Welcome to Live Happy. We’re a new magazine, website and resource about a timeless quest: Living a happy life. Happiness is what we want for our children, for ourselves and for the world. Understanding happiness empowers us to make a positive difference in our lives and in the lives of others. It is a constant, renewable source of inspiration, energy and insight. And it’s free!
Happiness is a lifelong journey that is different for each of us.
We share common everyday happiness like having a good laugh, catching up with friends or sleeping in on the weekend. And we associate certain life milestones with happiness, like graduation, landing a new job, finding true love or becoming a parent. But how we define and measure our own happiness is very personal. Happiness is like a smile. We all have one. But mine is different from yours.
Authentic happiness is the kind that lasts.
Enjoying a piece of homemade pumpkin pie makes me happy, but its effect is fleeting. Being a wife and a mother makes me happy, and it is central to my overall satisfaction with life. Authentic happiness is linked to our values and priorities. Once we know what matters most to us, pivotal measures of happiness begin to take shape. The importance we place on material expressions of success and happiness diminishes as we look inward and ask the tough questions: Have I been blessed with the love and admiration of family and friends? Do I have spiritual peace? Have I helped someone else get ahead? Have I given back? The questions we choose and the resulting answers help define our authentic happiness.
Understanding happiness takes an open mind.
We are fortunate to be living in a time when the study of happiness is growing rapidly all around the globe. Led in large part by positive psychologists and their colleagues, this research proves previously elusive correlations, like the tie between compassion in the workplace and the bottom line. It also is breaking totally new ground, like the gene-level impact of positive emotions. Live Happy makes this science understandable and relevant. We report on innovative, cutting-edge research in the context of real life, authentic issues and common-sense realities.
Applying happiness is easy to do and its effect multiplies with repetition.
Once we understand the power of happiness, it changes our thinking, actions and conversations. We all know people who make us happy. A few on my long list: My grandmother Evelyn, my sisters, cousins and girlfriends, Juna (our dog—yes, she is a person). And we all know what makes us happy. From my life: Being with my husband, Don, and our kids, Lauren and Alec, biking the Iowa countryside, volunteering, gardening, making a huge holiday dinner. If I imitate these people and repeat these activities, happiness is sure to show up. I know, and research shows, having a happiness hangover is a good thing.
Is all this talk about happiness important?
You bet it is. Happier people are healthier, more satisfied with life and their relationships, and they live longer. By helping people have a happy home and family life, make a good marriage, find and grow faith, work well with others, experience fun, creativity and joy, and live life well, Live Happy brings the happiness movement to a personal level.
We’re pleased, excited and honored to be on this happiness journey with you.
We’d love to hear your viewpoints on happiness; your thoughts on this issue and what to put in following ones are also appreciated. Please tell your friends and family about us!
