Happiness leads to better health - Times Of India - Sat, 07 Apr 2007 Often, happiness is in how you look at things, and has an impact on how you do in life, says Ian Faria Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory" - Albert Schweitzer. Contrast this with another statement, made in the year 350 BC, by Aristotle, "Happiness is the only thing that humans desire for its own sake". Simple, effective statements; Happiness is something that we all desire. However, in trying to understand it, we waste a good portion of our lives, pondering over how the experts have defined it. But only we know what happiness means to us, on a personal level. Do we really benefit from a positive outlook? Are we also aware that a positive state of mind enhances and promotes a healthy body as well? The mind and body are so much in sync with each other that one cannot move, without affecting the other. In this dance of the mind and body, there is one factor that determines whether our actions will yield positive or negative results. This factor is the direction we take. For example, when we embark on a journey, are we thinking about the many hours that will elapse, and how tired we will be when we reach? Or, are we instead thinking about how nice the journey will be, and how soon we will be at our destination, enjoying the sights and the sounds of another memorable holiday? The first person would surely have a negative experience, while the second person would surely have a thoroughly happy one. Many young people with average problems look old and sickly. Invariably, these people have a negative outlook and it is not their circumstances that are killing them, but it is the perception of their circumstances that causes their plight. Apparently, they have internalized and focused on problems and they fret and fume over negative outcomes, and they therefore suffer from it.90 percent of the things they worry about never happen. Choose a positive outlook, for anything and everything in life. Even if one loses, (money, reputation, friends etc) he should not lose the lesson. Soon lives shape up and such people become positive, and happier. In effect, they have learnt to look at life as a wondrous journey, and can consider the negative occurrences as road bumps or potholes along a beautiful highway. Remember that thoughts are seeds. If we plant positive seeds - we get positive fruit. Are we thinking about what we want, or what we do not want? Maybe Bill Gates has discovered a major secret for success, and that is why he whistles when he works. Surely he must be a happy man. There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave for most in life - happiness, freedom, and peace of mind - are always attained by giving them to someone else. In short, we all have control over how we take the long journey called life. Let's seize every moment, and let's determine that we will always be happy, since that's the way it was meant to be. Happiness means… • Longer lifespan • Less pain • More laughter • Reduced blood pressure • Better skin tone • More energy • Ability to work longer hours • Better health and less medical issues • Less stress Ian Faria. (The author is a corporate trainer, motivational speaker, counselor and consultant who specializes in Organizational and Personal Enhancement). faria@a-pep.com