When did we become a therapy society? When did it become easier to tell everyone about our troubles, but not our successes? Do you ever think about that?
But what is happiness? How can we attain it?
Well… the idea is that happiness cannot be pursued. It’s not something you receive or stumble upon. It’s not something to be found while actively searching for it.
Happiness is not the accumulation of material things. It’s not about who you love or who loves you. It’s not about the people in your life or the success you have or the fame or the glory. It’s really not.
Happiness is progress. Happiness is the sense of fulfillment one feels after accomplishing a difficult task. Happiness is hope for a better future, happiness is striving so that future becomes a reality, but not at the expense of the present moment.
If it sounds complicated or difficult, it’s kind of why most people like to say that they’re not happy.
Happiness is being aware of your reality, accepting it for what it is. Never better, never worse.
Happiness is being ambitious. But be mindful, for ambition must not be driven by desire. Fulfilling one’s desires is not the same as attaining happiness. Pleasure is not happiness. One should be ambitious about one self. One should be driven by the idea that every single day he must become better than who he was the day before.
Like I previously wrote, happiness is progress.
Happiness is also doing the right thing for the right reason. Helping others because it’s the right thing to do, not because people expect you to do it or they’ll think highly of you if you do it.
Happiness is being who you really are without fear of being judged or punished for it.
Happiness is being proud of who you are and what you have, not because others have less, not because you used to have less, but because you are real. You are a real person, and you feel no need to compare yourself to others. You choose who you are, you choose what you think about all that. There is no outside pressure. You are your own master. You choose your own path.
Never forget! Your thoughts become decisions, and those decisions become your destiny.
Being happy doesn’t mean never making a mistake. It means accepting those mistakes, seeing them for what they are, seeing the good in them, the different path that made you take. Seeing the challenge in adversity. The opportunity presented by chaos.
Being happy doesn’t mean being perfect. It means being content with the person that you are, while being aware that there’s room for improvement. There always is. But we shouldn’t make ourselves miserable because of that.
Being happy is a choice. And, believe it or not, the choice was and always be yours.
Wow, this was absolutely amazing. I totally agree that we’re in control of our happiness. Thanks for sharing this!
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Thank you, Sophie!
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Totally agree, choice is ours.
And even if I believe Happiness (the real one) is just a peak, a moment we can reach few times during our life, I truly believe we can choose to live in serenity and joy.
And this will bbring us to have more peaks of true happiness and enjoy them for real.
(I hope is making sense, in Italian there is a bbig difference between Happiness (Felicità) and Joy (gioia) )
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I think happiness is a way of travel, not a destination. You choose to be happy, because what you do constantly makes you happy.
It’s not about reaching some goals, but what you need to do to accomplish those goals.
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I know, maybe it’s just a language issue. I agree with what you are saying, but for me Happiness is when you feel like exploding of happiness, you feel happy to be alive and for everything what happened in your life. And you feel like everything is in its right place.
But that’s a moment, maybe lasting few days and it’s precious for that reason.
In the same time you can be serene in your life, and that would really be already an achievement.
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Love this! if only we can remember that we are in control our happiness.
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Awesome, sweet& simple to the point as always.
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Thank you!
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Very nice! :)
I definitely think one of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking happiness is a permanent state of being. It’s ok not to be smiling from ear to ear every day. I think in some ways social media has a lot to do with it. We’re constantly shown the edited views of other people’s lives.
I agree being content is what we should really strive for; whatever that looks like for each individual is up to that individual.
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Great thoughts, Cristian, and well-expressed. And a Dalai Lama quote: “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
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Thank you,Susan!
I love that quote.
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this is so well written . love it
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Thank you!
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Happiness is make-believe. It looks like when certain things appear to be making us unhappy, we can always shift our impulses to certain other things that can meet our expectations.
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I agree with you, Ernest!
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Great words of truth! Thank you for expressing this. I think it helped heal me just to read it. You are truly blessed!
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Thank you so much, Susan!
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Well said. Our happiness is up to each one of us.
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Thank you!
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I believe that! I think your definition is spot on! Happiness is a choice. It’s not dependent on circumstances. It’s self-awareness … You said it best: “Happiness is being aware of your reality, accepting it for what it is.” But rememberibg there’s always room to improvement. It’s not the same as self-satisfaction! No day is complete until I learn something new. My mother-in-law taught me that 🥰
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More truthful words could not be written. Thank you!
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Thank you!
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You are right many people rely on many or others for happiness but you are right that does not bring true lasting happiness. The bible even agrees at Ecclesiates 5:10 it says “A lover of silver will be never satisfied with silver, nor a lover of wealth with income. This too is futility”.
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I really enjoyed reading this. It’s a fantastic post!
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Thank you!
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