What's in your basket of happiness?

I have never been to Bhutan but I know it is a great country. I read a lot about this country … though it is considered an under developed country, it has its riches in many aspects. One of the many aspects that I admire about this country is its Gross National Happiness (GNH) or the way they measure the GNH index.

The term was coined by the 4^th King of Bhutan in 1972 and he declared that this GNH is more important than the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of his country. This GNH concept is an approach to sustainable progress BUT it also gives EQUAL importance to NON-ECONOMIC aspects of wellbeing.

I agree totally with this concept … I can relate it to my own personal wellbeing.

Maybe we can also create a happiness index for ourselves … call it Gross Personal Happiness or GPH or maybe Gross Family Happiness or GFH to include the family as well … or any abbreviation you may come up with. The question is … how do you measure it? What are the things to put in the basket of measurement?

I am sure there are many ideas on how to measure your happiness.

The one very common thinking is … I am happy if I am rich. Yes, the fact is, many people believe that and there is nothing wrong ya … it is absolutely alright to live with that idea. So, their index for happiness is directly related to how much they have. The more they have … the happier they will be.

Others may focus more on the religious aspect ... they are very happy to be able to live the way their faiths have taught them. So their happiness is mainly related to their religions and beliefs.

Then there are the spiritual ones … how are they happy, when are they happy and how do they measure their happiness? Or maybe they even don’t believe in the idea of a happiness index. Again, that is up to them.

And what about those happy-go-lucky ones … I believe they are always happy. They are a bunch of carefree people with nothing to worry about. The way I see it … they don’t need anything to measure their happiness … they are just happy in whatever they do.

Like I said, different people have different ideas of measurement for their happiness … how do you measure yours?

For me, my idea or concept of measurement for my happiness is similar to the way Bhutan measure its GNH. That is … I give EQUAL importance to NON-ECONOMIC or NON- MATERIALISTIC aspects of my wellbeing.

Let me say this … money is just a small part in my happiness measurement basket. But having said that, let me emphasize its importance also … it is important to have money … don’t fool yourself that you can just live with air and water.

My opinion, strictly my own opinion is … that one’s happiness is not just measured by the financial progress or success. Look at the various non-materialistic aspects of your life … there are many things in those aspects that you may have neglected to put into your basket of measurement for happiness.

Many will agree that there must be a balance … what to balance and how to balance it? Yes, it is easier said than done. But if you put a bit of effort and work towards it … I am very sure you will be able to find a way to a good happiness index … maybe start by filling out what to put into your basket of happiness.