Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Traits of happy people
Date:	5/25/2021 11:24:34 AM

Read this today and agree with much of what they wrote.  To paraphrase it see below.

So, what are the secrets of truly happy people? Here are some traits they share:

1. They take care of themselves. This includes slowing down to appreciate life’s little pleasures, exercising, eating nutritious food, and getting enough sleep.
2. They practice being happy as it is a choice you can make.
3. They surround themselves with happy people who are like-minded.
4. They are self-reliant. Happy people do not see themselves as perpetual victims constantly looking for someone to blame or fix all their problems. They also don’t allow others to dictate or impose their beliefs upon them.
5. Their relationships are not about “you complete me.” Happy people known that the secret to true bliss is liking themselves and working on developing a harmonious relationship with oneself and not putting the burden on others to make them happy.  
6. Happy people live in the moment, trust that change is inevitable and appreciate everything that happens to them.
7. They stay positive. We all know that bad things happen to everyone. Happy people do not spend time complaining about what happened to them but try to find a solution and move on. Pessimism and negativity fuels unhappiness.
8. Happy people have faith. As shown in study after study, faith is a fundamental cornerstone of happiness. 

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Traits of happy people
Date:	5/25/2021 6:29:36 PM

It's so true.  So many people don't seem to realize that happiness is a choice.  I count my blessings several times a week.  So many people fail to see the opportunities that are offered to them - instead they focus on what they don't have.  

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Traits of happy people
Date:	5/26/2021 8:43:55 AM

Same holds for people believed to be "lucky".  Best definition I've seen of luck is when preparation and hard work meets opportunity.  To me the most important of these traits are the ones about being a victim, looking to others for happiness and faith.  Frankly, if you have all the others and not these three you will still likely be a miserable, angry, unhappy person. 

Victimhood is rampant today as it is the neo-Marxist approach to class struggle in this country which they hope leads to revolution. Instead of it being a struggle between economic classes (which doesn't work in the U.S. for obvious reasons) they try to make it a struggle between the victim and the oppressor, whether it is race, sexual orientation, gender or whatever intersectional idea they can muster up.  There is literally nothing new under the sun when it comes to this failed ideology.

Looking to others for your happiness is likewise a fools errand.  Failed, broken humanity will always disappoint you at some point.  And if you are looking to someone else to make you happy and they drop the ball, which they always do, you will be back to square one.  People, circumstances, events and the like can only influence your happiness if you let it.

And of course some form of faith is essential because it gives a person hope.  If you lack hope there is no way to be happy.  No way to deal with the ups and downs of every day life, the crosses we have to carry, the tragedies and disappointments.  All these things are a part of life and in my opinion the only way to be able to bear them is with faith.  Otherwise people try to escape them with drugs (legal and illegal), alcohol (not that there's anything wrong with martini's), etc.  

Name:	CRD -	Reply
Subject:	Traits of happy people
Date:	5/26/2021 10:36:21 AM

Found 4, 5, and 7 to be especially true. 

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Traits of happy people
Date:	5/26/2021 1:45:44 PM

I'm afraid you are right.  Segments of our society are encouraged to believe that they have been oppressed by people that want to keep them down.  It's easier to believe this, than to admit that they haven't take advantage of the opportunities that are available.  There are a lot of people walking around with a chip on their shoulder as to why they aren't where they think they should in life.  They don't realize that the problem is their attitude and the expectation that someone owes them something.  

Some of the most valuable lessons my parents taught me:

1.  You will have to work to support yourself and have the things you want in life.  

2.  Every job you take on, you should do your very best, whether it be sweeping floors or being the CEO.

3.  Treat everyone you meet with respect.  

4.  Remember that you have to live with the choices you make.  

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Traits of happy people
Date:	5/26/2021 3:29:59 PM

Your parents sound like mine.  My Dad's often used line when we were whining about something was, "Life isn't fair, life wasn't meant to be fair and life will never be fair, so get over it."  Of course we were also required to call adults Mr., Mrs. or Miss and Yes, Sir/Ma'am or No Sir/Ma'am.  I am always impressed by a young person that calls me Sir.  Shows good parenting.  Sadly a lost custom in this country.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Traits of happy people
Date:	5/26/2021 6:03:25 PM

Yes, there definitely is no respect anymore.  Funny thing - in my earliest jobs, I would be the youngest person in the office, so often I was the only one calling the boss "Mr _____" because that was how I was raised.  The way I was raised, you didn't call people older than you by their first name unless they said to.  But in Europe, for the most part, at least in business, you do not call each other by your first names, and in fact, that signals a change in the relationship when you do start calling each other by your first names.  There is still that bit of formality.  Of course, that has probably changed with a influx of younger people with more casual manners.