What does “Happy23-7″ mean?

We’ll get into the subjective definition of “happy” in a subsequent post. But in case you’re wondering what “23-7″ means…

I’m sure you’ve heard the colloquialism “24-7″ (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Well then, why not “Happy24-7″ then? Isn’t that better? Isn’t that the ideal goal everybody wants: to be happy 24-7?

It may be. However, my experience has shown me that most people simply don’t believe it’s possible or “realistic” to be happy 24-7. That’s why I chose 23-7: it’s more believable. And it’s catchy. I wish I could take credit for coming up with it, but I can’t. My “significant other”, Melanie, came up with the idea after reading the book “Pop” by Sam Horn. I even ran it by Sam and she loved the idea!

So, rather than promise some unbelievable or unrealistic (to some) goal, I’d rather under promise and over deliver.

Notice that the minutes aren’t specified, so I suppose you could be happy 23:59:59 of every day and still fall into our definition of “Happy23-7″. You’ve got to allow for a little negativity now and then! Sometimes it’s not appropriate to be outwardly happy. Like when someone close to you dies. But of course, that depends on your culture. In some cultures people rejoice when someone dies because they believe they are going to a blissful place.

If you do occasionally experience some unhappiness, being in truth (not denial) and accepting what is and finding meaning in it will help you get back to happy sooner. More on this later…

The only person I know of on planet earth as of this date who may be happy 24-7 is the Dali Lama. If you know of someone else, please let me know! I’d love to speak with them.

You may be wondering if it’s even possible to be happy 23-7, much less happy 23:59:59 (or even 24-7). If I didn’t think you could do something about the level of happiness you experience, I would not have started this blog. Yes! You can increase the level of happiness you experience on a consistent basis. You can even increase your happiness set-point (thermostat), even if you were born with a low one. It may take some work at first, but the payoff is worth it! Don’t you agree? Many people work very hard at making more money, buying a bigger home, etc., only to find that the happiness they were seeking didn’t show up or, if it showed up, didn’t last very long.

We have goals because we think that achieving them will make us happy. We don’t really want the goal; we want the feeling of happiness we think we will experience as a result of attaining the goal. That is called “conditional happiness”. Why not be happy now for no reason? That is called “unconditional happiness”. If you think that you won’t be motivated to achieve goals if you’re happy now, you are mistaken. The opposite is true. When you are less stressed and experience more joy in the pursuit of your goals, you will achieve them more easily and people will want to help you. People are attracted to, and want to be around, happy people. Think about it! Do YOU like to be around UNhappy people?

The benefits of being happy have now been confirmed and documented in study after study and more data continues to come out to support this. I will cover the Benefits of Happiness in a subsequent post.

Therefore, why not invest some time and energy into figuring out how to be happy along the way, every day, now, now, now, rather than conditioning our happiness on an acquisition (car, home, relationship, etc.) or some event to occur (new position, the weather, etc.), which may be beyond our control? Wouldn’t that be the best use of our time? Isn’t happiness the goal of all goals? The SUPER goal? Why not choose happiness now?

Happiness is a choice. But it’s not easy to make that choice if you don’t know what options are available. Therefore, knowing how to discover or reveal more options is one of the keys to happiness. The more “happy” options you are aware of, the more likely you will make the choice that best supports your decision/intention to be happy. It all begins with intending to be happy. The “how-to” will be attracted to you.

That’s what this blog is committed to providing: the “how-tos”, options, and tools you can use to experience more happiness on a more consistent basis at home and at work.

I believe it is your duty to be happy. Being happy is the best thing you can do for yourself and the people around you, especially your children. You teach through your example, your behaviors; not your words.

I will share with you everything I’ve learned in the past 28 years (since 1980) of being committed to personal growth and living a happy life. During these years, I’ve studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnosis, metaphysics/spirituality, philosophy, finding and living your purpose, happiness, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), positive psychology, time management, the psychology of success, self-discipline, self-mastery, sexual fulfillment, enlightenment, martial arts, etc., etc.

This is my passion and my purpose. Anything and everything I can think of to help you experience more happiness in your personal and professional life will be written about and discussed in this blog.

Thank you and welcome to Happy23-7!

David Humes