Secrets to Happiness

SHARED THOUGHTS -

In last week’s article, I wrote about the mother of Junior sharing to other housewives “her objective to let them lead a happy life.”

A niece of my cousin asked me to give her the “Secrets to Happiness” — a difficult task which I did answer after giving it some thought.

So many questions crossed my minds beforehand though. Are we truly happy about our life? What are the key factors in the quest for happiness? Is it marriage, friendship or career or what?

No doubt happiness can indeed improve the quality of life. People who are happy are more likely to enjoy better emotional and physical health, have stronger immune system, live longer, possess higher energy levels, and use their intelligence more efficiently.

Benefits in the workplace include higher creativity, increased productivity and better salaries whilst social benefits include larger circles of friends, better marital relationships, stronger social support and richer social interaction.

But understandably, happiness varies according to a person’s optimistic nature, being part of a close-knit loving family, marital stability, wonderful friends, strong religious faith, high levels of job satisfaction, financial and career stability, sizable income, good health, a successful career and achievement of personal goals.

So with all that, I asked myself what could be the reasons for unhappiness? Perhaps, very high costs of living, problems at work, insufficient salary, unemployment, bad health, obesity, and dissatisfaction with personal appearance, unhappy marital and family life, lack of close friends, large debts, unsatisfactory academic results, recent loss of loved ones, general instability and uncertainty regarding the future.

We all know that money can’t buy happiness. But many times we act as if we would be happier with a bit more money. We are conditioned to want to be rich even though we know the rich aren’t happy either. We are trained to want the latest gadget or style that television tells us to want; we want to earn more money because then we’ll have the good life. But none of that will bring us happiness.

No matter how much we earn, no matter how much we have in the bank, no matter how nice our clothing or cars or toys, none of it will make us happier. And the sad thing is that it could take us decades of pursuing wealth and luxury items before we realize this.

So this niece of my cousin made my mind to wonder wide and think deep to really come up with what brings happiness to a person? I ignored all the luxuries in the world and dedicated my task to ponder on things that don’t cost a thing.

I believe positive thinking is the best way to achieve your goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives.

Happy people feel empowered, in control of their lives, and have a positive outlook on life. We have a human need to be close, to be intimate, with other human beings.

Having good, supportive friends, a strong marriage or close and loving relationships with our family members will make us much more likely to be happy.

There is also another thing that can easily bring unhappiness to you — the state you enter when you are completely focused on your work only. You are so immersed in your task that you lose track of time.

If you properly intertwine work and leisure flow; you will almost undoubtedly lead yourself to happiness. People find the greatest enjoyment not when they are passively mindless, but when they are absorbed in a mindful challenge and forget not to have fun.

So if you want happiness, all you need is take time, today, to spend time with your loved ones, to tell them what they mean to you, to listen to them, and develop your relationship with them. Make positive thinking a habit. In fact, this should be one of the first habits you develop. Get into the habit of squashing all negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. Find work that you’re passionate about. One that will allow you to easily balance it with life — this is an extremely important step. You need to find interesting hobbies that you’re passionate about. Get outside and do something that truly engages you. Have a happy weekend!

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