Happiness

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” - Mahatma Gandhi

I think it’s safe to say that most, if not all, of us want to be happy. But can we be happy all the time?

Experts say that in order to find and have the positive emotion, we must go through the negative emotion. The negative emotion gives us a base from which we can discover and pursue the positive emotion. Some examples of this include: In order to know peace, we must experience conflict or disturbance sometimes in our life. In order to know fulfillment, we must have had to experience emptiness or neglect. The same process applies to happiness. The way to know and feel true happiness is to have had to experience sadness, sorrow, or disappointment.

That’s not to say we have to have and live through the negative emotions constantly in order to find a little bit of the positive emotions. I think the key to long-term happiness is to find ways to sustain our happiness. In other words, work to make happiness better and last longer.

Well, yes, let’s all go out and do that, right? You’ve all heard the phrase, easier said than done! Yep! I want to share a few ways to begin your path to being happy more than not.

Begin to journal. Start by keeping notes on when you feel happy and when you don’t. Add to your list the circumstances under which you had happiness and when you didn’t. In other words, what you were doing at the time, what was happening around you, and how you reacted. Next to that, list if you had control over that situation or not… did you have to go through the situation, or could you have avoided it? If you didn’t have any control over that, what are some things you can do to enjoy the happiness more or make the sadness less painful? If you have control over the situation, what are some things you can do to avoid sadness and increase happiness in the future?

The key is to write it down so you can look at it from a different perspective. Also, writing it down helps you remember how to react and treat the situations in the future by following the same steps or doing your best to avoid them or react to them differently.

But don’t just write them down. Read them and revisit them sometimes to remind yourself and reinforce your direction and actions. If you feel you want to, you can share your journaling with trusted friends and/or colleagues to get their perspectives. I would emphasize the word trusted in that last sentence. It will help you get true, positive, and helpful feedback and not negative or harmful reactions.

My wish for you is to find true happiness much more often. Nurture it and share it with others. Let me know your thoughts.