What is the path to objective happiness?
"All men seek one goal: success or happiness. The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society. First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal--a goal, an objective. Second have the necessary means to achieve your ends--wisdom, money, material and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end."--Aristotle |
 Happiness is living in a state of freely choosing to create and exchange rational values needed for yourself and others. Being on the path to beneficial and long-lasting happiness does not mean you cannot be happy here and now while on the journey towards more happiness.
The objective of happiness is not and can never be a final destination that ends, but is found as a never-ending experience while traveling the road of better learning and living. The awareness and reminder of your love of life and discovery of your life's purpose will help to keep you on your path. When you
find yourself off the path, simply get back on, or create another way to your destination. Never give up.
"In the nature of our existence, we must act to achieve values. And in order to act appropriately, we need to value the beneficiary of our actions. In order to seek values, we must consider ourselves worthy of enjoying them. In order to fight for our happiness, we must consider ourselves worthy of happiness."--Nathaniel Branden |
Whatever you expect and unite with emotion and persistent action, you get. Always desire exactly what rationally pleases you and allow yourself to receive it. Use the tools to blaze a trail and create your own road map. Your unique path to happiness will guide the creation of your personal map and direction. The open and expansive path to happiness is by achieving your rational self-interest through the free creation and exchange of your values with others.
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2. The Map
Supreme Objective - Supreme Effect:
HAPPINESS
Primary Values - Primary Causes:Space, Time, Matter & Energy -------------- Quality, efficient, productive, & effective.
Liberty ----------------------------- Self-control (responsibility) & self-interest (freedom).
Productive work, play, purpose & passion ----------- Creating & exchanging values.
Relationships ---------------- Romance for men & women, friendship, & self-esteem.
Supreme Value - Supreme Cause:Existence --------------- Dynamic life (vibrant spiritual, mental, and physical health).
Primary Actions:Be centered within yourself, own it, and aware of the space around you.Be curious to know, honor, and value what is in the here and now.Be loyal and honest within your heart and mind to accept what is.Be thankful and enjoy what is, including your possible desire to change it.Be committed to your personal integrity, passion, and self-responsibility.Be true to yourself and to others, while owning your experiences.
Supreme Action:Be joyful in living your purpose based on your freely chosen rational values.
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3. The Directions
What is the value of happiness?
The creation and exchange of value is the root of all happiness. The love of earned value is the root of all the 'Happy' who have created more value than they have consumed or those who are learning to earn more values. The love of unearned value is the root of all the 'Unhappy' who have consumed more value than they have created or those who are learning to possess more unearned values.
The lovers of unearned value envy those who have earned values and cannot exist without them. As individuals, we choose how we will obtain values. At any time, the 'Happy' may choose unhappiness, and the 'Unhappy' may choose happiness.
"Happiness is a state of noncontradictory joy--a joy without penalty or guilt, a joy that does not clash with any of your values and does not work for your own destruction, not the joy of escaping from your mind's fullest power, not the joy of faking reality, but of achieving values that are real, not the joy of a drunkard, but of producer."--Ayn Rand |
What is needed to obtain values?
"A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom."--F.A. Hayek |
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"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom."--Albert Einstein |
The only moral use of deception and force is used as a last resort to defend against a harmful and/or unjust attack or threat to one's self or property. You own your life. Others do not have a claim over your life, and you do not have a claim over the life of others.
"A product of your life and liberty is your property. Property is the fruit of your labor--the product of your time, energy and talents--that part of nature from which you have used to create values for yourself and tradable to others through voluntary mutual consent."--An animated introduction to 'The Philosophy of Liberty', (isil.org)
"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe...."
--Frederick Douglass |
What is the nature of knowledge and reality?
"If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing conformity of knowledge, of values, of attitudes, which our present system induces, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness, for self-direction, and for self-initiated learning."--Carl Rogers |
New and complex knowledge is integrated, built, and expanded through old and simple knowledge. Knowledge is contextual. Reality is relational. Reality is all of existence that exists here and now.
"Reality is that which exists. It is absolute. It is the standard of the true, the false, and the arbitrary. Things are what they are, independent of our or anyone else's feelings, ideas, wishes, desires, and emotions. Or, in the immortal words of Aristotle: A is A. To be, is to be something: finite, limited, and non-contradictory."
--The Capitalism Tour, (capitalism.org)
One's perception of reality is changed only by our relationships to it because of our new knowledge, experiences, and/or beliefs. Energy/matter and time/space are relative to the perceiver. Everything that exists is composed of matter and energy that cannot be created or destroyed, which always has and always will exist in one form or another.
