Wealth and The Secret to Happiness

Happiness is a personal journey but when you watch television you would think the good life is a new car, skinny body, or winning the lottery. If you were to look at surveys, most American's say more money would make them happier. But what if you were to look inside at what really gives you joy?

You may ask yourself... what really makes me feel good inside? Is it what the American Dream promises? Individual wealth? Does money buy happiness? Some of you would most likely say yes. Some would assume there is a connection between more wealth and feeling happy, an assumption that many scholars have called the "cycle of work and spend"--working more to buy more. According to one Gallup Poll, four in five people earning more than $75,000 a year say they would like to be richer.

But does being richer really bring about permanent changes in your overall level of happiness? Does it really bring you the consistent level of joy we all so desperately attempt to achieve. Does being well off make for well being? Rich people to a certain extent are happier, especially in poor countries such as India where being well off enhances the sense of well being. But if you were to take a look in the "richer" societies, more money doesn't necessarily mean more happiness or well being. More money often results in the law of diminishing returns.

David Lykken observes in his own studies of happiness, "People who go to work in their overalls and on the bus are just as happy, on the average, as those in suits who drive to work in their own Mercedes". So whats the end result of all of this? Since the 1950's we have become twice as rich as a nation and no happier. The divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide rate has more than doubled, and teens increasingly are troubled with depression.

Social Psychologist David Myersthe calls this the American paradox. He says "More than ever, we at the end of the last century were finding ourselves with big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale, secured rights and diminished civility. We were excelling at making a living but too often failing at making a life. We celebrated our prosperity but yearned for purpose. We cherished our freedoms but longed for connection. In an age of plenty, we were feeling spiritual hunger."

So what can we do on an individual level? If being surrounded by the trappings of wealth, or lack thereof, ultimately does not make us feel happy then what will? Those things that make for a genuinely good life such as close relationships, showing gratitude and feeling appreciation for what we already have achieved in life is a good start. If material wealth is not the most important ingredient for a happy life, what is? Research has offered the following three suggestions:

1. Positive Characteristics - People who are optimistic, kind, forgiving, and grateful tend to have an abundance of happy experiences and happy lives.

2. Being in the Flow - Work and leisure activities that engage an individuals skill tend to lead a happier life. The area that lies between stress and the apathy of being bored, is a zone in which people experience being in the flow... an optimal state of mind in which, absorbed in an activity, they lose consciousness of self and time.

3. Close Relationships - We all have a deep need to belong. Those individuals who are supported by intimate friendships or a committed relationship are much likelier to declare themselves "very happy."

Ultimately, if you want to be happy, then recognize that happiness is a product of the way you think and behave and not your finances. Choosing to focus on what you desire in life while at the same time being grateful and appreciating what you already have is a good start. We are the captains of our ship. We write the book that is our life. Focus to make it happen.

Robert Hunt is the creator of MyGratitudeJournal.com - http://mygratitudejournal.com - An exclusive free and private on-line journal designed for individuals to write, learn and grow to they're greatest potential.

The Secret to Happiness, Health, and Wealth

Half a year ago, my life was not how I wanted it to be. I was unhappy. I was making stupid decisions and acting on impulse rather than logic. I had been in trouble a few times, and it continued to make me unhappy. Things gradually got worse and worse. Soon, my lack of happiness lead to anger, which lead to depression. I needed a way out of this rut. I was constantly looking for a way to make myself happier, and I was constantly looking for something to aide me in my troubles. For a long while, nothing changed. I was still unhappy. Fortunately, right at the moment I was about to yank out every last bit of my hair, the doorbell rang.

In walked a family friend whom I hadn't seen in ages. As we reminisced and I told her about recent events that had occurred in my life, she told me she had an answer. She went out to her car and returned with a book. The cover was tattered and the spine was a little torn, but it was still intact. "Read this," she said. "It'll change your life." I asked her what it was about and she simply said, "Just read it." After she left, I sat down and opened the book. It was called The Secret, and I'll tell you right now, it changed my life.

As I began reading, I soon learned everything I needed to know about how exactly to flip my life around, and in this article will only be a brief summary.

I bet you're wondering, "What is the secret?" I'll tell you.

In a nutshell, the universe works for you. Everything you could ever want or need, you can have. All you have to do is train your mind, which sounds kind of difficult, but it really isn't. The Secret revolves around the Law of Attraction, which means "like attracts like." Basically, everything that's coming into your life, good or bad, you attracted into your life. Want to know how? Your thoughts. Every thought you have has a frequency; some larger than others. We can literally measure a thought. If you continuously think about what you want, you're emitting that frequency on a consistent basis. Every thought you have sends out a message to the universe. The universe works around your thoughts. If you think negatively, negative things will be attracted into your life and vice-versa. The secret gives you everything you could ever want: happiness, health, and wealth.

There are three important steps on how to use the secret correctly.

Step one: Ask. You must ask the universe for what you want. Just ask for it. Eventually you'll get it. Every time. Guaranteed. There are no limits. Nothing is too big or too small. Literally, anything you want or ask for you will receive, due to the Law of Attraction. Somehow, one way or another, the universe will work around your thoughts to give you what you want. Period.

