I’ve been asking people this same question for years and always get a different answer. When someone seems unusually cheerful I ask them, ‘what is the secret of happiness?’
One of my favourite responses came a few years back from a pensioner, travelling with his wife in South America. We were on a packed bus, broken down in the middle of Chile somewhere. Ended up arriving to our destination 6 hours late, at 4 in the morning. Everyone was exhausted, but instead of getting upset, the two of them took it completely in their stride, cracking jokes and making us laugh. Newly married at the time, my wife and I both thought that it would be great to have such a good relationship and sense of adventure after being together for 40 years. We still remember their example as something to aspire to.
I asked the guy ‘what is the secret of happiness?’ and he replied, ‘Remembering to say “I’m sorry dear. It won’t happen again!”‘
Down the years, I’ve forgotten most of the responses. So I thought I’d start a new hash tag #witsoh, which I’ll use to collate them on Twitter and G+ as I come across them.
What’s your secret? 🙂
Couple happily married for 65 years: “a sense of humour”
Security guard: “A strong mind”
Psycholgist: “Not comparing yourself to others”
Gardener: “Keeping things very simple. Not worrying about buying loads of stuff – expensive gadgets, phones, cars etc. Socialising. Avoiding getting too intimately involved in destructive relationships.”
Entrepreneur: “Expecting the best of other people”
Change Agent / Intrapreneur / serial experimenter: THESE are the good old days. Less memorialising the past; or hoping for the future.
Wife: “Being friends. Sharing interests.”
Colleague: Vitamin D. Sunshine