Raising Your Happiness Quotient

By Diana LaSalle

Have you thought “Why can’t I just be happy?” If so the answer may be staring you right in
that mirror. We all have it within us to be happy, but often we get so caught up in everyday
life that we neglect important parts of ourselves that bring us contentment and even joy.

Happiness begins with understanding that we are multi-dimensional creatures operating on

four distinct levels: physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual. When all four dimensions
are working in harmony it is much easier to achieve a state of inner peace.

The Four Dimensions

The 4 Dimensions are equal in importance but impact our lives in very different ways.
Learning the purpose and qualities of each helps you understand yourself and others more
clearly and gives you insight into how you can improve your happiness quotient.

Physical Dimension
Health – Play – Pleasure
Tune in to how your body feels when you’re happy.

This dimension helps us experience life through our senses, body and the energy around
us. Our health, appearance and ability to enjoy play, exhilaration and pleasure reside here.
When we nurture our physical being we are better able to deal with health issues, body
image, stress and various stages of life like child-rearing, career building, midlife
and retirement. It’s also possible to build “happiness memory” just as you build muscle
memory by being aware of how your body feels when you’re content and then making a
conscious effort to recapture that feeling.

Intellectual Dimension
Reason- Logic-Performance
Practice quieting your mind each day, focusing on the moment

This dimension rules our minds and allows us to reason, apply logic, appreciate precision,
quality and performance. It also allows us to learn, accumulate knowledge, make rational
decisions and bring order to our lives. All of this is good, but many of us spend too much
time in our intellectual being. Thinking about work, planning or thinking about the past and
the future can overwhelm us. When this happens it’s hard to appreciate the moment and we
miss many opportunities to experience happiness through our other dimensions.

Emotional Dimension
Relationships – Self Image
Notice how you feel when you focus on the positive.

Probably the most challenging of the dimensions, this heartland governs our relationship
with ourselves and others. A healthy emotional dimension allows us to be self-assured,
confident and understanding of others’ emotions. It also helps us establish and maintain
fulfilling relationships. Too often we dwell on negative emotions and this causes us to block
out all the good we can receive from the other dimensions.

Spiritual Dimension
Beliefs-Concepts-Creativity
Allow nature, beauty and creativity to be an everyday part of your life.

While most people think of spiritual as meaning religious, in dimensional terms it refers to
our conceptual selves. It governs our belief systems and inspires creativity and passion.
When our spiritual dimension is given its due, we see the world outside ourselves more
clearly, open up to creative expression and access the positive characteristics of the other
dimensions more easily.

When you allow yourself to play and enjoy the sensory side of life, engage and disengage
your mind at the right times, connect with yourself and others and find meaning through
beliefs or creativity you will experience a life of greater harmony—a life that is truly
priceless.