Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Happiness

Yesterday Change Your Tree posted a happiness survey. It is part of a group writing project by Alex Shalman about the psychology of happiness. Which is a topic I find fascinating. I mean, who doesn't love happiness? So here are my answers. Feel free to comment, leave your own answers, or leave a link to your own post with your answers.

1. How do you define happiness?

I’ve heard that happiness is ‘having someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for’. I couldn’t agree with that more. I find that I am happiest when I’m working towards my goals with those that I love.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

Right now I would say my happiness is at about a 9. I would say this has greatly improved since being a child. I don’t know how I would have rated my happiness when I was a kid but looking back I would say it was probably a 5.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

The things that bring me happiness on a daily basis are spending quality time with my husband and kids, cooking for my family, reading, and writing.

My happiness throughout the day is pretty consistent.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Not getting enough time to myself can take away my happiness momentarily. It just makes feel worn out and like I need to get away. Another thing that makes feel unhappy is inconsistency. I like to know what is going to happen and when. The times in my life that have most stressful have been when everything is up in the air.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

I’m working on finishing school. When my youngest starts school I would like to go to school full-time. I would love to have a fulfilling career. In the shorter term, I would also like to see my blogs really take off. That would make me happy.

1 comment:

Lynn - the piggy bank painter said...

These questions certainly give you something to think about. Not sure if I can answer them now.....I often wonder what makes me happy, other than my family. My family brings joy to my life. It makes me happy to see a pretty sunset, to hear the birds singing on a spring morning, the thought that all my bills are paid up, and a good slice of choclate cheesecake : ) Those things make me happy. I will have to think over your questions....with a nice cup of tea and a slice of cheescake : )