What is happiness?

(The thousandth interpretation on the subject, here is from me😅)

I don't want to write a book here, others have done that before me.

I'm going to tell you something about myself and show you a few simple exercises on how to make the world a little more beautiful with your words😈

I want to tell a small, true story that showed me how manipulative human beings - and therefore oneself - can be. Sometimes manipulation is also important in order not to fall into some deep emotional pit...

It was the end of the seventies when I completed my training as an optician in a district of Frankfurt. The store was of a high standard at the time, Carrara marble, golden lamps, and a Cartier depot...the business was doing well. At some point during the oil crisis at that time, there was a period of several weeks when business almost came to a standstill. People were uncertain. Nobody made any investments anymore that weren't absolutely necessary. How would things continue? Companies were starting to get nervous. Even back then, an extended slump in pedestrian zones with corresponding lease prices could be threatening to the existence of a business!

At the same time, there was nothing remarkable happening in the world...nothing worth reading about in the tabloids. So it happened that, based on some idea or whim of an editor-in-chief of Bild newspaper, after a nearly 3-week slump, the headline "Things are looking up" appeared on the front page on Monday morning!!

I don't remember the reasons given for the headline. But I do know that the previous 3 weeks had been a complete standstill, and - without any reasonable explanation - after the publication of this headline, business suddenly picked up almost overnight - and it ran really well!!

Later, people thought about this phenomenon:

You tell a person in a bad time that things are actually going well for them and that everything will get better. People want to believe in it - and think more positively than before. The machinery of consumption starts up again, more money is spent, more people are hired, unemployment rates drop, tax revenues increase...a domino effect!

If you look at some proverbs, you will find that there is some truth to them. I myself live by

- Live and let live

- It's nothing unless you do it

- Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you...

- Think positively!

Well, if you look back on life, you will always recognize new challenges. There are moments of happiness, setbacks, illnesses, and obstacles that are placed in your way. No one can claim that it is all easy, and often we ask ourselves what the meaning of life is.

How we cope with this life makes the difference.

I am a hopeless optimist and I create feelings of happiness or satisfaction for myself.

For example: I order something specific before my vacation and tell the salesperson that I would like to have it before my vacation if possible! Then I make a bet with myself that it won't work out and the order won't arrive before the vacation. Now there are two possibilities - the order arrives on time and I am happy! Or it doesn't arrive on time and I am happy because I won my bet (and next time I'll be smarter and order earlier😅)! All is well!

I could give you so many examples where it could have been worse and where you can still gain something positive from a misfortune!

I have internalized this positive thinking to such an extent that I apply it professionally. No matter how bad I feel or how grumpy I am - when I open the store in the morning, a smile manifests on my face and I push aside the bad mood. Well, the customer is not responsible for my bad mood, and I am paid to make the customer leave the store happier than when they came in. No matter what I sell!

Now some might say that I am fooling myself in my life and that it has nothing to do with reality.

That may be true. But...doesn't the result matter?

If I suppress bad moods and play down problems, the first thing that happens is that I don't fall so deep into that hole. So this "positive talking" was worth it! It has never brought any advantage to be in a bad mood or to be depressed. But if you try to be in a good mood - the occasional smile comes back, and that gives you the strength to get through difficult times.

So, what is happiness then?

First of all, everyone defines it for themselves. One person starts a family and finds happiness in love, while others need financial success or the feeling of social commitment. Undoubtedly, we can help happiness along through our behavior. If we have a positive aura, we receive positive feedback - and that helps us on our way to our defined goal. In my eyes, true happiness is when a person is at peace with themselves and the world and has found their inner contentment.

Does money bring happiness?

That is easy to answer because there are well-founded studies on this. The answer is "Yes and no" 😅👍! If a welfare recipient suddenly has an additional 1000 euros a month, it probably makes them happier. When you have a certain amount of money at your disposal, it is not only the money itself that makes you happy - but it is the things you can buy or achieve with your money! However, studies have found a limit at monthly incomes of around 5000 euros. Well, with this amount, you can afford a nice, warm home, a decent car, delicious food, the occasional vacation, and a good standard of living for your family - all things that convey feelings of happiness and are good for the soul. If you want to earn even more money, you usually have to work more, and this time and energy are lost to leisure and family, thus reducing the quality of life. Just think about a millionaire or billionaire who might be able to afford everything - but lives behind high walls in a golden cage and can't even go out to eat without a disguise or bodyguard for fear of being kidnapped? The wealthier a person is, the more envy they have, no matter how hard they earned their money!

In my opinion, truly happy and "rich" is a person who does what they want - because it is not work for them; it is their calling or hobby! Rich is also the person who loves deeply from the bottom of their heart. The best investment of all - because love is the only thing that grows when you share it...

Money is...to a certain extent, reassuring and a "means to an end" - but the last shirt has no pockets.