Objective reality exists independently inter-dependent with one's mind. The facts of reality, which are relevant to you, can be known through your reasoning and feeling capacities, enhanced by the achievement of your needs for survival, desire for advancement, and production of values through creative thoughts, beliefs, and actions.
What is the cause of action?
"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts, and everything will be well. There is nothing more potent than thought. Deed follows word and word follows thought. The word is the result of a mighty thought, and where the thought is mighty and pure the result is always mighty and pure."--Mohandas K. Gandhi |
People may respond to events, circumstances, or situations differently. One's automatic emotional response is determined by one's previously set thoughts and values. A thought may be chosen or unchosen, conscious or unconscious. The words and advice of others may be freely taken when that advice has been integrated into one's own knowledge and understood to be valuable.
To act on the advice from others without regard to outcome avoids the responsibility of independent judgment and freethinking decisions needed to prosper and be happy. Without independent thought, you will become as an automaton. To follow a follower, you are guided to an unknown destination. So, follow only those who have demonstrated success. To be guided by a definite purpose of your choosing, success will follow and meet you at your destination.
To become what you desire, you must respond wisely to what is happening, which requires rational, independent, and creative thought. Since we cannot control all events, circumstances, and situations or know what the emotions of others and ourselves will be, we can learn to experience them in ways that promote better analysis of thought and well-directed actions.
Only one's actions can be judged as moral or immoral. Actions produce emotions that are personal, private, and valid parts of an individual. When emotions are felt and honestly accepted without fear or guilt, the reasoning mind can help to better know one's deepest values. Pleasure is a sign of acting in harmony with one's values and pain is a sign of acting out of harmony with one's values.
To act solely on one's emotions will likely cause undesired results. Emotions are not the primary cause of thoughts, but are the effect of one's value judgments that will spark and fuel secondary thoughts and feelings. To act in a way that produces desired results, one's thoughts and beliefs must be chosen toward that end. Thoughts and beliefs are ultimately combined with feelings and actions to produce tangible results that are parallel to those original thoughts and beliefs.
After one's thoughts and beliefs have changed, one's actions and results will change. Choose your thoughts wisely. Upon whatever one consistently thinks, one eventually acts. You will become your consistent thoughts.
"Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits; thus does man harvest the sweet and bitter fruits of his own husbandry."--James Allen |
PERCEIVE and trust your senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste while at the same time accepting your initial thoughts, beliefs, and emotions for what they are. This is the identification of values needed for survival and desires for your enjoyment and enhancement of life. Be centered within yourself, own it, and aware of the space around you.Be curious to know, honor, and value what is in the here and now.
UNDERSTAND and integrate your perceptions, thoughts, beliefs, emotions, desires, experiences, concepts, principles, and values. Put that understanding into context in relation to you through a non-contradictory manner. Reality cannot contradict itself. If any perceived data contradicts another, one or more of the data may be misunderstood, lacking or false.
Reject beliefs that do not serve you and choose rational beliefs that do serve your natural purpose. Find all relevant facts by using honesty, logic, and reason. New and better opportunities will be revealed to you through your consciously chosen or accepted rational beliefs.
"It is easy enough to say, 'Be true to your values.' But what if your values are irrational? Or what if the virtues you have committed yourself to are so much against human nature that they cannot be practiced consistently? Be careful of what you accept as your code of morality. Think carefully about whether its tenets serve your life and well being. Exercise critical judgment. Realize how much is at stake-your life, your happiness, your self-esteem."--Nathaniel Branden |
Be curious to know, honor, and value what is in the here and now.Be loyal and honest within your heart and mind to accept what is.Be committed to your personal integrity, passion, and self-responsibility.
THINK and FEEL what that perceived data is telling you within your context and relation to it. You will have either a need or desire that is unfulfilled or will be reflecting on the achievement of your desires. If a desire is being unfulfilled, determine whether it would be good for you or bad for you if you were to obtain it.
Feel it. Breathe into it. Visualize it. Watch it with curiosity. Meditate on it. (See it, listen to it, smell it, touch it, taste it, chew it, swallow it, digest it, etc.) Then ask yourself how it makes you feel. Whether the emotion is good, bad, or neutral, just observe, accept, allow, and feel it.
Accepting an emotion is simply being aware of it and does not necessarily mean one has to agree with it. Let whatever happens be all right. If you repress or fight the emotion, it will gain strength and control you. If you fully accept and feel the emotion, you give yourself the power to understand and overcome it.
A good feeling is the integration of values with one's thoughts or actions and a bad feeling is the disintegration of values with one's thoughts or actions. Whatever you consciously or subconsciously expect and unite with emotion and persistent action, you will get. Accept and allow what is. Feel deeply and honestly in order to think clearly and logically to identify and understand your desires and life's purpose.
