Happiness Fix

I remember, myself being very negative and unhappy when I was young and that seemed to have changed dramatically for the better. Now, I seek to be bright, happy and outgoing, chatting and laughing with all. This is because I finally learned how to be happy.

For years  I was frustrated and unhappy, always thinking that I'd find happiness once a specific event happened or when someone did something I wanted them to do, or when I landed the right job, etc., but over time I discovered that was not the case. Even when things did occur to my liking, I found that they didn't have a lasting impact on my personal joy and fulfilment. Then one day it finally hit me. I concluded that the things outside of myself were not going to enrich me and make me happy in the long run and that it was up to me for assuming responsibility for my own bliss.

Once I realized this, I stopped chasing some elusive source of happiness. I began practicing living in the moment, choosing to enjoy all that life had to offer me right now. This didn't mean I gave up on my ambitions. It just meant that I put them into perspective, and began to be grateful for what I already had. In fact, gratitude is the best “happiness fix,” as it always brought me back to what was really important in life: living, loving and being happy.

I realized I had sabotaged myself for years with expectations about myself. I wanted things to happen, but seldom took action to get what I wanted. Then I began taking steps towards actually achieving my goals, while continuing to practice being happy in the moment. Shortly after, some of the very things I had so longed for were actually happening. However, they were not the reason for my new state of joy, but they did add to it.

This is just a powerful reminder that we have a say in our own happiness. I hope you will keep that thought with you as well. Think about what makes you happy and what doesn't. And once you have answered that, try to give yourself more of the former. Then think about why certain situations make you unhappy. Ask yourself how you could improve them. And once you implement some of those adjustments, I am willing to bet that you will feel better about them! Just taking control of them may give you a whole new outlook.

  

-          Abhijith Jayanthi