The email was almost casual in its tone. ?I?ve read your column last week and want to know, as we start this new year, how I could be happy in my job and life in general. And please don?t give me the rubbish we read in popular magazines!?

The research literature of the importance of happiness is conclusive: as we all suspected, personal, work and social benefits can be derived if one lives a happy and fulfilled life. At the personal level, one?s emotional intelligence and physical health has shown to improve significantly once we become happy and satisfied. At work, a contented employee is generally someone who is productive, creative and committed. Socially, happy individuals have been found to engage into satisfying relationships with their partners and children, have many friends and seldom divorce.

If the benefits are unquestionable, the question is of course how does one become happy? This age-old quest has theorists divided. Some argue that we are born happy or unhappy individuals ? there is little that one can do about the genes we inherit from our parents. Others argue that much of it is to do with the environment in which we find ourselves ? our education, upbringing and the events that take place around us. Tragic events like the death of a spouse or a child, divorce, losing one?s job can all affect our happiness significantly. Finally, a third group believes that we can implement certain strategies to become happy and live fulfilled lives. I belong to this last camp: here?s my top eight list, for what it?s worth.

<B>Strategies</B>

?Getting to know ourselves. First and foremost, we need to know ourselves if we want to become and remain happy. By discovering who we are from one moment to another, we are able to understand our strengths, weaknesses, values, fears, motivations and aspirations. In turn, this understanding enables us to take sound decisions such as finding the right partner, working for the right boss, and so on.

?Learning to live in the here and now. As pointed out so many times in this column, we only have this present moment. All time is in the now. It?s only by experiencing each moment to the full that we can live rich and happy lives.

? Setting broad objectives. Those of us who are able to know where they are heading in life are invariably fulfilled individuals. Any objective though must remain broad by nature in order to guard against rigidity and the illusion of psychological progress.

? Finding an occupation that matches our talents. We spend a minimum of 40 hours at work. It makes perfect sense therefore to do a job that best matches our aptitudes and abilities so that we end up with a feeling of accomplishment and contentment.

? Engaging in true relationships. Whether it?s at work or at home, true relationships that are rich, meaningful and intimate is something we all need to cultivate. Such relationships enable us to discover who we are, see things in different perspectives and develop ourselves.

? Living a sane life. Too many of us are stressed out, hurried individuals with little or no time for physical exercise, proper rest or the right diet. And yet there?s ample research evidence to support the fact that regular exercise, followed by sound sleeping and dietary patterns, is an efficient cure for mild depression.

? Stopping the clock. From time to time, it is good to ?stop the clock? and reflect on what?s happening both at home and work. The ensuing clarity of thought almost guarantees that we identify and deal with issues before they overtake us and in so doing, discover who we are.

? And above all, never striving to be happy. The moment we try to become happy and put time and effort into it, we lose it all. The ding-dong battle between who we are (e.g. unhappy, sad, depressed) versus who we?d like to become, kicks in ? and this battle is of course the very source of our unhappiness.

Unfortunately, like the New Year?s resolutions some of us adopt, happiness-generating strategies are easy to devise but hard to put into practice.

<B>E. Charoux

[email protected]</B>