Write down your desires. A desire left in the mind may remain an unrealized dream and forgotten, but when written down becomes a goal to be acted upon, achieved and remembered. Turn your dreams into reality by thinking, feeling, and acting on what you desire.
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"The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind."
--Albert Einstein |
If you have a worthy desire that is not currently in the process of fulfillment, you may have not gone outward enough for answers into the unknown but knowable territory. You may be too concerned with irrelevant details. One way to fix this imbalance is to look up and focus your time, energy, and talents toward the fulfillment of your own desires with the possible help from others.
Gather the courage to take advantage of opportunities and risk following your dreams. This will give you an outer perspective and inner satisfaction that will inspire balanced thoughts and feelings, which will lead you to your goal.
If you have not found a worthy desire, you may have not gone inward enough for answers into the unknown but knowable territory. You may be too unconcerned with relevant details. One way to fix this imbalance is to look around and focus your time, energy, and talents toward the fulfillment of the desires of others who may need your help.
Take advantage of opportunities to find out what you really desire to do. This will give you an inner perspective and outer satisfaction that will inspire balanced thoughts and feelings, which will lead you to your purpose.
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly know how far one can go."--T.S. Eliot |
Be loyal and honest within your heart and mind to accept what is.Be thankful and enjoy what is, including your possible desire to change it.Be committed to your personal integrity, passion, and self-responsibility.Be true to yourself and to others, while owning your experiences.
PLAN steps of action within your purpose to create the map and achieve your goal. Write them down. Start with the desired goal, and logically work backwards to where you are now to see what needs to be done, step-by-step. If you cannot see or think of the plan fully and completely, simply move in the general direction towards your goal and expect to reach it. When you are moving in the direction of your expectations, you will be able to see the steps needed to reach your goal.
Without a consciously planned map, you will be at the total mercy of events and circumstances out of your control. Within your total control is your plan. Even though you did not cause events and circumstances out of your control, you will have to deal with them rationally and act towards your goal. Become a flexible person and create your own circumstances!
"Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action."
--Benjamin Disraeli |
Be thankful and enjoy what is, including your possible desire to change it.Be committed to your personal integrity, passion, and self-responsibility.Be true to yourself and to others, while owning your experiences.ACT toward your goal with a determined and persistent focus on each planned step while being aware of the full context and relationship of your purpose. With every act, there is an opportunity to learn from each outcome, both good and bad. If your actions are not leading you toward your goal, you may have not understood, or may be lacking some relevant facts.
Rid yourself of actions that waste your time, energy, and talents, while at the same time receiving the proper rest and time for reflection. Once reaching the next step of action, you will see with more clarity, think more soundly, and feel more in touch with your purpose, goals, and expectations. Become dedicated and maintain the habit of doing what needs to done.
Keep movement in your feet, a good word readily on the tip of your tongue, the achievement of your goals on the top of your head, and your life's purpose fully from the bottom of your heart. Then you will find success, prosperity, and happiness all along the way.
"To dream anything that you want to dream, that is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself, to test your limits, that is the courage to succeed."--Bernard Edmonds |
Be committed to your personal integrity, passion, and self-responsibility.Be true to yourself and to others, while owning your experiences.Be joyful in living your purpose based on your freely chosen rational values.
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4. The 'Secret' Formula
What is the 'secret' formula to happiness?
"To achieve happiness, we should make certain that we are never without an important goal."--Earl Nightingale |
Since, what we have imagined in the past has determined what is happening now; what we imagine today will determine what will happen tomorrow. Therefore, if we want to Have a better future, we must Be and Do the things that must be done in a better way Now; learn from our past Now; imagine our future Now; and experience our best-imagined lives NOW!
Freely Choose to Make a Decision to Move into Action Now!
Know what you really desire, why you really desire it, and when you really desire it.Write down your desire in present tense, being positive, and grateful; Read > 3 times daily.Mix with intense positive thoughts and feelings. Include a current action plan. (See Example)Use all your senses when clearly imagining and emoting your goal's accomplishment.Keep those good feelings with expectation, gratitude, and no doubts as long as possible.Touch your written goal throughout the day, everyday, to reflect on those good feelings.
Do this continuously until you Think / Feel about; ask yourself How to; and Decide what ACTION(S) to take to achieve your goal. Then ACT. You have now become Self-Motivated!Desire + (Emotion ÷ Reason) × (Imagination - Doubt) + (Gratitude ÷ Persistence) + (Expectation × Action) =
Happiness
This formula works! The best way to Learn is to Do, while the only way to Do is to Move into Action Now! May you live a long, healthy, successful, liberty-filled, prosperous, and happy life. Thank You!
RebelWithACause.com |
By John Roberts, 