What can children teach us about happiness?

01 Jul What can children teach us about happiness?

There's so much we can learn from children about life and happiness and so much is summed up so well in this great article from the Huffington Post…

by Melissa Sher (HERE) 

The How of Happiness. The Now of Happiness. The Tao of Happiness. Looking for Happiness. Map To Happiness. Finding Happiness. Authentic Happiness. True Happiness. The Happiness Hypothesis. The Happiness Plan. The Happiness Project. The Happiness Solution. The Happiness Diet. And my favorite, Eat Your Way To Happiness. Books on happiness are almost as popular as ones about teenage vampires in love. Yet, for those of us with small children, it's hard to find time to read an entire book (or rinse shampoo out of our hair). But here's the good news: we're surrounded by real-life examples of people who are successfully pursuing happiness each and every day.

Yes. Young children are messy, loud, drippy and don't know how to wipe themselves. But, they're also pretty freakin' happy. And so, even though I don't have the time or energy to read a 250-page book, I have been watching my children. (I'm actually legally required to watch my children because I was told keeping a baby monitor turned up really, really high isn't proper parental supervision.) Here's why I think little kids are happiness experts…

…you can read the full and original article HERE but in short, the lessons we could all learn are: 

1. the make friends fast

2. they don't hold grudges

3. they're curious

4. they're confident

5. they play

6. they're not afraid to show their feelings

7. they don't mind getting dirty

8. they're uninhibited

9. they don't care about price tags

10. they're cheap dates

11. they're funny

12. they see the best in people

13. they're honest

14. they're good at keeping secrets

What do you think? 

What's the most important happiness lesson you've ever learned from a child? Share your thoughts on The Happiness Institute's Facebook Page HERE