Step two: Believe. You must believe you will get what you've asked for. You have to truly know inside your mind that whatever you've asked for is on its way to you. If you see it in your mind, you have to know, soon enough, you will see it in your hands. Use this step by remembering three simple words: Thoughts. Become. Things. Ask for two-hundred dollars and believe you will, in a certain amount of time, receive two-hundred dollars. It's that simple.

Step three: Receive. Be ready to get what you want. Expect what you've asked for to be in your hands shortly. Prepare for what you've asked for. If you want two-hundred bucks, right out a check to yourself for two-hundred bucks. Act like you already have the two-hundred bucks in your hands and you will have two-hundred bucks in your hand.

Positive thoughts have a much higher frequency than negative thoughts because positive thoughts fill you with joy. Joy is another important key factor to effectively applying the secret. Feel good all the time. If involved in a negative situation, turn it into a positive situation and any future situation you will encounter, if using the secret correctly, will also be positive. Again, like attracts like.

The secret does not only apply to money, but relationships, health, and other things as well. The secret literally applies to anything and everything you could ever want or need. All you have to do is ask! It's that easy!

The first time I recognized the secret working for me, I was sitting on my bed in my room reading. Out of no where, I heard a very annoying buzzing sound. I looked around the room until I discovered a mosquito flying around the ceiling. I worried about it biting me, and then thought to myself, "This is a perfect chance to see if this thing works." I began to think in my head, "I never get bit by mosquitoes. It's really weird. I just never get bit. I've never been bitten by a mosquito in my life. They just aren't attracted to me for some strange reason." When I stopped, I continued to read as the mosquito continued to buzz. Right when I completely forgot about the mosquito, the constant buzzing ceased. When I looked up, the mosquito had flown right into a spider web! My jaw dropped. The very next thing I thought was, "It works!"

I have been using the secret since the day I read the first couple chapters and my life has completely changed. My grades are phenomenal. I haven't been in trouble since before I read The Secret. Seriously! My relationship with my friends is amazing and my relationship with my parents is better than ever. Everything I've needed or wanted, I've received one way or another. It's truly amazing how easily things can change by simply thinking positively.

I encourage you to read The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. If you need guidance or help in any aspect of your life, you have my word that this will aide you to that happier, more healthy lifestyle that you long for. It helped me. Why not everyone else?

My name is Jaycub Moore. I eighteen years old and am attending highschool as a senior. I plan to attend college at UTA (Arlington). I am currently writing for my school's newspaper and have been since I began attending in 2006. I long to write for a magazine or newspaper as a career. Lastly, I've never recieved less than a four on a TAKS essay.

One Single Secret to Happiness, Success, Health and Wealth

Most have lost their key to happiness.

Most have lost their key to wealth.

Most have lost their key to health.

Most have lost their key to success.

And they do not remember where they lost it and how to find it.

That's a fine fix to be in, isn't it? But that's the fix most of the people in the world are in. Not only did they lose something of utmost importance but they lost the memory of even having it.

People are scared to death of losing things, aren't they? They put double locks on their doors. They take vitamins and get MRI's. They get alarm systems in their house and car. They put encryption on their emails. They have duplicate anti-virus systems on their computers.

With all that securitization, most people have lost the most important thing they ever had or could ever had. They've lost their happiness.

That's why people do all these things to make themselves happy. They get a mate. They get a big job. They get a perfect car. They eat the right food. They see all the latest movies. They go to the hottest night club. They drink the latest popular cocktail. They go to the coolest vacation place. They have to always have something to look forward to, so they find that happiness.

At the end of all that scratching around for happiness, most people have a nagging sense of frustration. They cannot find lasting happiness in the usual ways of the world. They cannot find real happiness out there in all that.

The simple and forgotten reason is that happiness, real happiness, is not out there. It is right in your very own Self. Yes, you probably noticed the capital "S."

That's where happiness is all right. It's right inside of you.

And the forgotten secret to happiness, success, health, wealth and all the best things of life is very simple. A four letter word---L O V E.

It's gotten all confused. Nobody even knows what Love is. They don't know that real love is right inside of them. It's bottled up inside just waiting to burst out and transform your life.

You know that love conquers all. You know that love overcomes all. You know that love is the most powerful force in the universe. You know love is the answer.

The crying shame is so very few people know where that love is--right inside of them. They don't know how to access. They don't know how to wield this magnificent power to have the world they've dreamed of.

Love is the key to having, being and doing all you deserve and long for.

Loving yourself, loving everyone else, finding out that you have access right inside of you to this most powerful energy, is the key that you have forgotten you have. Find out. Love yourself. Love everyone else and watch what happens.

And you're invited to have a Free download of the best selling ebook Love Yourself and Let the Other Person Have it Your Way. The Free ebook gives you answers you have been looking for all your life. The Free ebook shows you how giving turns into getting. Click here to download the Free ebook now and see for yourself. Click here: [http://www.releasetechnique.com/ezine]