We humans are a strange collection of emotions, insecurity and self doubt. Most of us are in a state of suspended animation. Floating through life on a raft we have built with all of our relationships and responsibilities. Happiness for some, means staying within the safety of the raft; others dive headfirst into the churning deep. Some surface, others go down in the waves.

Just what is happiness and how do we quantify such a complex notion? Those who stay in the raft… are they more happy than those who dive in, some not surviving? Or do those in the water pity the souls in the raft as unable to attain happiness?

As a business consultant, I have seen a variety of personalities who all chase happiness in their own way. Some are conservative with risk, treating it as if they are holding an angry rattlesnake, then there are those who seek out the challenge of the unknown, defiant against the gathering storm. Their differences are great, their goal is the same: Happiness.

Humans do not generally chase a dream to fail, the ultimate goal is happiness. I recently came across this blog post that outlined an interesting philosophy concerning happiness, the ability to be happy and that happy people view the world differently. The bullet points are as follows:

• They have the ability to embrace forgiveness.
• They are not prone to overthinking.
• They live in the now.
• Negative people do not affect them.
• They say thank you.
• They give without expecting reward.
• They take care of their physical self.
• Are not afraid to fail.
• Like Bob Marley, they put out positive vibes.
• Their relationships matter.

Tall order, but definitely attainable. The bottom line is that happiness is not given, like everything else worth having, it takes work.