David Leonhardt - 9 Habits of Happiness

There are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
Theres still time to change the road youre on.

Led Zeppelin, from Stairway to Heaven

G enerations of explorers searched for it. Philosophers tried to define it. Scientists pooh-poohed it. Ordinary folk just want to know how to get there.

Heaven. The secret to happiness.

I have some good news for you and some bad news. The bad news is that there is no secret to happiness. There is no password, no secret handshake, no magic potion. There is no sage elder perched atop a mountain waiting just for you to find him and ask, Master, what is the secret to happiness?

The good news is that it doesnt matteryou can find happiness on your own. Actually, you can make happiness. You can build and climb your very own Stairway to Heaven right here on earth, and this book will help you.

Does the idea of heaven on earth mean there is no afterlife? No. I believe an afterlife exists. But we can discuss that laterlike when I get there. I dont propose building a stairway to that heaven.

If you want to live in heaven, why wait until you die? Poet Elizabeth Browning said, Earths crammed with heaven. No less an authority than the Pope himself says that Heaven is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds. This book is not about religion, but the nine habits in this book can help you create a heaven on earth. And they may even help you find Heaven in your afterlife, too.

Heaven on earth is not absolute happiness. If I promise you that, I would be a liar. Heaven on earth is maximum happiness, the most happiness you can reach, and that I can promise you. In fact, I do. But you have to make it happen.

Not everybody gets there. You can be one of the select few who do. You can build your own unique, custom Stairway to Heaven. If you are reading this book, you clearly want to. Congratulations, you made an important decision. In the words of track athlete Jim Ryun, Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Thats what Sarah Sheep and Bray Goat find out. Now, if you have to ask, Who are Sarah Sheep and Bray Goat? you did not read the prologue. I suggest you read it, because you might find parts of this book confusing if you dont.

You may rightly want to know if I found maximum happiness. The answer is: Not yet, but I am closer than everand the habits in this book are bringing me closer every day. Yes, they do work; I can testify to that.

As I draft this introduction, I recall a conversation from just yesterday. My sister-in-law was yearning to return to her high school years. Those were the good old days she remembered so fondly. My brother offered a different perspective. Im happier than Ive ever been, he said. Each year, I keep getting happier. Upon reflection, we all agreed.

And Im happier since I began applying the nine habits of maximum happiness. To give credit where credit is due, my wife, Chantal, and I read about five habits of very happy people in a magazine clipping a few years ago. The messages rang so true for us that we started applying all five. Over the course of two years, we discovered four more habits. So now there are nine. And we are much happier because we are applying all nine.

Why havent we achieved maximum happiness yet? The simple answer is that habits dont change overnight. As I said earlier, there is no secret password or magic formula. Happiness takes effort. But the payback is better than winning the lottery.

Unlike many other books on happiness, Nine Habits of Happiness gives you just nine simple habits to adopt. Not 102 tedious steps. Not 36 major life changes. Just nine simple habits to make happiness more accessible to you. Most importantly, this book will help you understand how to control your own level of happiness. You might wonder why I would share this precious information with you. And I would love to tell you. In fact, I will.

But that is part of a later chapter.

So I invite you to join me and start building your own stairway to heaven with the nine habits of happiness.