The pursuit of happiness? What's that all about then?...   

Pursuit of Happiness

Are you pursuing happiness or in pursuit of Will Smith's inspiring DVD The Pursuit of Happyness?

Well, via some well-chosen happiness quotes and YouTube, we at the Self Help Collective are accommodating and you can find both topics discussed here. Yes finding happiness starts here, or does it?

The thing is, can you really ever pursue happiness to find it? Let's find out, and please get in touch with your thoughts too!

Pursuit of happiness - what I say...

Well, I'm going to let two esteemed gentlemen have their say about this 'noble pursuit' (?), first...

• "The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it."
  -- C P Snow
  
  and then...
  
  
• "The pursuit of happiness...is the greatest feat man has to accomplish."
  -- Robert Henri

Which quote is true, for you?

(Personally, I prefer the words of Clint Eastwood here (but then I'm weird like that sometimes). Clint once famously said... "Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" Anyway, back to the plot...)

I think I agree with both quotes, strangely. I don't believe you can find happiness by pursuing it but I also believe that being happy is the purpose of life. (That's the trouble with inspiring quotes - you can get them to mean whatever you want!)

Okay, what does it mean to pursue happiness? I mean how can you look for something that you clearly cannot see? Do you want to be happy or do you simply yearn for the pursuit?

Riddles, eh!

What makes you happy, really? What activities do you enjoy doing most? Whose company stimulates? Where does the joy in your life come from? Answer these questions honestly and seek them out. And if, for some reason, you can't then accept that fact and make the most of what you can do!

Basically, the journey to happiness starts here, I think:

- Understand what happiness is, then...
- Find happiness.

OR, you could
- Just visit the website (and buy the T-shirt) if you must!

The thing is happiness starts with you, yes YOU - you are the only person responsible for your happiness (sorry to break the bad news to ya - but it's good news, really, if you think about it).

You don't need to visit another website or read another webpage, and you don't need to pursue happiness either - let happiness find you. "Let the happiness in Brother! Let the happiness in Sister! Let the happiness in!" :-)

Hey, I don't want to lecture you! And I don't want to tell you to be happy. It's not that easy, in any case - oh, that it was - but I (politely) think that pursuing happiness is fool's gold, I really do (not literally, obviously, but metaphorically ;-) ). Anyway...

What do you think about the pursuit of happiness - do let me know!

Pursuit of happiness - what Og Mandino has to say...

Og Mandino wrote a book called The Choice. It's a self-help 'novel', I guess, about Og Mandino. It's not a bad read. Anyway, there's a speech at the end of the book (this is the only part of the book that needs to be read, in my opinion) which talks about a better way to live. And this is part of what Og's character has to say about happiness...

"Now I know that happiness hides not in that new house, that new career, that new friend. And it is never for sale. When I cannot find contentment in myself, it is useless to seek it elsewhere. Whenever I depend on things outside myself to supply me with joy I am doomed to disappointment. Happiness, I see now, has nothing to do with getting. It consists of being satisfied with whta I've got and what I haven't got. Few things are necessary to make the wise man happy while no amount of material wealth would satisfy a fool..."

Interesting, eh!

What WikiPedia has to say...

'"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

'"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "inalienable rights" of man"' (They probably mean Human.) So says WikiPedia. It doesn't really have much to say about 'the pursuit of happiness' per se, preferring to talk about happiness instead. How wise. :-)

What pursuit-of-happiness.org has to say...

"Happiness is understandable, obtainable, and teachable."

Imagine, a whole website dedicated to finding happiness. Wow! This website really is a comprehensive look at happiness. Created by a group of educators (and specialists in graphic design - I guess simple is the best design!), the site has two main components:

1) The history of happiness, and

2) The science of happiness.

I won't quote you any more from the site, but if you're really interested in pursuing happiness then the pursuit of happiness website is as good a next place to go, I guess.

The Pursuit of Happyness DVD

What that movie says...

"Don't ever let anybody tell you you can't do something, not even me!"

This is what Will Smith's character tells his (real-life) son in the video below. For me, This is one of the most special moments in the Pursuit of Happyness film. It sums up my own happiness pursuit (if I have such a pursuit) - to be myself, and to live my life according to my own rules. (Not easy, I can assure you.)

This movie made me cry and I congratulate Hollywood for making it.

And this is the Chris Gardner that the movie was based on (below). Chris' pursuit of happiness was simply about believing in himself and being able to risk the future of himself and his son's life for the cause of that belief. Chris Gardner is an inspiring, if perhaps flawed, man...

What did you think about this movie. Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Thanks.

(And you can buy DVDs at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk or simply rent them out at stores like Lovefilm.com.)

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