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    Reflections on Happiness & Positivity
    Reflections on Happiness & Positivity
    Reflections on Happiness & Positivity
    Ebook163 pages2 hours

    Reflections on Happiness & Positivity

    By Explorer Publishing

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    About this ebook

    This prestigious book by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, examines two concepts in which Sheikh Mohammed has a great personal interest: happiness and positivity.

    He explores the relationship between the two, and examines how they impact achievement, productivity and creativity. Written in Arabic by Sheikh Mohammed’s own hand, this insightful book includes both personal stories and an international perspective to emphasize the pivotal role that happiness and positivity play in forming leadership strategies and fostering relationships among team members.

    "One of the most beautiful books I have ever read."
    Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherExplorer Publishing
    Release dateApr 25, 2017
    ISBN9781785960437
    Reflections on Happiness & Positivity

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      Book preview

      Reflections on Happiness & Positivity - Explorer Publishing

      Future?

      1. Why Happiness?

      One frequently asked question, particularly in the last few years of the government’s operation, is ‘Why focus on happiness?’ Why did happiness become an important part of the nation’s discourse, of my language and of the government’s agenda, initiatives and activities?

      It is a recurring question, and throughout this book, I shall attempt to answer it. I have paired happiness with positivity, a theme the reader will note that I elaborate on in the chapters to come.

      I have often asked myself this question – why happiness? Although it seems like a simple deliberation, it carries great depth and so is very difficult to answer.

      I also ask myself, in an attempt to summarise my role as a leader in the UAE and Dubai, about my true function as a ruler. What is my main task? To run the government? What, then, is the function of government? Is it to enact and enforce laws and policies? Is it to protect gains and uphold rights? Is it to provide society with life’s necessities, such as health, education, accommodation, roads and infrastructure? Can government not have a wider, deeper and more inspirational function?

      My response is yes; our work can be more profound, influential and inspiring when we seek to make people happy. The role of government is to create the environment through which people can achieve their dreams and ambitions and do it for themselves. Our part is to create this environment and not to control it. The job of government is to empower people, not to have the power over them. The job of government is to achieve happiness.

      Can we imagine the impact these beliefs could have on the hundreds of thousands of people working in government? The realisation that their jobs have this great meaning; that their jobs have this civilised and deep humanitarian purpose; that they wake up every day with a direction to follow that is close to their hearts as human beings: how can they contribute to people’s happiness?

      Some people dedicate their careers to working within a governmental system and, when they look back after 30 or 40 years of public service, they are rightly proud that they spent their whole lives in a constant quest to make people happy.

      Seeking to make people happy is the embodiment of happiness itself. In Islam, bringing happiness to humans is one of the greatest acts and the most gracious people are recognised as those who are the most beneficial to others.

      Let us also imagine the response of the people when they hear these answers. They understand that the government is working for their benefit, seeking to provide opportunities for them and for their children so they may be happy, and aiming to empower them with the tools and skills to fulfil their dreams. Could we conceive of the presence of any kind of hostility between governments and their people if the prime factor driving them all were achieving true happiness?

      We are neither dreamers nor perfect beings, and we are not the first to discuss the value of happiness. People have pondered over and sought happiness throughout history. Almost 2,400 years ago, Aristotle said that the purpose of government was to achieve happiness. He posited that the government was a living creature that evolved and sought to achieve moral perfection and the happiness of individuals. The famous 15th century Arab historiographer Ibn Khaldun was, among others, of the same view. The United States of America’s Declaration of Independence guarantees the right for everyone to pursue happiness. There are calls from the United Nations (UN) to amend the standards adopted for the measurement of governments’ performance, from economic metrics to benchmarks related to human happiness. The UN has even named a world day to confirm the importance of happiness.

      Happy people produce more, live longer and are better drivers of economic development according to many studies. I am surprised by some people’s perplexity in hearing the government talk about happiness. Happiness has indices, programmes and studies. Happiness is measurable; it can be nurtured and attributed to a group of values and initiatives. The future happiness and optimism of individuals, families, employees and the wider community need to be the focus of programmes and initiatives across all governmental sectors. When we say that the government’s purpose is to achieve happiness, we mean it literally, and we will implement it literally. We seek to achieve this goal in line with our people’s ambitions and aspirations, and in accordance with our culture.

      Yes, we seek to make people happy, and making people happy will be our objective and mission until it becomes a permanent and deep-rooted reality. There is no perfect government, but it would be a real mistake to abandon our true role in making people happy. This book is nothing but an attempt to contribute to achieving this target.

      2. Happiness & Positivity: Are We Out Of Tune With The Times?

      Since our government has started to focus its efforts on the concept of happiness, from time to time I receive remarks, comments and opinions. One worth noting was an Arab journalist commenting on the round of government reforms that resulted in the appointment of the UAE’s Minister of State for Happiness. He asked me, Don’t you think this is out of tune with the times?

      To this, I replied, We live in these times and we are trying to create hope for our time. Our conversation continued, and I told him, No region in the world needs happiness and positivity more than our region. There is a tremendous amount of pessimism both within the region and emanating from the region.

      This negativity is felt throughout our media – in our news, our writers’ editorials, the opinions of our educated people and on social media, too. The trend was confirmed by a report I came across a while ago and requested to be analysed. It was the World Happiness Report for 2015, which included a study on pessimism and depression among youth and teenagers worldwide, where the attitudes of young people were divided geographically. Which region do you think had the highest rate of youth depression and pessimism in the world? Indeed, it was the Arab world. Without placing blame on anyone I ask, what kind of future awaits us all when hopelessness consumes our teenagers and young people?

      This is why I strongly believe in the importance of nurturing optimism and positivity, and spreading happiness. In this book, I focus greatly on the concept of positivity and its impact on changing our view of life, success and work, including our perspective on governmental activities, the opportunities that surround us, and the future that awaits us.

      The relationship between positivity and happiness is like the correlation between an introduction and a conclusion, which is why it is such an important theme of this work. Positivity is a way of thinking, and happiness is a lifestyle. In other words, it is not what you own or do that makes you happy; it is how you think about things. Material wealth does not make you happy, perspective does.

      Returning to my conversation with the journalist I mentioned earlier, he wanted to walk away from our interview with a scoop, so he asked me, How much will you spend on these happiness programmes in the UAE? I answered, Happiness does not fall under programmes that are separate from the government’s daily work. Happiness is the main focus of government work and the government’s entire budget must be considered as dedicated to achieving the happiness of our people.

      There are two types of happiness: personal happiness, which is its own science, and the happiness of society as a whole, which is what we seek to achieve through our public

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