Find Your Purpose and Peace of Mind... As we are well into the 21st century, the focus on commerce and consumption, which dominated the 20th century, is shifting to a more personal, inward focus. For the past twenty-five years, I’ve been actively seeking the answer to the question “What makes me happy,” and I learned that the answers are universal. This presentation will in part illustrate a richer meaning of the word happiness, more like what the Declaration of Independence had in mind when they included "the pursuit of happiness" as an inalienable right equal to liberty and life itself. But how does one get there? What you'll take away: • That we have the ability to make better choices toward happiness regarding our health, career, community and friends • The balance between wealth versus pleasure • Create a plan to bring more happiness into your life - now • Practical techniques to help overcome stress, fear or frustration

1. A WAY TO HAPPINESS
FIND YOUR PURPOSE AND PEACE OF MIND

2. SETTING THE STAGE
• Why now?
• Search
• Defining happiness
• Pleasure versus happiness
• Measuring
• Individual insights
• Putting it into practice

3. I’M HERE BECAUSE…

4. DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

5. THE SEARCH
39,000,000
search indexes

6. NATURAL STATE
To be dissatisfied.
Only humans think about happiness.
Only humans worry about it, yearn for it
and are nevertheless deeply confused by it.

7. NATURAL STATE
of the mind is to be dissatisfied.
Only humans think about happiness.
Only humans worry about it, yearn for it
and are nevertheless deeply confused by it.

8. Matthieu Ricard | Buddhist Monk | Ph.D. Molecular Genetics

9. HAPPINESS IS WELL-BEING.
“Let’s say well-being. It is a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment. A state that
actually pervades and underlies all emotional states, and all the joys and
sorrows that can come one's way. Can we have this kind of well-being while
being sad? Why not? Because we are speaking of a different level.”

10. For a few moments, be aware of your potential for
change. Whatever your present situation is, evolution
and transformation are always possible.
At the least, you can change your way of seeing things
and then, gradually, your way of being as well.
Matthieu Ricard

11. HAPPINESS IS AS IMPORTANT AS LIBERTY
HENRY HOME, LORD KAMESTJ

12. PLEASURE vs. HAPPINESS

13. CAN HAPPINESS BE BOUGHT?

14. ACQUIRING. SEEKING.

15. Benjamin Wallace, writer/journalist

16. HOW DOES CHANGE HAPPEN?
Universal
• Shifts in culture
• Social change
• Demanding/forcing change
• Quality of life

17. HOW CAN CHANGE HAPPEN
FOR THE INDIVIDUAL?
Tame the wild horses (mind)

18. THE MEASUREMENT OF
HAPPINESS
1. The simple question: “Are you happy?”
2. Self-evaluation of one’s life on a scale of 1-10
3. A complex framework that includes multiple
indicators of happiness.
4. Social Progress Index

19. SOCIAL PROGRESS IMPERATIVE

20. SOCIAL PROGRESS = THRIVING = HAPPINESS
FIRST
Norway
Progress 88% Thriving 68%
Denmark
Finland
Switzerland
Sweden
New Zealand
Canada
Netherlands
Austria
U.S.
Germany
Costa Rica
Israel
Uruguay
RANKING LOWEST
New Guinea
Pakistan
Yemen
Afghanistan
100. Chad
Progress 33% Thriving 10%

21. Bhutan has been ranked the happiest country in Asia, and the
eighth Happiest Country in the world to (Business Week). In
2007, Bhutan had the second fastest growing GDP in the world,
at the same time as maintaining their environment and cultural
identity.

22. Vision of Gross National Happiness – His Majesty King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar

23. BHUTAN 9 DOMAINS OF HAPPINESS
1. Education
2. Health
3. Living Standards
4. Ecology
5. Good Governance
6. Culture
7. Time
8. Use
9. Psychological Well Being

24. UN
Sustainable
Development
Solu3ons
Network
(SDSN)
DENMARK 2016 HAPPIEST COUNTRY

25. Our situation is changeable and negotiable.
It’s not whether our nature makes us happy or
unhappy, the question is:
NOT WHAT AM I BUT WHAT DO I WANT TO BE?

26. WORKSHOP
WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY? | SHORT-TERM

27. WORKSHOP
WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU HAPPY? | LONG-TERM

28. QUESTIONS
TO CONSIDER
• What do you love to do, that you would do even if you
don’t get paid for it?
• What do other people say you’re really good at?
• What is the one thing you want to experience, or do, or
accomplish in your life?

29. THE HAPPINESS ADVANTAGE
• Peace of mind
• Better health and energy
• Loving relationships
• Lack of financial fears
• Confidence
• More creative and productive
• Worthy goals and ideas
• Self knowledge
• Personal fulfillment

30. HOW CAN HAPPINESS BE ACHIEVED
AND LASTING?
• Develop a sense of identity. Write a Declaration of Life
• A sense of security: job, money, savings, home, protect family
• Define your purpose
• Nurture those things that make you happy
• Associate with inspirational people
• What is your state of mind? Feelings control us. Be conscious
• Antidote to negative emotions: help someone else

31. PRACTICE
• Get quiet. Meditation, yoga, being in nature, turn off electronics.
• Be conscious/present.
• Write 3 gratitudes.
• Ignore urgent requests. Practice rising above anything that anyone else tries
to make you see as urgent.
• From your list today, keep your efforts concentrated on what you really want,
not what someone else wants for you.
• Quit negative people cold turkey. Quit activities that suck.
• Eliminate your worthless possessions.
• Do something nice for someone and don’t tell anyone.
• Maintain your integrity.

32. A FINAL THOUGHT
Transformation is possible
wearecomet.com/happiness_smps

33. RESOURCES
Ted Talk. Matthieu Ricard: The Habits of Happiness
• Matthieu Ricard Website, Facebook
Social Progress Imperative
Ted Talk by Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret to Better Work
Existentialism and Humorist: On Human Nature and Happiness:
One World Education. Bhutan: The World’s Happiest Country
Isaiah Hankel. 5 Ways Happy People Ruthlessly Simplify Their Lives
Mark Chernoff. 12 Things Happy People Do Differently
Tedx Talk. Sam Berns: My Philosophy for a Happy Life
Dalai Lama. Desmond Tutu. The Book of Joy
Eric Weiner. The Geography of Bliss
Ted Talk. Dan Buettner: How to Live to Be 100+
• Website: Blue Zones

34. THANKS!
wearecomet.com