How To Win The Metaphorical Happiness Lottery

I recently learned a funny and inspiring Italian joke while in Paris -- which I'm excited to share.

How did I come about an Italian joke in Paris?

I was reading Elizabeth Gilbert's truly amazing Eat, Pray, Love on my trip before bedtime, the perfect book to read while traveling, as it inspires you to really use your vacation as spiritual restoration.

But back to that Italian joke: A poor man goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, "Dear saint, please, please, please, give me the grace to win the lottery!!" This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust: "My son, please, please, please, buy a ticket!"

This terrific joke is a reminder to all of us that we must do our part to create our own good luck.

Life is not 100% random destiny. Life is a lively, interactive fusion of destiny AND free will.

The more you tap into this human perk of free will, and do positive "free will" habits, actions which you can control, the more you increase the odds you will be a winner in that metaphorical big ticket life happiness lottery!

With this in mind, here is "A Free Will Habits To Do List." Follow this list and you will create your happiest life!

1. Think as many positive thoughts as you can. Each positive thought you think is a Happiness Lottery Ticket you're gathering.

2. If you're having trouble being positive, put in the effort to master your negative thoughts by meditating, journaling, working out. Each of those habits are happiness lottery tickets you're gathering. (For added motivation, tell yourself you are "negative thought intolerant," the way some people are lactose intolerant. You simply cannot think negative thoughts because they weaken you and make you feel yucky. You can only think positive thoughts which nourish and energize you, and give you better odds of winning that metaphorical happiness lottery!

3. Studies show the top three happiness determinators are (1) high self-esteem, (2) intimate connections with others, and (3) doing acts of altruism. So make sure your daily to do list is full of (1) doing actions which you are proud of (2) spending time in intimate conversation/experiences with loved ones (3) spending time giving back to the world in some way. Each of these action items are metaphorical life happiness lottery tickets you're gathering around you.

4. Control your stimulus-response mechanism, which makes you reactively pick bad choices in the moment, choices which you later regret. Instead decide to gather around you as many "long term happiness lottery tickets" which will set you up for life, well into your crickety old age. How? Every day make sure you choose actions which move you towards your long term life fulfillment, instead of only doing easy, lazy, reactive actions, based on your short-term emergency/impulse needs.

5. Nourish your body/mind/spirit with healthy foods, exercise, meditation, sleep, sex, hugging, smiling. The more habits you do from these areas, the more metaphorical happiness lottery tickets you're gathering.

6. Go on a "No Nuts Diet." Remove nutsy crazy people from your life. Nutsy crazy-makers lower your odds of winning that metaphorical big ticket life happiness lottery. Likewise, surrounding yourself with lots of loving, growth-directed people increases your odds of being a Mega-Happiness Winner!

Remember...each of these "free will" habits are equal to snagging a metaphorical happiness lottery ticket. The more tickets you gather, the more you stack up the odds that a happy destiny awaits you.

And best of all, each of these "free will" habits are ALL available to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, rich or poor, young or old!

So do your part to create your own good luck, starting today!

For more info: www.notsalmon.com.

Comments

[raker]

I love the no-nuts diet. I did this after having a close call on 9/11/01. I wondered if I'd be more patient and tolerant of the impossible people in my life. No! Just the opposite. I realized life's too short to spend time being worn down by toxic people. I cut them off and have never been happier.

[morenot]

I appreciate most of the comments in the article about happiness. I read Bertrand Russell's "Conquest of Happiness" when I was in my early thirties and wondered why I had never given the concept much thought as yet. The writer makes many of the same points, although they are sugar-coated and processed to fit a self-help genre. I object to the advice to "eliminate the nuts," since it is not the best way of living among people, abandoning people who are difficult and uncomfortable to be with. How will one ever find someone to "do good for" as is advised when one is constantly dumping the human baggage they discover? There are things to be gained by patience and loyalty to people that proponents of "eliminating burdensome relations" will never know.

[arkgrfx61]

I agree with you that you should give people chances and if you want to do good for them and they LET you do good for them, then that is highly commendable and that shows you are a loyal and true friend.
HOWEVER - i think the point the author was trying to make, and what I, myself, have lived is this:
Friends and family will always be nutty, some more than others of course, there comes a point however when you have to decide - can I take this person - warts and all and still love them as my friend. If you can do that then there's no problem...the problem comes when the other person insists on bringing you down w/ them, they won't accept advice, love or comfort from you and instead they have to argue about everything - they have to put you down when YOU are happy, and they are jealous if you have any other special relationships with other people.
So, that is what the author - I believe- was trying to say, say good-bye to the negative nellies...they just bring you down.

[morenot]

I object to your notion that a person needs to "follow your advice" to be worth having around. You appear to be a person who can't stand being around a person who has negative emotions or dysfunctions without trying to give advice and solutions. Your solutions are quite rational and effective as YOU see them. The person who you expect to "listen" and fix themselves through this wisdom needs a solution that they choose for themselves. People with your view think they have all the answers and someone only needs to start following your instructions to be as happy as you. You don't like to listen to complaints and are incompatible with people who make too many of them. Not every problem has or needs a solution. Sometimes a person with these negatives just wants to feel like someone cares about them and the situation. The fact that the situations appear to never resolve for them does not need to be as troubling for the friends who are only affected through an empathetic pain of being a friend. You can continue being happy while your brooding friend stews.

[Cathexis]

At what point does "chronic optimism" constitute denial/enabling of dysfunctio­ns/wrongs/­evils? Example: Rightwing extremists get my blood pressure up. I mobilize to confront and contest -- not to ignore them and think Happy Thoughts.

[arkgrfx61]

I believe this post might be tongue in cheek, but i'm gonna go on a limb here and say that I believe that is your problem right there - you would rather confront and contest rather than accepting that they don't agree with what you say and you don't agree with what they say. Plus you get your point across better when you DO discuss and tell them your POV in a calm, rational way. (I myself can't stand repugs, but from experience I've learned you have to treat them w/ kid gloves - they are very sensitive now)
Again, as I stated to the previous poster - that is what I believe the Salmansohn was trying to point out in her post.

I enjoyed the post and i agree with everything she said. I'm at a transition point in my life where I have to force myself out of my comfort zones on a lot of things, but I'm really excited about what's in store and what I can do to improve myself.