The Quickest Path to Happiness
For the last couple of months I have been writing on various aspects of success and how to attain it. Today’s post is different. We look at a more direct way of being happy. The previous blog posts have been seeking happiness through determination, effort and hard work.
Since we are dealing with the mind in this series, I think it would be prudent of me to share with you what I have recently learned about happiness and how it is connected with the mind.
Happiness is a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. The quickest way of being happy is to decide to be happy. Tell your mind to be happy. Do not put conditions to your being happy. Just resolve to be happy today, not in future.
Many personal development or self improvement blogs such as this one, and even books, seminars, tapes and workshops teach you ways of attaining success. They propose that following their doctrine will make you happy. Fortunately for you and I, there is a faster way of being happy, and that is by conditioning your mind to be happy.
You do not need to drive a Ferrari to be happy. You do not need to married to be happy. You do not need to have a degree to be happy. You do not need to be out of debt to be happy. You do not need to be in good physical condition or health to be happy.
I have found myself postponing my happiness many times in my life. I told myself that I will be happy once I score highly in my high school exams. I told myself that I will be happy when I graduate. Then I told myself that I would be happier when I start my own business, get a life partner or buy this or that.
Unfortunately as I achieved one goal in my life, there was always something more to do. For years I traded my present happiness for the hope of a better tomorrow. Many ambitious people like me end up making that mistake. Have you been limiting your present happiness until you achieve a goal or something happens? Have you postponed your happiness my friend?
I started this blog to be able to inspire my friends to be the best they can be. But I have other goals for it too. I want this blog to become popular. I want people to know about it, visit and leave comments. I want to build a thriving online community around this blog, for like minded fellows like you and me to meet, discuss what is happening in our lives and encourage each other. However, it is not an easy job. I have to put in hours upon hours, maybe even years, to make it all happen. I could postpone my happiness to the day my ideas and hopes become reality. But instead I choose to be happy today. I choose to be happy that YOU are reading this today. It is easier and better for me to rejoice with each new reader or commenter on this blog, than to wait for a million visitors that may or may never come.
Let us now look at how you can have a quick path to happiness in a few areas of life.
1) Health & Wellness
Many people who are out of shape (read fat or obese) postpone their happiness until after they get to their weight goals. It may take months or years to reach your desired goals in how you look. Why waste that time by being unhappy, in the hope you will be happy once you lose the weight? Many fat people avoid socializing, buying themselves nice clothes and being confident. They tell themselves that one day soon, they will live their dream life and be happy. If you are in that position my friend, my advice is really simple. Quit dreaming and be happy today. Life is too short to be lived in future tense.
2) Work (Jobs & Careers)
It is very easy to postpone happiness until you get a particular job or career. It is also very easy to postpone happiness to until you quit your job if you are unhappy with it.
We spend at least a quarter of our lives working every day. Why be unhappy at the job? Why ruin 25% of your life with something you can mentally control (in many cases)? You can control whether to be happy or not. It is a state of mind. Look at the glass as being half full in regards to your job and you may increase your happiness.
3) Financial Freedom
I believe that money can buy happiness if you know where to shop. But I also believe that in some cases, the money we come across the more problems we get. The best you can do is to de-link your happiness from the size of your bank account. It is easier said than done, but always bear in mind that you are not your money. You will still exist even without money. Be happy even when you have crippling debt. Have a plan for financial freedom and work to meet your financial goals and obligations, but do not let money come between you and happiness. You deserve more out of life.
4) Home & Family
You do not have to wait until you buy your own home for you to be happy. You can be happy whether you are married, single, with or without kids. Strive to be happy regardless of the home or family situation. Do not postpone your happiness until you make major strides in your home and family life.
5) Relationships
Relationships are like butterflies. They go through different phases and cycles. Learning to be happy at each phase of a relationship can save a relationship and even help the relationship thrive. What kind of relationships are you in (friendships included)? Are you happy or are postponing your happiness?
What a Fisherman Taught A Wall Street Guru about Happiness
I was once told a story about a Wall Street guru who made a bunch of money and decided to take a holiday to a Caribbean Island with his family.
He met a fisherman who showed him and his family around the Island. They got to talk about various issues. The Wall Street professional told the fisherman that if only he was ambitious like him, he would achieve a lot in his life.
Wall Street Guy: If I were you, I would get a couple of people to help me with the work, sell the fish to a bigger merchant, re-invest the profits and get a second boat, then maybe a third and a fourth boat.
Fisherman: Oh man! And what would you do with all them boats?
Wall Street Guy: I would be making so much money and would use some of that money to find out all I can about selling to bigger markets like the United States.
Fisherman: That’s one big market. It would be very tiring selling to all those people.
Wall Street Guy: You won’t have to get tired, in fact you could go to the bank and borrow against your business and expand it with other people’s money.
Fisherman: I fear other people’s money. I won’t sleep well at night if I owe people money.
Wall Street Guy: A lot of people run their businesses with other people’s money. You could even make a killing by listing on the stock market and retire rich.
Fisherman: What kind of money are we talking about here?
Wall Street Guy: Millions. Untold millions.
Fisherman: And what would you do if you had those millions?
Wall Street Guy: I would retire to a nice island with my family, spend my time relaxing and fishing.
Fisherman: And why do you want me to go to all that trouble just to end up where I am, doing exactly what I am doing?
Sometimes we take the long road to happiness. You may be chasing the wind with some dreams. Take a moment to reflect on what will really make you happy. Cut the fluff and just be happy. The road to happiness does not have to be that long.
Summary
A beautiful mind is one that gets results. Many people do things to either avoid pain or gain pleasure. In other words people do things in order to be happy. Do yourself a favor and find the quickest way to happiness. Hint: It is all in the mind.
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