July 4, 2008
The Elements of Happiness
Happiness and joy cannot be achieved only by reaching societal goals. There are many unhappy people living in large houses with fancy cars in the double garage. While having enough money and material comforts can certainly contribute to a greater sense of well-being and contentment, they rarely create happiness on their own. True joy and serenity are usually the result of less tangible factors, such as a sense of Purpose and Self-Confidence.
Filed under Self Improvement by Jerry Stearns
It was an interesting week in that our (Dale's and mine) employer went through a reduction in force. About 1.2 % of the workforce was let go and it was very difficult to see people that you have worked with just be sent away. 
It’s easy to forget that when it comes to happiness, simplicity is the answer. Even though we know on some level that possessions won’t bring us joy, we still keep getting pulled in by clever marketing and our own constant yearning for something more. We often find ourselves accumulating ever increasing piles of “stuff.” However, the more things we accumulate, the more we begin to feel overwhelmed, crowded and scattered.
Brain Age is an unconventional video game for the Nintendo DS designed by a Dr. Ryuta Kawashima. Dr. Kawashima, as an animated talking head, hopes to strengthen the user's brain by exercising the Prefrontal Cortex, which is the "control tower" of the brain. After creating an account by entering your birth date, the user is tested to determine "brain age," which represents the current state of your brain. I am 27 and my initial score was 56. Since a score of 20 is representative of a healthy brain working at its full potential, I was obviously in need of a workout.
I have been working very hard at developing and maintaining a "happy" Attitude. Here are a few thoughts that I have had. 
Romance Tip
Today is Memorial Day in the United States. It is a day that most people think of as merely the last day of a three day weekend. However it is much more than that as it is a day that we remember the fallen heroes that helped us keep our freedom. We also remember the members of our Armed Forces that are in foreign lands helping us to keep our freedom and help others attain their freedom.
If you ask anyone about what makes a healthy relationship, they are going to give you a different answer than what you might give. If you go around and ask everyone you know, they are all going to say something different. This is because most people have their own issues within their own relationships, and they tend to focus on the things that affect them directly. When it comes down to it though, there are some simple things that will help all of those problems go away, and they can be considered the foundation for a healthy relationship.
It is a tough day in the heartland for Dale and me. Our son, Michael has left home. He just didn't move out to an apartment in town but is moving to Tucson, Arizona which is about 1900 miles from Fargo. As you can see in the picture, everything (or almost everything) he owns is in his car.
I have written and read about the "empty nest syndrome" but until it actually happens, you don't know what it really feels like. He went away to school last year but we knew that he could get home in 10 minutes if he or we wanted him to. This time it is a hard 2 day drive to get home so it won't be very easy. 
Whenever I travel and tell people that I live in Fargo, North Dakota; I get one of two responses. It is amazing how many people in the world have seen the movie, Fargo. It wasn't a bad movie but there was only one short scene actually supposed to be in Fargo. That was the scene in the bar where the car salesman hired the two guys to kidnap his wife. Most of the movie was set in Brainerd, Minnesota and Minneapolis but I guess Fargo sounded better than Brainerd or Minnepolis.
