The Happiness Paragraph

By David Alway

Organize, harmonize, and achieve your own happiness! This book is about redirecting your life to focus on those key issues that increase your happiness. The advice is summarized into a single paragraph (The Happiness Paragraph) with the focus on establishing a major purpose for your life. In relation to this purpose, the author discussed relationships, goal-setting, money, pleasures, and the simultaneous moral and practical nature of virtues.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Alway
• Release date: Nov 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301473335

David Alway

Dr. Alway is a practicing neurologist in Northern Virginia with an interest in biology, psychology, and philosophy.

Book preview

THE HAPPINESS PARAGRAPH

by David Alway

.

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 by David Alway

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations.

Edited by Michelle K. Leutzinger

www.happinessparagraph.com

Ebook Formatting by www.EbookLaunch.com

Please Do Not Copy or Share This Book Without Authorization:

Please note that this book is the product of considerable effort on my part. Its value to you will doubtlessly go far beyond the small amount of money it cost. In this way, you have profited by buying the book. Please do not copy, print, or distribute it for others. If you want to recommend that others read this book, please direct them to www.HappinessParagraph.com so they can buy it themselves. The money will help to pay me for the time I’ve invested, the money I’ve spent to have it edited and to bring it to market, and hopefully will also help to sustain me financially.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

(1) WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

(2) THE HAPPINESS PARAGRAPH

(3) IDENTIFYING AND ACHIEVING A MAJOR PURPOSE

(4) OTHER GOALS

(5) REWARDS AND CELEBRATIONS

(6) SELF-REVIEW AND CORRECTION

(7) REPEAT THE PROCESS

(8) VIRTUES: HIGH LEVEL HAPPINESS CONCEPTS

(9) GETTING STARTED

NOTES

INTRODUCTION

What is more important than your own happiness? The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle posed this question in Nichomachean Ethics and concluded: nothing is. He wrote that the ultimate goal that we all are aiming for, the only aim that is self-sufficient, is happiness itself. I agree. There is nothing more important than your own personal happiness! This is what you should be striving for, directly or indirectly, every day of your life! This book is designed to help you get there.

Happiness is a complicated and serious business. There are lots of ideas out there regarding what happiness is and how you can get more of it. In order to best improve your chances of being happier, you need to think carefully about what happiness is and how to attain it.

* * *

Some people would disagree with making happiness a goal.

Whether because of religious teachings or modern political philosophies, some believe that sacrifice of one’s life for the benefit of others is a moral ideal and they urge us all in this direction. Though such belief systems are beyond the scope of this book, suffice it to say that none of these alternative approaches has a sufficient explanation as to why sacrifice for others should be regarded as a moral ideal. For further discussion of this topic, visit www.happinessparagraph.com.

* * *

This book was born of my own desire to be happier. In the process of reflecting on my own life, and finding ways to increase my level of personal fulfillment, I came up with recommendations that can benefit anyone, anywhere. After reading this book you will understand what happiness is and where it comes from. You will also have the basic framework you need to make important, life-improving decisions.

In the first chapter, I discuss what happiness is and describe some of its properties. In the next chapter, I provide a single paragraph (The Happiness Paragraph) that summarizes the essentials for achieving happiness. This paragraph is not meant as a stand-alone guide; it merely helps to focus you on key issues regarding happiness. The rest of the book serves to break it down, explain, and explore its fuller meaning.

* * *

What applies to him applies to her:

English commonly uses the masculine gender to refer to both genders. To avoid the cumbersome his/her formulation, please know that all references to the masculine gender (he, his, him, man) will generally be referring to both genders.

(1) WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

Happiness means different things to different people. While happiness always refers to a very positive, life-affirming emotion, it can be used in either a short-term or a long-term sense. Another word for the short-term meaning of happiness is joy. You may enjoy (feel joy when) hearing a particular song, drinking some wine, seeing a person you love, or engaging in numerous other such activities. These emotions are rather short lived. They do not involve a long-term perspective.

When I speak of real, long-term happiness, however, I am