A Definition of Happiness
“Happiness results from the ability a person has to maintain harmony with their inner Self, within their social relationships, and within the environment”.
Think about this simple yet profound definition. A definition that is as applicable to your work life as it is to your personal life. Here at Business Coach Auckland, experience has shown us that the two aren’t easily kept separate, you cannot evolve or regress in one without its effects showing in the other.
Harmony with ourselves
We are made up of mind, body and emotions. And to maintain good health we have to cater to the needs of all three.
Lack of exercise, insufficient rest, an unbalanced diet or excessive intake of food, overuse of caffeine and alcohol are all physical elements that impact on the body’s balance.
The mind operates by the same principles. Without proper rest our minds can’t function to the best of our ability. Our minds require exercise, using our objective faculties and reason to make important daily decisions.
The more we use reason to put our thinking on a sound and constructive basis, the more ability we have to release our potential creativity. That’s why the mind needs proper nutrition too; a diet of trash magazines, gossip and TV violence only fuels irrational and negative thinking and destroys creative potential.
Negative thinking also arouses feelings such as anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety, etc. These types of feelings disturb our emotional well-being, making it impossible to maintain inner harmony.
Social Relationships
Whether we realize it or not, humans are driven by an inner need to communicate. Sometimes the need to just ‘get away from it all’ consumes us, we think we can meet our own needs. Yet it’s impossible to fully develop as a person without forming social relationships with others.
No matter how independently minded we might think we are, no-one can be happy or achieve self realization without satisfying this inner need to communicate. This is the instinct that urges us to live in society and raise our family within this society.
Because we all need the company of others to some degree, it’s important to avoid building relationships based on coercion or domination – both at home and at work. This involves being personally proactive in trying to maintain harmony within the family, and a good rapport with those we are in contact with through professional and social circles. Showing mutual respect for each other while appreciating our differences and trying to use them in a way that is beneficial.
Nature and the Environment
We looked before at how the body and mind need to be given due care to remain in good health. The same principles apply to our environment – we need to take care of our planet to keep our environment in good health.
Humans have an unenviable history of destroying the harmony and balance of our natural surroundings in the name of self-interest. It is important, especially with our increasing population, that we all become conscious of the impact our way of life has on the very source that sustains us.
It’s no coincidence that we travel thousands of miles to visit untouched places. Destinations that host such places of beauty, natural order and harmony continue to have a profound effect on people.
The Bottom Line Fit
Business is essentially about creating products and providing services to the market, and making a profit from them – though that’s not all there is to it. Human ‘resources’ are human beings, and organisations that strive towards realizing personal, social and environmental harmony throughout all their transactions will be the ones that attract the best people, experience less staff turnover and absenteeism, greater creativity, and more sustainable performance.
How’s the harmony level within your organisation?
Vaughan
Business Coach Auckland
