What is happiness is a question that has intrigued human beings over generations as they searched for the key to a happy and successful life.
It is a topic worthy of any company because there can be many variations of happiness.
It is not a destination but a journey.
In fact, it can be a skill you can learn.
The thing about skills is that once you know them you can use them to your benefit.
Unfortunately, learning that skill has not been the priority of so many, because they don’t think they have automatic control over their own happiness.
And, that is wrong, because we do.
We each have responsibility for creating our own happiness.
Your Happiness
The more you think about it and work at it, the more likely you are to create it in your life.
Awareness is the sign that you are considering your happiness.
The person who is mindful of his or her happiness will most likely be willing to do what it takes to increase happiness.
Awareness in part comes from observing the lives of others.
The more you see it in the lives of others the easier it is to increase your desire.
Being present increases our choices which leads to better action and reaction.
Awareness
When you catch yourself wondering, that is awareness.
Just come back to focus on the thoughts and ideas that are important to you.
Awareness allows you to focus on the kind of happiness you will have in your life.
You could be happy in mind body and soul, or any one of them…You choose.
What you want will take focus.
Distraction is the default state of the mind.
So you want to be as definite as you can be so you can get to where you want to be.
Enjoy a mindful moment as often as you can.
Transformation
Be open to transformation.
Sometimes the comfort of tradition keeps minds closed, only reacting to the familiar.
Then, there is no room for new experiences.
Be conscious as there are benefits inside of those new experiences.
Inside of new experiences there can be transformational moments that lead to new areas of happiness.
Your Actions Determine Happiness
Do what’s right because you can when others can’t.
What is happiness to you?
Sharing your gifts without fanfare.
Doing so and then boasting about your generosity is a clear sign of a person who is in search of something else.
Which behaviors give more happiness?
Learn those so you would have more control over when you enjoy happiness.
When you think about the happiness others get from your activities, you increase the happiness in your life.
Of course many find it difficult to behave in that way.
But generosity is the way to true happiness while boasting is not.
Love
To love is to share from your heart.
Share your love, kindness and your grace.
Give from your bounty because you love.
Love is when you focus on the happiness of others.
You are capable of loving and you should remember that as often as is needed.
The more you share genuine love, the happier you will be.
Compassion
Genuine love is all aout compassion.
You can’t have compassion if you are in judgement mode.
For instance, you look at the war in Ukraine and you feel compassion for the victims of the war.
That compassion most likely comes from the love you have for peace.
Your happiness would be shaken when you look at the situation there and feel helpless.
Helplessness can and does lead to unhappiness.
So how do you make up for those feelings?
You show and feel compassion.
You are responsible for your feelings.
There are situations and circumstances that take away your ability to feel control and peace…Like a war that is far away but brought into your life by the media.
Are there other situations that can take away your happiness?
Yes, because there are other examples of unfairness taking place all over the world.
The choice for you is to focus on the things you can control or give attention to the things that you have control over.
Happiness can come to you from the things that you control.
Make The Right Choices
Do you believe that some people live in so much fear that they strike out at others for no apparent reason?
Your choice therefore is to see the actions from those people as the unhappy results of war and suffering n the world.
While justifying their behavior does not change things in the world, you can feel happier about yourself.
Remember you can only control your feelings and thoughts.
Thinking about hopelessness and unhappiness is not a good place for you.
Choose to rationalize and to even accept that there are people who, for whatever reasons, usually cause unhappiness to others by their actions.
When you choose love and fairness, you contribute to your own happiness.
Then it would be easier for you to create happiness for others.
History
Some people who are leaders lash out out of fear, but if you take a look back you will see that there were other motivations to cause people to lash out at others.
For instance, the slave trade happened because of money.
Countries exploited other countries, took their people and created colonies where slaves were used to create wealth for themselves.
What about the plight of those slaves?
Because they were considered commodoties, there was no care for their welfare.
However, they survived, those slaves and today their progeny are still being treated in the main as different.
Now you could look back at those stories and make yourself unhappy.
Or you can look at the success stories that have come out of all the pain that was slavery.
There were so many inventions that today makes life better for us all.
These success stories can bring you the kind of happiness that the earlier slaves could not experience.
Happiness Is An Inside Job
There is much to be said about in the world today.
But there is also a lot to bring you happiness.
The internet is like a double edged sword: it can bring you good news or bad news.
It is up to you which you choose.
Understand that you can choose to read and see only the positive stories that uplift you and make you happy.
You can then use those happy feelings to inform your actions and thereby contribute to the lives of others.
You have a responsibility to yourself to create happiness in your life. Once you develop that habit, it is easier to build on that and do even more.
Then you will be on the road to knowing what is happiness.
Unfortunately many people choose to swim in the deep pool of negative news and conspiracies.
When they get there, they are quickly absorbed by the nonsense that is prevalent there and lose themselves.
You know why you don’t make that choice.
Because you know there are people who use those venues and experiences to hurt others for money.
And you know that there is no way to be happy in that kind of environment.
Conclusion
Happiness is a choice we all make in the way we live our lives.
To be able to make the wise choices, the ones that lead to happiness, we have to increase our awareness.
Awareness is like our guardian angel which steers us away from the rabbit holes that lead to pain and despair.
Awareness is important and our job is to improve on it so that in the end we make the choices that increase our happiness.