Don’t Worry, Be Happy – A statement that is so easy to make, but so difficult to follow. Reasons are obvious – The world is going through difficult times and to ask someone not to be worried during the tough times is not only cynical but asking for trouble.

Given the quantum of bad news floating around, it is only natural that you are a part of it. And asking one to be happy during these times, may be even considered silly.

I am a regular viewer of Nightly News with Brian Williams at MSNBC. A few days back he made a casual remark that there is so much of bad news around that he was reporting, he wanted to give it a break and asked the audience to share any good news that they have come across and that the same would be broadcasted in MSNBC.

What ended as a casual remark turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Brian. He received over a thousand stories that conveyed the feel good factor. As per their website MSNBC.,

One of his viewers recently wrote to urge Williams to begin and end each broadcast with some “good news” to lift people’s spirits. He can’t make any promises about the top of the newscast.

“We can get half of that right,” he said. “We can give her half of her wish.”

The point that I am trying to make is that it is so important to be happy during these days. If not for anything else, the mental strength that you gain by being happy is unimaginable. As someone said, the key to happiness is keeping things in perspective when the time gets tough. Happiness is all about controlling one’s emotions, keeping the right state of mind without overly getting affected.

While it is important to worry about extremely important things in life, it is equally important to keep ourselves reminded of the good things that we have done and the memorable times that we’ve shared with our loved ones.

So, the key question is – are you happy ?

If you are still clueless about your state of mind, I’d suggest that you take an Authentic Happiness Inventory Questionnaire at AuthenticHappiness.org, an initiative promoted by the University of Pennsylvania (a.k.a. UPenn). It is a questionnaire with 24 very interesting questions. ( Unfortunately, you will have to register with them to get access to)

Can a questionnaire tell you how unhappy you are what you’ve never been able to find out yourselves ? Well, there is nothing wrong in trying and more so, if it is from an authentic source. Many eminent psychologists also concur. After all, maintaining the balance is the key to not feeling anxious and overwhelmed by disturbing news, time and again.

As Albert Schweitzer, the famous physician, philosopher, theologian and the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner, once said

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

Now, I stick to my original statement-Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

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