Happiness is the most unselfish act

October 9, 7:58 PMPortland Health and Happiness ExaminerChris Trout

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What's the most unselfish thing you can do? If you work in education or the helping professions, what is the one unselfish act that will have the greatest impact on your clients or students? If you are in business, what is the one thing that will have the greatest impact on your coworkers and customers? No matter who you are, what is the one thing that will assure that you have the greatest positive impact on the world around you? 

Get happy. Authentically happy. 

Get happy? How narcissistic can you get? Just what we need; a bunch of selfish people running around trying to figure out what makes them happy. Who's going to do the actual work? 

Who? Those happy people. In fact, research (and experience) show that happy people are significantly more productive, innovative and committed than selfless, unhappy people. Just stop and think about yourself. When you are stressed, anxious, bored or frustrated, are you more or less present and available to others? More or less creative? A better or worse problem-solver? More or less clear and likely to take risks? More or less likely to eat well, exercise and be making other healthy choices for your life? 

When are you more likely to see and appreciate the strengths in others; when you are feeling good about yourself or when you are judging yourself harshly, then projecting that on others? Have you noticed that when you are happy, you are more patient and loving and available to your family and friends. How does that impact your productivity and concentration at work? 

In fact, when you are happy, living in the flow, and doing what you love, you are better at everything - in every part of your life. You have more to give and have more energy to give it. Doesn't that make being happy a priority in your life?

So, get busy. If you want to change kids' lives, be authentically  happy. If you want to make more sales, be authentically happy. If you want to have a better marriage, be authentically  happy.  How? That's been the topic of many of these articles and dozens of books, many of which are rich in research and wisdom. 

The main thing is this: be authentic. Let happiness grow from giving voice to your unique and enduring strengths. Let it grow from genuine appreciation of the people, things and circumstances in your life. Pretend, "pasty smile" happiness will not do the trick. Only authentic happiness, which comes not from having ideal circumstances, but from noticing and focusing on what is already right and good (which means it is always available to you, in every moment). 

So you could do the next thing on your checklist, you could try to fix what's wrong with the system, you could wait until things change... Or you could shift your focus and get happy (or just a little happier), right now, in this moment... 

...and change your world. 

Chris Trout is a transformative life coach with a unique "pay what you value" philosophy.
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