I’m not sure how much I need to go into this except for repeating that I believe everyone wants to be happy; life’s too short to be miserable.  Think of all the things we do in life to find and pursue happiness; hobbies, vacations, friends and family.  We make some of the biggest decisions in our lives in pursuit of happiness.  For crying out loud, go to any bookstore and you can find whole sections dedicated to helping people find happiness; there wouldn’t be a market for those books if people didn’t want to be happy.

Yet at the same time, how many people do we know who are unhappy? They don’t feel they are living up to their full potential, they have achieved everything they ever desired but are still unfulfilled, or no matter what they do they are just not happy.

I believe the pursuit of happiness is a strong driver for people. When you’ve got that goal or purpose which excites you, it's easier to get out of bed in the morning.  When you find that state of flow, you are happy to work a little bit longer.  When you’re filled up with positive energy, you’re better able to tackle those hard problems and are just a little more resilient.

On a personal level, happiness is good for your health, relationships and your ability to deal with stress.  From a leadership standpoint, happy employees are more productive, more creative, better able to see the big picture and are less likely to leave a job.  So why wouldn’t anyone want to pursue happiness, or create a work environment which cultivates happiness.

Now, don’t get me wrong, no one is happy all the time.  Everyone has things they have to do which they don’t like, there are bumps in the road and to be perfectly honest, the ups and downs of life are part of what makes life interesting.  However, given all the benefits happiness brings, wouldn’t you want to try to increase the amount of time you spend on those peaks?

There are many different facets of happiness including relationships, mental health and physical exercise, all of which need attention.  My area of focus however is around helping people thrive. 

When someone thrives, they have a sense of purpose which brings meaning to their work and life.  They start accomplishing things they never thought were possible and go to bed knowing they achieved something that day.  They become engaged and truly present in what they are doing and who they are with.  All things that contribute to overall happiness.