The Barometer of Happiness
Measure your performances in any field: How do you rate your personality? Your family life? Your overall success? Your financial evolution? Your health? Your performance at work? If you have not done it lately, the exercise is a must. It will evidence your strength and your soft spots, and most important, the characteristic you should endeavor to improve.
This ‘barometer’ is intended to measure your feelings by yourself. It measures your situation as per your personal standards and situation. Because it unveils your own feelings and appreciation, I consider this little test as the conclusion of your introspection and the foundation of your future.
50 is not a standard, it does not represent the "average or median happiness" of the population. A measure of 10 is the expression of a very unhappy general situation. 75 is very good, while 100 is a state of bliss, a perfect happiness and nothing could make you happier. I would guess you’re seriously in love and living in a bubble that, unfortunately, will burst or slowly deflate, with the passage of time. It is unthinkable that a human being spends his whole life being just perfectly happy.
Use the models provided here to draw ‘barometers’ on any subject your wish. Remember: being happy, satisfied and content is your life's goal.
Are you satisfied or not with your performance? Make the point and face the reality without undue emotion. Then see if you have the desire and the intention to do something about situations that require some correction.
There is no limit to your capacity to assess yourself and improve some aspect of your life, your degree of happiness, and your contribution to someone else's happiness. Use the opportunity to wish your fellow creatures more happiness, act accordingly, and you will be rewarded with more joy yourself.
Some people are thoroughly baffled by notions of success and happiness. They confuse quality with quantity. They seem to think that the more one owns the happier he is. To them, success, happiness and performance are synonyms. This is a dangerous trap. Don’t be greedy. Eating too much food, even of the best quality, can be as dangerous as not eating enough. The quantity of elements needed to satisfy a body and brain varies with each person. Avoid mimicking your neighbor. His needs and tolerances are different from yours. The reasons for your coming to this school called Earth is different from any other living being. And so, your personal needs are also different. Forget the idea that what is good for someone else is also good for you and vice versa. Your profound reasons for improving your abilities match no one else's. You are unique; you are one of a kind.
Most people derive great satisfaction in developing their intellectual faculties with the goal of gaining a better understanding of life. They intent to use this additional intelligence to become famous, more beautiful, wealthier, more powerful…. It is quite acceptable to satisfy our needs and revel in our passions, but be careful not to fall into a trap like this one. An interviewer once said to me: "Your technique must not be very successful for I realize that you have not succeeded in ridding yourself of your hearing problem". Which left me speechless. This person didn’t understand how life works. She assumed that I must have everything I dream of to successful and happy. I don't see it that way at all. I will never get everything I long for. If it was to be otherwise, as an imperfect human, I should be totally without hope.
The state of human being implies that one has limitations. Nobody can get everything he can dream of. If this were not so, we would cease to be human and transform into gods. Then we could very well think of becoming the only God and feel loneness and isolation for eternity.
The main question doesn't refer to what one owns but if one is happy with his situation. Nobody can test your level of success and happiness without your participation. It has nothing to do with your level of living, your influence, your friendliness, your celebrity, your rank in society, the apartment you live in, the value of the car you drive or anybody's assessment about you. Don’t let yourself be dragged in the spiral of fashionable circles with the hope that it will bring you happiness. If you're not made for that you will find yourself so busy trying to keep up that you will feel very unconfortable. What is bliss to one can be hell to another. Not everybody would be happy under the limelight of fame. While a number of us cannot find happiness without being seen on TV and quoted in the papers, most of us do prefer a calm and peaceful place rather than a public stage. Reality has many faces. It is not the same to us all.
Whatever you do, do it keeping two things in mind: a) happiness for you b) happiness for others. Associating the ultimate goal to your daily acts will help you avoid serious mistakes.
Many people rebel against the notion of spreading happiness around. They don't understand the basic principle: Normal happy people do spread happiness around naturally. They radiate rays of pleasure, peace, and happiness. On the contrary, unhappy, unsatisfied and frustrated people emit bad vibrations and create violence and difficulties. A good decent and happy person does disseminate good feelings around even if she is completely ignorant of the fact.
Just think of what a smile can do and you will understand what dealing happiness around means for you and those around you. Get into the habit of doing it intentionally and you will benefit twice as much.
Let's end this chapter with a last bit of mundane sense: One doesn't measure success comparing with others but rather with himself. What would the situation have been if you had not done what you have? If at ball game of any type, one used to bat for .125 and now manage to score .150, he returns home with a great elation in his heart because he feels he is improving. Champs do regularly bat for a much higher average but many return home feeling disappointed that their life is meaningless. One who is endowed with more talent needs to score much better to feel successful and find happiness.