EXERCISE 16.2
Happiness/Well-Being
Growing My Happiness
Purpose
For participants to notice how happy they are, how happy they would like to be, and develop a strategy to get there.
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35 to 45 minutes
Participants assess their current level of happiness, connect that level with circumstances in their lives, and then develop action plans to live with the level of happiness they prefer. The total time could be expanded in order to have an advanced version.
Outcomes
- Increased understanding of some of the attitudes and conditions in life that influence one’s happiness
- Enhanced ability and willingness to influence how happy one is
Audience
- Intact team
- Unaffiliated group
- Individual working with a coach
Facilitator Competencies 
Moderate
Materials
- Growing My Happiness Handout
- Paper (could be a journal) and pens
Time Matrix
| Activity | Estimated Time |
| Introduce the topic and exercise | 5 minutes |
| Each individuals write in response to provided questions | 5 minutes |
| With coach or in groups of two or three, discuss what was written | 10 minutes |
| Conduct individual assessment and write action plans | 5–10 minutes |
| With coach or in small groups, discuss the plan and commit to implementation | 5 minutes |
| Debrief group | 5–10 minutes |
| Total | 35 to 45 minutes |
Instructions
1. Distribute paper and a pen to each participant.
2. Discuss what happiness means. You can draw on the material in Part Two of this book on happiness for information.
3. Each participant, or the coaching client, should develop a list of responses to the following statements:
- I’m content about:
- I’m worried/frustrated about:
4. Now instruct each participant to write a few paragraphs observing and connecting these two factors as they are currently playing out in the participants’ lives.
5. If working with a team, have them get together in groups of two or three and discuss what they wrote. Each person should take three to four minutes. Individuals should discuss their responses with their coach.
6. Distribute the Growing My Happiness Handout and instruct participants to use the handout to assess their current levels of happiness and then develop action plans.
7. Discuss what participants wrote in their small groups or with their coaches and make a commitment to follow through with improving their happiness through heightened awareness and commitment.
8. Debrief as a group. Potential questions you might ask include:
- Who are some of the happiest people you know? Do you want to be like them?
- What does happiness mean to you?
- How important is happiness in your life?
9. Advanced Version: Take more time and be more comprehensive with each step. For example, for Step 2, participants could do a comprehensive inventory of the positive and negative life conditions affecting their lives. Expand each of the other steps accordingly. Meet again to follow through with a discussion on complying with commitments.
Personal Assessment
This is similar to the Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire discussed in Seligman (2002, p. 15).
____ 1. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is highest), how happy am I?
____ 2. On the same scale, how unhappy am I?
____ 3. On the same scale, how neutral or checked out am I?
____ 4. How happy would I like to be? (Make it an amount you are willing to strive toward accomplishing in your life.)
My Happiness Action Plan
In order to accomplish my intention and heartfelt desire to be happy at a . . . level, I commit to take the following actions. Be specific so you can measure your success. (Note: Use the information from your reflections at the beginning of this exercise so that you connect with your current state of happiness. You may find a need to add much more information about your current life conditions to fully develop this action plan. You are encouraged to add in further reflections as you have more time.)
REFERENCE
Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: The Free Press.