is an excellent servant but a tyrannical master. So what you need is a balanced and a planned approach to achieving first, wealth in its broadest sense through happiness and second, happiness through your wealth. How to do it? There's a simple solution.

   The key to happiness is within everyone. With the key you will know without doubt if you are happy and if you are doing what it takes to make you happy. Here it is –

   Are you doing what you love doing?

   If so, then you will by definition be adding value to other people too. Doing what you truly enjoy always rubs off on others. But, if you are not doing what you love to do, then you are not happy. Do you spend your time dreaming about what you would like to be doing? Because, if you never actually do what you dream about, you are inevitably unhappy. When you never do what you really enjoy, you have given up on your dreams. Staying in work and life situations which you loathe, weighs you down, saps your spirit and does not lead to wealth, spiritual or material.

   So be brave and act. Do it now. Do not permit your fears to over-ride your dreams of discovering those things which you really enjoy. Know what you are looking for and where you are going. Find the things you love. That is the key to happiness. Wealth, in all its forms, will follow.

 I am Tom Riach. I live and write in the sunny south of Portugal. 

My latest novel is 'Too Early For A Glass Of Wine?' Claim your copy by clicking on the image below.

THE KEY TO HAPPINESS is an original copyright Tom Riach feature.
I hope you enjoyed this Vivid View and found it to be of value.
To learn more please visit me on my Author Page.
See you there! Regards, Tom.

© Copyright Joseph T.Riach 1998-present. All rights reserved.

[George Pierce]

I believe that happiness is part of success. A ture success is happy and healthy, thanks Tom.

[Dennis Thorgesen]

What I have found is happiness precedes success. It is my belief the reason for this is people prefer dealing with happy people. In my mind a recent conversation with one of those who went through my cause bears this out. She is a manager and hired another who came through the cause. In the conversation we had she explained why she had to let the other from the cause go. The way it was explained to me is the one let go kept the other employees from the happiness they normally feel.

[Tom Riach]

Unhappy people create toxic environments Dennis, it's a fact. We've all experienced the phenomenon. Thanks for the input.

[Dennis Thorgesen]

It appears there was more to the story I shared than I was told. The latest who came through the cause is back working for the same company under new management. The first through the cause moved on to another company. This time due to the management style things have changed. She is now a happy and productive part of the team. This time it is truly is a team, and that makes a difference.

[Tom Riach]

Teamwork is everything Dennis. One 'wrong' member can demoralise everyone. Thanks for the update.

[Terri Pattio]

Oh yes this is very true and I agree totally with your blog post. You stated in your post "The key to happiness is within everyone."

[Tom Riach]

Yes Terri, the opposite to understanding that the answers to our happiness are within us are those who place blame elsewhere and criticise, there's a lot of them about! They fail to see that their unhappiness is driven by their own attitude.

[Terri Pattio]

Your positive attitude defines you from within. Your negative attitude shows when you blame others for your unhappiness and this will lead to criticism of people you come in contact with.