What we truly need to enjoy life

Do you sometimes feel bored with the expensive gifts and toys you just bought a month ago?
What do we really need to be happy? This is the theme of this week’s blog: a simple story to make us think and reflect upon who we are, what we have and what we truly need to live a good life.
A rich father, motivated to teach his son what poverty is, encouraged him to spend a few days in the countryside, in a very modest family. The child spent three days and three nights, living in the nature. Back to the city, the father asked him 2 simple questions.
“What do you think of your experience?
- It was good, replied the son, a little distant.
- Did you learn something, insisted the father?
- Yes, ‘replied the child.
  • We have a dog, they have four.
  • We have a pool with treated water, they have the whole river, clear water, and fish.
  • We have an electrical installation and lights in our garden, they have the stars and the moon for light.
  • Our garden reaches the wall, theirs stretched to the horizon.
  • We buy ready meals, they cook their own food.
  • We listen to ipod and radio, they listen to a symphony of birds, crickets and flowing water from the nearby stream.
  • We live surrounded by walls, protecting our belongings with alarms, they live in the open, protected by the friendship of their neighbors.
The father was impressed with the observations of his son. The son concludes: “Thank you for allowing me to learn that we actually are poor.” End of story and simple conclusion: we do not need much to be truly happy, friendship and life experiences are more valuable that what money can buy.
Intuitively, we sort of knew that but let’s think again: let’s reflect upon about the day ahead of us. How do we reconnect with nature, appreciate its simple beauty? How do we care for our family and friends? How do we look up from our laptop and TV to engage in meaningful activities?
The voice of this boy should stay in the back of our mind and remind us to simply lead a good life.



Redefining success outside of $ and power

That’s it, weeks of work culminated in the release of the new web site design.Check www.Authentic-Happiness.com and tell us what you think: How do you like the new slider? How engaging is the new design? Anything else you would like to see?
How do we Measurably Thrive in 5 Core Areas of our Life outside of more money and more power?
What has not changed are the fundamental, evidence-based principles behind  www.Authentic-Happiness.com: i.e. our mission to provide free tools, content and questionnaire designed to help us shape our life.
Grounded on essential concepts from Maslow to Positive Psychology, our approach is to become aware and measurably develop our “life skills” to thrive in 5 core areas:
1. Our Health & Wellness: Life is fun, make it last.How active is our lifestyle? How many thousand steps do you typically walk everyday?
What is our BMI? Do we eat sufficient fruits and vegetables? About how long do you typically sleep?
2. Positive Emotions & Gratitude: Emotions are beautiful, Embrace them Everyday
In a typical week, how many times do we spend meditating or relaxing?
How often do you shout or sulk at somebody? How many entries do we write in our personal journal?
3. Our Productivity and Expertise: your Talent is a Gift, Make Use of it, Become an ExpertHow well do we complete your weekly to-do lists? In a typical day, how many hours do we experience “flow”? How sufficient is our income to cover basic life expenses? How many remarkable achievements are we proud of?
4. Our Social Life & Discovery of the World around you: Life is an Adventure, Go out Discover the WorldHow many new places have you visited over last year?
How many people are very close to us? With how many people do we interact during a typical day?
5. Thrive: this is our Life, let's live our Dream nowFor how many years ahead is our life vision very clear? How many hours do we spend doing what we are passionate about?
How many people have we helped achieve a better life? How much do we donate or raise for good causes?
Many self-reflective questions to ask ourselves at 6am in the morning, as a new day is rising and we enjoy our morning coffee…
Have a meaningful week,
Clara
www.Authentic-Happiness.com