Dan Masterson and DeNae Handy, both faculty members of LDS Business College, gave their insights about happiness and getting back on track after distractions and temptations within those trials.
When defining happiness, Masterson said you can define something by what it is and what it is not. Happiness comes from the “humble seeker” (Alma 27:18). However, “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).
Masterson listed many things that won’t bring us happiness: contention, hate, anger, jealousy and addiction. As the Associate I.T. Program Director at the college, and having worked with video games in the past he gave a specific warning about video games. “There is no happiness there," he said.
Meditation, conscious acts of kindness, gratitude, and positive journaling are things that can bring us happiness.
Sometimes when we act in ways that don’t bring happiness we get lost. In Handy’s story about her college singing concert in the assembly hall, she spoke of how she took her eyes off the conductor. She became distracted by a bat flying around the room!
“You never take your eyes off the stick-off the director,” Handy said. “It’s the true downbeat.”
When she looked back at the conductor, all she needed to do was listen to the music and watch his baton to get back on track with the group. “Listen to the true source of the music,” Handy said. “Keep your eye on the leader for the true downbeat.”
We can find happiness in our trials through our Savior and by following the commandments. When we get distracted from our path, we can always come back.