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It’s easy to assume since I’m the founder of the Secret Society of Happy People, that I’m an over-the-top Pollyanna. Once people get to know me, they are surprised and occasionally relieved to discover that while I’m a naturally glass-half-full person, I’m also a happiness meets reality person. This means I’m a happy person who gets that happiness happens but understand that so does unhappiness.
I don’t have an “I was unhappy then saw the importance of happiness story” that was the catalyst for founding the Society. The Society came about while I was working in the self-help publishing field and teaching personal empowerment workshops. Some of the workshop participants requested that I write a newsletter.
One weekend I was thinking about what a newsletter would cover. At the time, Self-Help TV and Radio were as prominent as Reality TV is now. Naturally, everyday conversations focused on unhappiness. Eventually, the question popped into my mind, “Where are all of the happy people?” After all, wasn’t the purpose of self-help to eventually make us happy?
My imagination kicked in, and eventually, I started the Society in 1997. It’s been a blessing because I've connected with both the happiest and even unhappiest people you’ll ever meet. But more important, it’s made me a lifelong student of happiness.
The goal of the Society is to be about realistic happiness. Being happy all of the time isn't realistic for the majority of us. If someone is happy all of the time, then I’m happy for them. But most of us find our happy challenge is maintaining happiness amongst daily chaos and unhappiness. I realized that while all types of happiness might not be equal, most of us experience happier moments in a typical day than unhappy ones. If we recognize them, it’s easy to keep everything else in perspective, including chaos and unhappiness.
The Secret Society of Happy People identified the Thirty-One Types of Happiness to help people recognize more happy moments, thus helping them in their hunt for happiness. Hunt for Happiness Week, which is the third full week of January, or January 20 – 26 this year, specifically recognizes that some people have post-holiday blues, winter weather happiness challenges, or spring break seems like it will never arrive. Sometimes even mostly happy people have to put in a little effort to hunt for happiness. Ironically, the saddest day of the year, January 21st, according to British psychologist Cliff Arnall, coincides with the 12th Annual Hunt for Happiness Week.
Even if you’re mostly happy, please join us to celebrate Hunt for Happiness Week because you might discover you’re even happier than you initially thought you were. And if you need a happiness booster, then this week is all about you.
