The 7 C's of Happiness

By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D. has more than 30 years experience as a Life Coach and Licensed Psychologist. Dr. Thomas serves on the faculty of the Institute For Life Coach Training. In that capacity, he teaches advanced coaching teleclasses. To contact the Institute, call (970) 224-9830 or e-mail doccoach. Visit www.lifecoachtraining.com. Contact Dr. Thomas at (970) 568-0173 or e-mail DrLloyd. To to his weekly column, Practical Psychology, e-mail your request to: PracticalPsychology-On and write "" in the subject line and an "X" in the body. Copyright © 2004 Lloyd J. Thomas

The American Declaration of Independence asserts that each one of us has the right to pursue happiness. It does not tell us how to pursue it. The Dalai Lama writes, "I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness...the very motion of our life is towards happiness." He does not tell us how to move so that we fulfill that life-purpose of happiness.

Perhaps all of your New Year's resolutions were aimed at seeking something better in your life. All of us are seeking more happiness. Regardless of age, ethnicity, religion or background, all of us experience problems that naturally arise in our daily lives. All of us will confront illness, old age and death. All of us will either overcome the daily difficulties that are bound to occur, or we will be overwhelmed by them, shrivel up and die. Trying to avoid them by simply not thinking about them may provide us with some temporary relief, but there are better methods for seeking and developing inner happiness.

What are the critical ingredients for experiencing genuine happiness? Here are seven elements of life that I believe are essential to the attainment of human happiness. I call them the "7 C's in the pursuit of happiness." One is not more important than any of the others.

Compassion: In order to evolve into a state of happiness, you must develop your in-born ability to care about life, to value life in all its forms, to engage in loving, kind actions, to cultivate an attitude of what Nobel laureate, Dr. Albert Schweitzer called "reverence for life," (including your own).

Contentment: Inner calm. Peace of mind and heart does not mean acceptance of everything that happens. It does mean letting go of fear. When you live life fearlessly, you experience a kind of peace that permeates every cell of your body, every thought of your mind, every emotion of your heart, every element of your spirit.

Connection: Without effectively connecting to other humans, you become less than human yourself. Connection means involving yourself in relationship to everyone around you, connecting to your own inner life, and becoming aware of the environment in which you live. Learn to create high-quality relationships, and your happiness is almost guaranteed.

Communication: Communication is our primary method for connection. It increases your knowledge, your understanding, and your awareness. Language is precious. Words are the building blocks of all happiness.

Commitment: Oprah Winfrey says that what motivates her to get up in the morning is "my commitment to my life and fulfilling my life purpose." If one of your life's purposes is to enhance your happiness, committing your life to the service of others brings more happiness than you can imagine. Happiness requires you commit yourself to something larger than yourself.

Consciousness: Most spiritual teachers believe we are living in a sleep-like or dream state. In order to be happy, one must increase one's awareness of life. And the single awareness that is most conducive to happiness is: the impermanence of everything. Life is in a constant state of flux, of change, of rhythm and of evolution.

Creativity: Creating your life experience by consciously choosing your thoughts, your actions, your decisions and your attitudes will allow you to attain personal happiness regardless of external circumstances.

The pursuit of happiness is not something you search for or attain from outside your skin. Happiness develops from within. You were born to be happy. You were given life to experience happiness.  Pursuing it is your right. Sail the 7 C's of happiness and the pursuit of it becomes obvious and being alive becomes the happiest of moments

Source: The 7 C's of Happiness