“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future,
it is something you design for the present.”
Jim Rohn
Happiness isn’t when I jump up and down and yell, “I can’t believe this is happening to me!” That’s just my reaction to a situation I don’t feel ready for. It’s definitely not when I say, “When I buy a winning lottery ticket, then I’ll be happy,” although I used to say that. I used to buy a ticket, hoping for a miracle. I think it’s phenomenal to win the lottery. But first, I’d need to prepare for a financial windfall and a richer lifestyle. I’d also need to develop expensive taste. What’s the point of winning millions if I still shop at 99 cent stores and don’t know what to do with such an unexpected event? Meanwhile, let’s get back to our favorite topic.
Happiness is more sophisticated than jumping and yelling; it’s peaceful and poised. Happiness originates within ourselves. It’s a sense of quiet joy and comfort, and a little smile of contentment. Happiness is being at peace with yourself and who you are. Happiness is when you feel good despite what’s going on around you and when you’re calm even in a storm. It’s a satisfying sense of peace that can sustain you through any life challenges, and help you make the best of any situation. Happiness is when you’re engaged in a hobby or work you love, and you lose track of time.
Happiness is inner work. This work concerns our feelings about and perceptions of people and situations. It also involves introspection about the quality of our lives and our satisfaction with such parts of our lives as home, work, and relationships. For me, the essence of a happy lifestyle is the following: When I can savor my daily tasks and do them with a sense of joy.
Happiness concerns the connection and the balance between our mind and body. If we desire a lifestyle that leads to health and happiness, we must be engaged with three main areas: positivity, nutrition, and exercise.
Happiness is interrelated with our sense of purpose. Everyone is seeking both happiness and purpose. When we live with purpose, it leads to happiness. Our purpose starts where our passion is—whatever brings us joy and bliss. We find our purpose when we freely accept our gifts and talents, make time for them, nurture and develop them, be patient with them, and let them blossom and grow organically. When we work in the field of our true passion, it feeds us with positivity and enthusiasm. When we believe that we can create whatever we truly want, we’re motivated to act and persevere.
Our levels of happiness can’t always remain the same. They fluctuate, which is absolutely normal. I experience sadness and unhappiness from time to time, but it doesn’t interfere with my overall happiness. I actually find some beauty in being sad. Those moments and even days of sadness are trying to say something to me or redirect my attention to a new and more important area or just move me to stop and smell the roses.
During a period of sadness, I just embrace everything that comes my way, and take good care of myself, do what I like, listen to happy music, buy some beautiful flowers, and spend that time at a nice, slow pace. I enjoy being on my own and finding something to do that makes me happy, or spending time with people who have a positive and supportive attitude, which helps me get into a better mood. When I think positively, I attract more positivity. The beauty of it, is that it can be done instantly. Just by shifting my attention, I can be reconnected to the flow of happiness. I act as if I was already happy. It’s all about mental attitude. How I think affects how I feel. I take sad moments and turn them into gratitude and favorite moments.
Can happiness improve our health? I strongly believe it can. From my experience, negative emotions like fear and anxiety can trigger health troubles. When I pay attention to something unpleasant, it can bring on a headache or another negative physical feeling. To avoid that, I deliberately think of something pleasant, which enhances positive emotions that can dramatically improve my mood and health. For example, I stop to notice good and beautiful things, and I use encouraging self-talk.
The more I enjoy and appreciate my lifestyle, the better it is for my overall health. The presence of abundant positivity and gratitude protects health.
Happiness is a way of life. Being in a happy and buoyant mood, and profiting from the positive is our choice. When we feel uplifted, we’re more likely to be attracted to a wide range of healthy activities, and the more vital, meaningful, and happier our lives will become. When we’re in a state of balance, we can judge our quality of life better. We move in the right direction, the direction of wellness. We start making wise and healthy choices in life, set the course of our lives for health and happiness, and don’t settle for less.
I got most of my advice for how to be happy from self-help literature. I’ve read many books and magazines on the topic, gathering information to develop my own style of happiness. Some of them were redundant, and I didn’t learn anything useful, while others were very interesting and full of true and practical information, which I incorporated into my life with pleasure. You might enjoy reading one of them.
When I found true and positive messages, I tested them and came up with my own realizations and suggestions that fit me perfectly. I never know when a quote or phrase will touch my heart. Each source can help, and has something to offer. Books and magazines entice us with promises and delights about the future, reinforce our hopes and beliefs, and help us perceive things more clearly and beneficially.
One of the messages in this literature was the idea of pursuing happiness. I didn’t get it at first. I thought, “Why should I pursue happiness when it’s within me all the time? It’s here right now.” Eventually, I realized that I could interpret the idea to mean pursuing mindfulness and activities I value, and the healthy lifestyle I enjoy. That made more sense to me. I could remind myself what makes me happy. I could experiment with feel-good strategies, act on them with conviction, and appreciate all moments of everyday joy. A style of happiness and lasting fulfilment evolves gradually. I’m not in a rush. I like it gradually.
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