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“A great body of research has shown us what goes into happiness.”

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, The Law of Happiness: How Spiritual Wisdom and Modern Science Can Change Your Life (The Secret Things of God) (p. 11). Howard Books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

And that is good to know what it shows, isn’t it?

Henry says, “Here is the math: … circumstances may be contributing about 10 percent or so to your happiness. If life is going well, you get a lift, and if life circumstances are not so great (other than times of great tragedy or trauma, which can bring a season of great pain), you get a little downturn. This is the first 10 percent of why you feel like you do.”

He goes on, “The next factor comes from your internal makeup, which is probably composed of genetic, temperament, and constitutional factors. This seems to account for about 50 percent of your happiness level. (1) Go to any infant nursery, and you can almost see the different levels at work. Some babies are happy with the world, and others are going to have to work at it a little bit more! Look at children even a little older and you can see their natural dispositions even more. They are all different, and so are we. You do bring some genetic components and factors into life, which contribute to your moods and sense of well-being.”

He continues, “And now for the very good news: The rest of what goes into your happiness comes from things that are directly under your control: your behaviors, thoughts, and intentional practices in your life. The things you do ‘on purpose.’ What you give your attention to, what you give your energy to, and what goes on inside of you have the power to make you happy. These are factors that you and only you control. (2)”

So, we do have control over our happiness.  That is good news, isn’t it? 

Yes, yes!

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