Defining happiness isn’t that easy. It’s not like defining words like pencil, dogor teeth. If you were to ask 100 people what happinessmeans, you would most likely get 100 different definitions. Well, Webster’s Dictionarydefines it as, “The quality or state of being happy.” Huh? That begs the next question, “What's the definition of happy?” There’s an answer for that, too. They claim that happymeans “Delighted, pleased or glad.” Other dictionary definitions include, “Good fortune, pleasure, contentment and joy.” 

In defining happiness, I feel similar to how United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart felt about obscenity. In explaining why certain material was constitutionally protected and not obscene, Stewart wrote in the 1964 landmark case of Jacobellis v. Ohio, “I know it when I see it.” Similarly, that’s how I feel about happiness: I know it when I see it. I also know it when I feelit. 

If I were to define happiness, I’d say that it’s “The result of choosing thoughts that serve you well.” I know, that’s probably not the definition you were expecting, but keep in mind that it’s taken me many years to come to that understanding. I’ve learned that when I choose thoughts that serve me well, I feel happy, free, serene and joyful. Conversely, when I embrace thoughts that don’t serve me well, I become unhappy and even miserable or depressed. At every given moment of every day, I have the choice to either adopt or reject the thoughts that my brain sends my way. What I choose to do has a pronounced impact on my physical and emotional well-being. 

In light of the colossal importance of selecting our thoughts wisely, I have designed a formula to best equip you, and the rest of this book will be dedicated to that formula. I find it important that you do not rush through these chapters like you would while reading your favorite action novel. Instead, read one section, then pause to process it and consider how you could apply it to your life. My purpose behind writing this book is to bring real change, which you will only experience if you soak in each step and allow it to change the way you think.