Life can be difficult at times. We can experience emotional ups and downs and many of us can feel as if we’ve been dealt a bad hand. When we believe that circumstances are beyond our control and that we are subject to whatever life throws at us, it can seem as if we have no choice but to play the hand that we are given.
However, even if some things are beyond our control, many circumstances that we are faced with have been created by us, either consciously or unconsciously. We are continuously, creating the world around us through the thoughts that we choose to think. Our thoughts are creative and can bring about the circumstances that we desire or something less desirable, depending on what we focus on. When we make a decision to choose happiness, this is what we will get. Happiness isn’t something bestowed upon us, it is a choice that we make each minute of our lives.
Practice Makes Perfect
Happiness has to be consciously practiced. Waiting for happiness to arrive is like waiting to see a rainbow appear in the sky. You might get lucky and see a rainbow but you might have to wait a while. In the same sense, if you are waiting for happiness to come into your life, it may turn up on occasion but you could be waiting some time for it to come about and even then it is a mere fleeting glimpse at happiness.
On the other hand, actively looking for the joy and happiness in our every endeavour makes us realise that happiness was there all along, we just had to recognise it. There is always something happy, something positive in every situation if we look for it.
A State of Mind
Practicing a positive state of mind, helps us to find the joy and the blessings in everything we do, even in challenging situations.
Happiness is a choice. It must be worked on. It sounds strange to have to work on something such as happiness but since most of us have become accustomed to living in a state of stress and anxiety, we have to retrain our emotional equilibrium back to a positive state, and this takes work. Once however the habit of happiness is consciously practiced then it becomes easier and easier to maintain. Worries and concerns no longer knock us off balance and while we recognise challenging situations as they arrive, we can observe them and learn from them rather than letting them consume us.
Happiness therefore can be chosen despite external circumstances.
That’s not to say we never experience other emotions but we know that happiness and love are our true state of being and all other emotions are fleeting. You might think it’s the opposite, that worry, frustration and struggle are constants and that happiness is fleeting and for many people this has become a way of living, but our true nature is happiness and joy.
Developing the Happiness Habit
What habits do we hold onto and continuously repeat without ever questioning them? For years I believed that in order to achieve anything I had to work hard. Even after I read books and articles that upended this theory, I still felt the need to work hard to get things done and if I didn’t, I felt I was being lazy or unmotivated. Now I understand that great things can be achieved with little effort. When we flow with life instead if fighting against it things that we are working towards naturally come about with far less effort. The work still needs to be done but in an enjoyable and fluid manner.
The point is, unless we examine habits – good and bad – we repeat them unconsciously, remaining caught in an unending cycle. It’s not just the bad habit that we need to break but the belief behind the habit also.
It’s the same with happiness, it’s not just a question of choosing happiness and developing a happiness habit but changing our beliefs to believe that we deserve happiness, that struggle isn’t necessary it’s just a frame of mind.
Take for example your mindset at the weekend compared to weekdays. Most of us will view the weekend as a time to relax, enjoy good company, good food and do the things we love to do. On the other hand, on week days or work days some people feel the need to work hard and go through the motions in a mindless fashion.
Who’s setting these rules? What if we were to make our own rules, or better yet, what if there were no rules?
What if we were to view every day like a weekend. When we wake up we decide to feel happy and look forward to the day ahead – every day. We make a choice about how we are going to view the day no matter what is going on because we always have a choice, to choose our mindset and our outlook. Decide if five days each week are going to be seen as a burden and two days as a gift, or if every day is a gift.
It’s not necessarily easy to do, it requires some will power and determination to choose happiness in each moment. Training for a marathon or learning a new language is not easy either, but the rewards are worth the persistence. We become what we focus on in each moment, not what we focus on at the weekend or after work but in the present moment. Choose happiness.
0
0
0
0