Pre-Ramble: As a gal who has been accused of thinking on the sunny side of life, I was recently drawn into a discussion about the value of the positive spin and whether it is disingenuous and even a case of denial to try to see things – good things and less good things – in a positive light.  (Does my shameless overuse of the happy-face icon have any bearing on this?)

I’m not the only one - author Gretchen Rubin has made a thriving career out of the pursuit of happiness, penning best-seller “The Happiness Project,” (2009) a look into ”the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture” to learn about the dynamics of happiness.

“Filled with practical advice, sharp insight, charm, and humor, The Happiness Project manages to be illuminating yet entertaining, profound yet compulsively readable. Gretchen’s passion for her subject jumps off the page, and reading a few chapters of this book will inspire you to start your own happiness project.”

“This book made me happy in the first five pages. And the more I read it, the happier I got. It’s filled with great insights that have changed every part of my life, from love to money, from work to play, from writing to Diet Coke.”

Soon to be translated into 31 languages, Gretchen’s work covers every ilk of happiness … as it applies to work, play, relationships, parenthood, spirituality, marriage, money and even clutter (… apparently, outer order is the key to inner serenity).

I don’t know about you, but any time I’m up against a new or confounding psychological issue, I like to look for answers in a quick multiple choice magazine quiz.  Colleen Oakley for the nationally syndicated Parade Magazine to the rescue with … “Sunny Side Up: Do you know how to be happy?“  Ten quippy questions test your knowledge around happiness … sort of.  Let’s happily skip to number ten:

Which piece of advice from a Disney movie is actually backed by scientific evidence?

• a) “Look for the bare necessities.” – The Jungle Book
• b) “Hakuna Matata (no worries)!” - The Lion King
• c) “What do you do when things go wrong? … Oh! You sing a song.” - Snow White
• d) “Think happy thoughts.” – Peter Pan

Answer: d) … Just imagining yourself laughing can reduce sadness, claims Bowling Green State University researcher Nakia Gordon. Nakia’s team scanned subjects’ brains and found that “the areas that indicate happiness lit up whether the subjects were actually laughing or just thinking about it.” (I’m pretty impressed that these subjects could register any semblance of laughter while having their brain scanned!)

The Take-Away: Great news - turns out that happiness is as happiness does. So, … turn that frown upside-down … fake it ’til you make it … just whistle a happy tune … happiness is a warm puppy … (better quit before someone punches me in the happy face).

Have a great day!!

Pre-Ramble: So, we are officially rid of 2009 and headed into the fresh new beginning of 2010 (Yay!).

I don’t know about you, but I am feeling genuinely optimistic about the prospects for this new year. The indicators are all there – the stock market is holding its own, the price of gas is steady, Ellen is joining the American Idol judges’ panel, and Daisy, our dog, came home from Happy Camp freshly bathed. (A clean dog cannot be overrated.)

Happiness is …  For me, and I suspect many others, the main goal going into a new year is to Be Happy. Why else would we toast each other with a hearty “Happy New Year!” at the strike of midnight?  The ubiquitous New Year’s resolution is clearly designed to confer happiness upon the resolute-ee … eating less … exercising more … quitting smoking (who even smokes anymore?) … tracking down Mr./Ms. Right … Each of these, if achieved, implies an improved quality of life, and thereby an increase in happiness. (I know I’m feeling happier when I’m not piling on extra weight, smoking ten packs a day and hanging out with Mr. Wrong.)

Don’t worry … be happy …  Psychologist, Kathleen Clancy offers a list of the top ten elements of happiness noting that there is a “positive correlation” between the frequency that an individual experiences the basic attributes and the degree to which they feel ”happy.”  Her “Top Ten Ways to Be Happy“ list includes relaxation, achievement, health, fun, expression, wisdom, exhilaration, inspiration, energy and fulfillment. I’m guessing it would be tough to be able to max on all of these attributes simultaneously (especially for Lutherans), but such a quest certainly qualifies as a worthy stretch goal.

“So nice, like sugar and spice … “  Esquire Magazine (“Man at his best…”) devotes its entire October 2009 issue to “feeling good,” a state which I am going to claim as a close cousin to happiness.  If we’re feeling good, we’re feeling happy, right?  Who but the most stoic among us can listen to the James Brown classic happy tune “I Feel Good” without doing so?  Esquire’s ”Box of Permanent Joy” list includes the first three minutes of Woody Allen’s movie “Manhattan;” watching golf on television while taking a nap; a back scratcher; and “My Favorite Things” performed live by John Coltrane at the Newport Jazz Festival. If I were feeling more plucky and creative, I would come up with some witty fem-gender Joy Box items which would probably include exfoliation, chocolate, red Chanel lipstick and Taylor Lautner’s abs.

A state of mind … Apparently, happiness is not only a state of mind, but a matter of geography as well.  A recent “happiness” study conducted under the auspices of Britain’s Economic and Social Research Council compared “self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living” in 1.3 million Americans and found that people in “sunny, out-doorsy states” reported a greater sense of happiness than those in states with predominantly cloudy, urban conditions.

If these findings are reliable, we must conclude that a “New York state of mind” is truly miserable, as the state of New York comes in dead last in the rankings. Interestingly, five out of the six states in which I have personally lived (Michigan, New Jersey, California, Ohio and Minnesota) appear in the lower half of the Happiness rankings, while the sixth, Arizona, (the only place we couldn’t wait to get out of), rates a sunny 5th place on the list. … ?

Happiness mappiness … Australian life coach, artist and social media zealot Adam Sicinski invites his readers to “discover what it takes to live a happy and fulfilling life” through the tenets outlined in his Keys to Happiness mind map.

“Whether your goal is to create a happy body, to partake in fulfilling actions, to release a happy self, to help others find happiness within, or to strengthen your personal happiness with mindset transformation techniques, you will find the answers within the Keys to Happiness mind map.”

Wow.  Once you adjust for aussie-psycho-babble, the Keys to Happiness mind map is really very compelling. The map’s details would be lost in this forum, but I urge you to click over to Adam’s website to have a closer look at his colorful and comprehensive work.

The Take-Away:  Maybe we’re over thinking this… Maybe achieving a state of happiness is a lot simpler than we think …

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln

Happy New Year!