“The 7 timeless Habits of Happiness” – Review

I must admit I am quite a big fan of Henrik Edberg’s positivity blog. His research and simple words have definitely helped me in difficult times. After something like 4 years of blogging around happiness and positivity, he’s released an ebook that sums it up called “the 7 timeless habits of happiness”.

This ebook is really brilliant and that’s what you could expect of him. Some of the advice in there might sound obvious but I guess that’s because they are obvious that we tend to overlook them.

I won’t go into details regarding what’s in there because I think you should read it for yourself. What I would like to do is add my two cents in the conversation. What I think Henrik could have pinpointed. There are 4 elements that I think are crucial for one’s happiness.

Smoking and addictions first and that’s a never quitting smoker who speaks to you now. Beyond anything that can be said about smoking or any other addiction there’s a fundamental mechanism that stops you from reaching bliss. When you’re a smoker or into something else you’re constantly living in a craving-relief cycle. That clutters your mind in vicious ways. I believe it’s not only a burden but a true obstacle to piece of mind.

Now and I am actually very surprised but there’s no mention of love in the ebook. I’ll spare you clichés here, however I do have a theory about it. In the past I used to think you could only be whole and fulfilled once you had found someone. Happiness to me was conditioned by having as the saying goes “another half”.

Now I believe that’s not true. Happiness isn’t the result of love but a condition for it.

If you’re at peace with yourself and not in the need of anyone then you’ll be able to build solid foundations for a loving life with someone. If you’re not at peace or haven’t worked on what stopped you from being happy then you can find the perfect match but you’ll screw up eventually.

Third and still around people: Giving to others as mentioned in the book is essential but there’s a prerequisite and that is not being afraid of others. Now I have fallen many times in this trap and that’s still something I am working on. You can blame the media and also the lack of experience. I have come to realize that 95% of people are honest and potentially nice people. A good image for this is the iceberg. What we only see are the bad. The good people are the majority under water, the ones we don’t see because they don’t make so much noise. It’s sad because we’ve come to be very wary of each other and it really shouldn’t be the case. Try to ask what time it is on the street in London and see if anyone stops. (By the way that’s a good test: what happens in your city if you ask people for something on the street? Do they stop? Do they walk /run away?)

Finally and now that might be me only but my happiness is somehow linked to the weather. Sunshine is crucial to my mood no matter the temperature. I really feel alive and happy in the street when I get sun rays on my face. Don’t you?