A DECLARATION Of INDEPENDENCE

September 10, 2008
BE HAPPY ZONE
By Lionel Ketchian

No matter what you think about the world, you have very little control over it. No matter what you think about yourself, you have inconceivable control over yourself when you are happy. You may not be able to rule the world, but with your personal Declaration Of Independence, you can rule yourself with happiness. Humboldt wisely said, "I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life, than on the nature of those events themselves."

It is time for us to declare our personal Declaration Of Independence using happiness as our tool. Susan B. Anthony recognized that "Independence is happiness." This is a very important thought process most of us have not yet considered. It is important to take control of the things we can, and not worry about the things we have no control over. The Serenity Prayer states: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference." Happiness is one of the most powerful things we have control over, but most of us do not know it yet. Benjamin Franklin discovered: "Happiness depends more on judgment of one’s own self."

In making our Declaration Of Independence,for a few things are extremely important for our success. The first is Independence. One of the most important things about happiness is to make it independent of things outside yourself. This is an important step on your way to independence. Things will happen, whether you like it or not, so why give them power over your happiness? Martha Washington proclaimed "The greater part of happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances." Declare your independence now, and take your power back! Don't release your power into things or people in order to make you happy. Allowing other people to control your happiness is giving them power over you. It is time to take your power back and gain control of your independence. Leo Tolstoy established " Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them."

Norman Vincent Peale admitted, "Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate." Another important thing is your Freedom. Being happy is realizing the freedom you have created through your independence from things and people. Freedom is important because it allows you to be yourself and feel complete in being exactly who you are. By feeling happy and creating independence, you allow the feeling of love to surface in yourself. This feeling of Love stems from happiness, independence and freedom. Epictetus acknowledged "The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things."

Love is available to all of us. We have it blocked and buried it in our unhappiness. Once we find the love that lies beneath our surface we can become more interconnected. We can connect with others in friendly and healthy ways as a result of our independence. Marcus Aurelius acknowledged "The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts." We can be more cooperative, kind and appreciative toward others. We can do all these things, because we have gained our independence and lost our fear. We have reclaimed the power we previously gave away to others which had allow them to control us. Dale Carnegie prompts us: "Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think."

We need a new revolution, an evolution within ourselves. Plato affirmed "The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depend upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily." We must proclaim a new Independence Day. Today, we give up dependence of our happiness coming from outside sources. Aristotle proclaimed: "Happiness depends upon ourselves."

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The website is www.HappinessClub.com.