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My friend Dr. Frank Minirth and I spent many hours researching the theme of "Happiness," counseled literally thousands of people with depression, and served as a Life Coach for hundreds of executives on the theme of overall happiness in life.

While happiness is a subject that deserves a great deal of attention (and we give it a holistic approach in our book), here are five biblical principles for happiness that you may have never heard before:

Principle #1: Don’t look for happiness. Create it!
Happiness is a choice you make not a feeling that suddenly lights on you. While it is not something we like to hear, we are as happy as we choose to be.
Think of the unhappiness you sense at work or with friends or with a spouse. While most will say, "This person (or job or friend) does not make me happy!" it never crosses most people's minds that it is not that person or job or friend's responsibility to make them happy!
Say this phrase out loud, "I AM AS HAPPY AS I CHOOSE TO BE!"
No one has power over you to determine your level of happiness - unless you give it to them!

Principle #2: Happiness is not a goal. Happiness is the result of right thinking, right living and right actions.
If you make happiness the goal of your life, you will never be happy. Happiness is the by-product or correct habits and godly living, not a destination.
I like to think of happiness as something that God has placed deep in every person's heart. They yearn for it, long for it, and desperately want it.
But none of us will find it ultimately until we find it in our Creator. God has placed eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 4:11). As Augustine said, "You have made us for Yourself, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in You!"
The life of Jesus could be described as one that modeled the fruit of the Spirit. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, meekness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22)
If you are missing LOVE or JOY or any of these nine character qualities that describe what it means to be like Jesus, where are you going to find them? At a job? A spouse? Friends?
The only place to find true happiness is in a right relationship with your Creator and then living out the principles He gives us in Holy Writ.

Principle #3: My habits create my happiness, regardless of circumstances.
We shape our habits and then our habits shape us.
Thinking negatively about others and gossiping is just as much a habit as thinking well of others and speaking positively about them.
Just as bad habits are hard to break, so the same choice to make good habits for happiness can be addicting - in the right way!
My point? You can create more and better happiness in your life by the choices you make! Consistently making right choices leads to amazing habits!

Principle #4: Happiness built on happenings or circumstances is temporary, but happiness built on habits is lasting.
Imagine that you go to Disney World and you are happy.
When you leave, you are not happy because you see how much money you spent!
If your happiness is built on happenstance, you will be up and down emotionally. Habits of happiness can be learned and they shape our ultimate happiness.

Principle #5: Happy habits are as addicting as bad habits - but they are a lot more rewarding.
None of us develops habits overnight. You do not develop bad habits overnight and you won't develop the habits of happiness overnight either.

• What do you want to know more?

Rejoicing, On the Victory Side!

Beau

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