We live in turbulent times. Being truly happy may seem like a luxury you can’t afford. With everything happening in the world and even right in your own backyard it may seem selfish to focus on your own happiness.

Wrong.

I once believed this way. How can I focus on being happy when there is so much unhappiness in the world? Then I remembered the Chinese proverb:

“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”

For centuries, the greatest thinkers have suggested the same thing: Happiness is found in helping others. It’s not all about us (although sometimes it feels like it). It’s really about others. When we help others be happy, we become happy. And yes, we can even Be Career Happy.

But if that doesn’t convince you that it’s time to think about your own happiness, remember the  the Law of Attraction: The belief that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts people can bring positive or negative experiences into their life. By reversing your logic and focusing on positive experiences you will have more versus the constant negativity that is “news worthy.”

Still need more? Your happiness causes others to be happy. According to a Framingham Heart Study, people’s happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected.

“This provides further justification for seeing happiness, like health, as a collective phenomenon…and suggests that happiness spreads up to three degrees of separation from us.”

Finally, if you’re still not convinced, remember happiness is part of your unalienable rights.

Kim Monaghan, PCC, RYT, CPBS is the owner of KBM Coaching & Consulting LLC, a boutique Human Resources Consulting and Career Coaching Firm serving a national clientele.