via Coach Dawn Writes:
So, it seems that I’ve embarked on a happiness series without really intending to! I’ve written about the secret lives of happy teams and how limiting choices actually makes us happier…and today’s post is about the evolution from shallow, short-term happiness to long-lasting, meaningful happiness.

Why is this important to me? And more significantly, why do I think it should be important to you? Because I believe a substantial secondary responsibility of any coaching staff is to prepare our athletes for the real world. And I believe that empowering our players with the knowledge that they can control their emotions and not be controlled by them is pretty important. And I believe we have the opportunity to show them that happiness is a choice and it is achievable…even when life’s circumstances aren’t the happiest.

According to Martin Seligman in his TEDtalk, Positive Psychology, there are three levels of happiness:

• The Pleasant Life. This is the short-term, outward happiness. Teams in this phase of happiness have lots of visible displays of affection (smiling and laughing)…they look like they’re having fun. These teams are all about experiencing the fun, pleasure, and camaraderie involved in being on a team. Unfortunately, as soon as adversity strikes, their pleasant life is long gone...