Give Life to Your Dreams-8 Principles for a Happy Life: A Review

In the Introduction to this recent book, author Ricardo Bentancur refers to the fact that the United States is “the only country whose Constitution proclaims the right of all its people to the ‘pursuit of happiness.’”
Then he tells of some scientific studies:

Not long ago I came across several scientific studies that conclude that only 10 percent of our contentment depends on the pleasurable circumstances and pleasant situations that surround us. You may be aware that when scientists seek to establish the percentage of genetic and environmental factors acting in a particular human phenomenon, they turn to twins as their control specimens. Well recent studies on twins have found that 50 percent of happiness comes ‘prepackaged’ in the genes and is not dependent on external pleasures such as traveling, winning the lottery, or your favorite football team winning the Super Bowl. This ‘reference value,’ or initial set point, cannot be altered; it is an invariable constant. What can be altered is the remaining 40 percent, a margin of happiness that is important because it depends on what each one of us does, on our efforts to increase our happiness in a lasting way.

The author proceeds to write about what we can do with this 40% that we have the power to utilize to improve our lives.

Here are the traits that he says will help us in this endeavor:

Gratitude –not only the greatest of virtues-but the parent of all others.

Forgiveness-We only learn to forgive when simultaneously we come to see how much we need to be forgiven.

Joy-Joy and love are the wings to achieve great dreams.

Generosity-Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share.

Health- Health is not everything, but without health, everything is nothing.

Wisdom-We never stop learning, because life never ceases to teach.

Faith and Religious Practice- A growing current in the science of psychology suggests that religious people are happier, healthier and recover better from trauma than people who are not religious.

The Blessed Hope-Jesus is coming again

The author uses many stories to illustrate the truth in all of these principles that can help us have a happier life. You can read the first chapter of this book on line for free- click here.