Marriage Mondays: 5 Keys to Happiness {Link Up}

By Fawn Weaver on Monday, May 20, 2013

5 Keys to Happiness

I love to read.  Most of the growth that has occurred throughout the course of my adult life has come at the hands of a book.  I”m a huge believer in, whenever possible, learning from the failures of others rather than experiencing my own.  

Why go through the hard stuff yourself if you don’t have to?

There are times when you must experience your own failure or trials to fully understand a lesson but I personally do that as seldom as possible.  As a matter of fact, this has been a prayer of mine my entire adult life and I can genuinely say it has been generously answered.  

If I can grasp the lesson through someone else’s experience, you best believe that is what I will do.

Business tycoon and success magnate, Warren Buffet, once said, “When people tell me they’ve learned from experience, I tell them the trick is to learn from other people’s experience.”  YES!

So when it comes to the issue of happiness, it should come as no surprise that I look to the wisdom learned through other’s experiences to help shape how I handle challenging situations and maintain happiness in my own life.  

The best book I’ve read, and the greatest lessons I’ve learned on this matter of happiness have come from countless interviews of couples happily married 25-plus years, and a book by Richard Carlson called You Can Be Happy No Matter What.

If you’ve never read this book, I highly recommend it.  He speaks from a psychologist point of view (of which I am not) and helped me understand why and how happiness is possible in spite of every external situation in life.

I don’t write book reviews but I’ve found myself sharing this book with my friends lately so I wanted to share it with my online friends, as well.  Happiness is all about the mind; it’s all about choice.  And as a proud card-carrying member (and founder :) ) of the Happy Wives Club, I make this choice daily in my marriage and life.

As I was getting my car washed earlier today, I came across a Blue Mountain card that made me think about the above.  I actually bought the card, not because I have anyone to give it to, but so I could share the contents with you.  Granted, these aren’t all the keys, but they are a few great ones. 

5 Keys to Happiness

1. Realize that happiness is a choice…you can make the decision to “be happy” each day.

2. Remember that happiness is contagious.  Make someone smile, and the good feelings come right back to you.

3. Be grateful for the little things in life that are free.  Make a list, and add to it each morning.

4. Believe that ultimately everything happens for a reason.  Acceptance leads the way to happiness.

5. Give away some courage every day!  When you encourage another to “Keep going,” “hang in there,” or “believe in your dreams,” you will find an unending source of happiness.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

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Happy Wives Club

Fawn Weaver is the USA Today® and New York Times® bestselling author of Happy Wives Club: One Woman's Worldwide Search for the Secrets of a Great Marriage, adopting the same name as the Club she founded in 2010. The Happy Wives Club community has grown to include more than 900,000 women in over 110 countries around the world. When she’s not blogging or working on her next project, she's happily doting over her husband of nearly eleven years, Keith.

 

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  • http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/ Nan

    Beautiful post, my friend! Every day we can make the choice to CHOOSE to be happy. We can choose joy! I liked the part where you mentioned learning from someone else’s experience. Why learn the hard way ourselves, let THEM do it first, lol! ;) There’s a lot of wisdom in learning from others.
    There’s also a lot of wisdom in choosing to be happy. I can be happy or I can be sad and I’d rather be happy! Thanks for hosting today.

    • http://twitter.com/happywivesclub Happy Wives Clubâ„¢

      Thanks for linking up, Nan! And I’m with you. I’d much rather be happy. Sunshine is so much better than clouds :) .

  • Tyson Cooper

    On your third key to happiness, each year during November my wife and I each list 10 things we are thankful for. The rule is you cannot repeat anything. So by Thanksgiving we each have a list of about 250 things we are grateful for. Sometimes the things on our lists are a little silly but it’s also a fun challenge to come up with so many usually unnoticed things we’re grateful for. Thanks for hosting this link up each week!

    • http://twitter.com/happywivesclub Happy Wives Clubâ„¢

      I LOVE this, Tyson! So very cool. I think we’ll add this to our annual New Year’s lists that my hubby and I compose with our goals of the upcoming year. Love adding a list of the things we’re grateful for to that list, as well. And thank YOU for linking up!

  • http://www.toodarnhappy.com/ Kim Hall

    Thanks for the heads up on the book. I will have to look that one up!
    I agree, we choose every day to be happy or not, to be content in all circumstances. :-)

    • http://twitter.com/happywivesclub Happy Wives Clubâ„¢

      Yes, by all means. It’s right up your alley :) . His Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff series takes from this book he wrote in 1997. It’s funny because there truly is nothing new under the sun. So much of what is being written today on happiness (and how it must be based on an internal attitude rather than external circumstances) comes from this same sort of psychology.

  • http://intentionaltoday.com/ Ngina Otiende

    Great article Fawn! I also love learning from the experiences of others! Learning from others does require more curiosity and intentionality but I’ve found that it saves me lots of other undesirables…like pain, setbacks. It’s true that there are things we must learn personally, but we don’t have to “personalize” everything! :)

    • http://twitter.com/happywivesclub Happy Wives Clubâ„¢

      Absolutely! It takes more intentionality but man o’ man is it worth it.

  • http://twitter.com/HotHolyHumorous J (Anonymous)

    I think you’re right that gratitude is so often at the heart of happiness. When I remember to thankful for all of the blessings I have, I can’t help but smile. Sure, things are tough at times, but God has blessed me immensely as well. Thanks!

    • http://twitter.com/happywivesclub Happy Wives Clubâ„¢

      Isn’t it amazing how when we shift our focus from the “hard times” to our blessings, and are intentional about our gratitude toward those things, how our entire mood can change – in an instant?

  • Newlywed Survival

    Thank you for the book recommendation! This sounds like something I would really enjoy reading.

    • http://twitter.com/happywivesclub Happy Wives Clubâ„¢

      Let me know what you think after you’ve had a chance to read it :) .