10 FORGOTTEN TRUTHS ABOUT HAPPINESS
By lifehack.org - KEERTANA SUBRAMANI
All of us would like to be happy. We would like to find joy, exhilaration and satisfaction in everything we do and in the lives we lead everyday. In the crazy, sophisticated world of today, many of us seem to have forgotten how amazingly easy it is to make the constant choice of being happy. Just to remind this amazing, busy and sometimes happiness-yearning 21st century world, here are ten forgotten truths about happiness.
1. Gratefulness for how lucky we are despite the challenges we face is the key to reaching true happiness.
Last year, I conducted leadership campaigns for several children of an orphanage in my hometown in India. I was surprised to see how happy the children were though they had never known their parents and though more than 40 of them shared a single room for living space. Their optimism and immense will to keep hoping and dreaming taught me that the obstacles in our life, however daunting they seem, are irrelevant if we have the courage to be grateful for everything we already have. The fact that we are living to breathe this moment and that we have senses to read this article is a proof of how tremendously privileged we are and all the things we should be thankful for. Thankfulness inevitably brings happiness.
2. Long lasting happiness is usually got from our experiences and memories, not material things.
Clothes, booze, mansions, cars and all the material luxuries that money can buy us often only serve as a palliative to numb the desire for true happiness. To be really happy, we should invest in experiences and build memories doing the things that exhilarate us and with the people with whom we share the greatest love.
3. Happiness can be found in slowing down, listening to others and reconnecting with nature (and perhaps with God, if you are a believer).
In the totally crazy and absolutely busy world of today we often overlook the simple pleasures our surroundings can offer us. It could be the fragrance of flowers on the street side, a laughing baby in the neighborhood, deep meditation, travelling or perhaps, prayer. Some people, like me, find real happiness connecting with nature and some others, like my mom, find happiness by connecting with God through prayer. We all have different ways of tuning into our inner selves and giving ourselves a break. Finding what our ‘way’ is and doing it is key to finding our unique happiness.
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