HAPPINESS and FEAR!

February 7, 2007
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

I have long said that fear is the opposite of happiness. It is certainly true that when we experience fear we are unhappy. Happiness is freedom from the release of fear. You might say that happiness is letting go of fear! You may think that it is impossible to live without fear in this uncertain world. The truth is that it is an uncertain world and you need to embrace uncertainty but not fear.

James Allen has said, "They who have no central purpose in life fall easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pitying, all of which lead to failure, unhappiness, and loss...for weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving universe." I am not asking you to be fearless and run across a busy highway blindfolded. I am talking about a common sense approach to overcoming your fears.

Fear is not only the biggest problem you may have to face, but also the biggest problem mankind needs to face. H. A. Overstreet said, "To hate and to fear is to be psychologically ill…it is, in fact, the consuming illness of our time." Of course what we fear we learn to hate as well. Fear and hate does not allow for a very happy positive life.

I would like to coin a new phrase, "Emotional Gratitudinal Intelligence." I use the word gratitudinal because happiness is comprised of both our attitude and our gratitude. Happiness has a great deal to do with our gratitude. It's possible that 95% of our happiness is the role of gratitude alone. When we are not aware of our gratitude we are probably not in the best frame of mind and our attitude is causing us problems as well.

I think it is important to combine both words because they have much greater meaning together. The word gratitudinal more accurately describes our disposition and demeanor while expressing our feelings, temperament and spirit. The combined word is more visionary in scope and allows us to understand our perspective and point of view more accurately.

John Homer Miller said, "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."

Happiness is the opposite of fear. We must learn to change our attitude and express our gratitude in order to overcome our fears. The following are the words of Aristotle; "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."

Gratitude is an attitude of happiness and gratitude will enable you to experience the best things in your life. Gratitude is one of the basic things we need to experience, in order to feel happy. Gratitude is the trailblazer to happiness. Do you want to be happy? Be grateful! You just can't be unhappy if you're grateful!

How do you access that attitude of gratitude? You can do it by finding something to be grateful for, it could be anything. It may possibly be a loved one or something about your health such as the fact that you can see, or anything else that comes to mind. Think about how fortunate you are to have all these extraordinary things in your life. You can also be grateful for the many negative things that you don't have. Such things could be a life of poverty, illness and so many other unfortunate life events.

Instead of thinking about the things that you don't have, you can be grateful for the good things you do have and you will feel happier and wealthier. Being grateful adds value to your life! You have an opportunity to get yourself into a happier state of mind. In fact research has proven that the following simple exercise, done every day, is the single most lasting thing to make happiness a part of you. It is to think of three things that you are grateful for at bedtime before you go to sleep. Use your "Emotional Gratitudinal Intelligence," and observe how much more appropriate your thinking will be.

Our next Happiness Club meeting is on February 15, from 7:00-9:00 P.M. The presentation is called: "The Heart of Happiness," by Lionel Ketchian. Learn to have the peace of mind you need and experience happiness all year. The meeting will be held in the Rotary Room, at the Fairfield Public Library, located at 1080 Old Post Road. There is no charge for the meeting and everyone's welcome!