The pursuit of happiness

First-up apologies for the sporadic nature of my blogs at the moment. Following a snoozy January my work/life have now gone into overdrive!

In the past sleep would get sacrificed but it's now one of my top priorities so I'm not always finding time to write my blog. Til things calm down please bear with me and I'll be roping in some more guest editors to fill the gaps.

Infact the importance of sleep brings me nicely onto todays blog...

My first job in the city was as an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (try saying that in a hurry!). And,whilst I thought this job was pretty interesting, I have to admit that some of the research we produced was pretty dry!

So occasionally one of our analysts would go off piste and write a report unrelated to their research area. Topics included reports on their holidays, facial hair and other random items, but the one that generated the most interest was a report on the recipe for Happiness.

The reports main theme was why you shouldn't equate happiness with money. Instead happiness could be improved by following these 9 rules.

• Exercise regularly.
• Have sex (preferably with someone you love).
• Devote time and effort to close relationships.
• Pause for reflection, meditate on the good things in life.
• Seek work that engages your skills, look to enjoy your job.
• Give your body the sleep it needs.
• Don't pursue happiness for its own sake, enjoy the moment.
• Take control of your life, set yourself achievable goals.
• Remember to follow all the rules.

This wasn't just based on the analysts own philosophy, in true analyst style he backed it all up with research and it's all pretty logical, still the pursuit of money over happiness, and health, remains prevalent in the city. Maybe there should be more research out there like this to lift the city gloom!
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