by Tony Wilkinson
Everyone wants to be happy, but a new book by an ex-businessman makes the surprising claim that most people don't know how. We might try to get a better job, more money or a better place to live. Or maybe it's relationships, children and friends that matter.
But important as these things are, they are external goals and your happiness depends on your inner life. "It's something so obvious, but we keep forgetting it" says Tony Wilkinson, author of 'The Lost Art of Being Happy'. "You can influence the external world, but never completely. Your happiness depends on what happens inside, in terms of beliefs, feelings, desires and so on - these make up your inner life."
Wilkinson claims that happiness is based on skills which can be learned and practised just like sport or work skills. But these are skills of the inner life, which determine the way we think and feel. "Take anger, for example. It's very difficult to be angry and happy at the same time, so if you could stop reacting angrily to provocation you would be happier. But it's not about external behaviour, the key is to change how you feel inside."
The result is a way of living, Wilkinson maintains, which is neither materialistic nor religious. He hopes it could form the basis of shared values which society has lost. But at the very least it offers harassed workers a way to reduce stress and live more happily.
_________________
Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way; BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.
