We’ve been offering our Authenticity Diary for about 11 months now, almost a year. At the moment it only exists in Slovak, because we live in Slovakia, but a second and revised version will be available in English.

What we’ve noticed at markets is that the people who buy a copy are walking around with a big smile, before they spot us. It’s sour looking people who flip through the book and don’t buy it.

Are our customers happy because they are open to books like ours? Do they continually use similar tools to boost their happiness and cheerfulness? Or are these people naturally happy and therefore in an open mood to try something new?

A third possibility is that smiling, cheerful looking and sounding people are in pain on the inside, and that surly looking people are perhaps content with the way things are and don’t need to hear or read anything that might change their perspective.

What’s their first? A depressed outlook on life leading to more negativity or depressing events leading to a depressed outlook?

Is happiness something you need to sustain on a daily basis like good personal hygiene?

I tend to think three factors are crucial when it comes to your potential for happiness.

  1. The temperament you are born with, which is probably impossible to alter permanently
  2. Training yourself to have a more positive experience in life. Happiness is like a muscle, you can train it and make it more resilient
  3. The people you are surrounded by. If you spend time with mostly negative people, you will have a very hard time maintaining your happiness levels