Okay so this post is actually what I originally had in mind to talk about when I started on the previous post. But somehow, that one took a rather introspective turn and the title just didn't seem fitting anymore.
This topic is one that I've been longing to talk about for a while now 'cause I think it's one of those life lessons that are simple truths, but ones we often forget in the hectic jumble of life. I hope that by writing it here, I'll have a somewhat permanent place to come back to when i'm right smack in the middle of that jumble.
It's been said many times before but it's true. Happiness is a mindset. It's not a state or a product of your circumstance, it's not the things you have or the people who are around you. It's who you are. And (cliche as it sounds,) it comes from within. Happiness is an innate quality (one that can be learned, but most definitely one that's "self-inflicted"). Of all these, the most important is that happiness is a choice.
It is true that your surroundings, the people in your life, and your current situation (what you're going through at the moment) have a large impact on how you're feeling. But just like all things in life, just like life itself, Happiness is quite simply a choice. It's a decision to wake up every morning wanting it to be better than the last. It's a decision to live out everyday hoping to make someone laugh (I like rhyming). And yes, it's also a decision to look at the good side of every bad situation and focus on all the positives in life instead of fretting over the negatives and pinning after what you don't have.
Sure people can feel sad at times, nobody expects you to be 100% bubbling all the time. But know when that brief sadness turns into self-pity and spreads like a pervasive parasite (yay alliteration!) through your system. Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, your true strength is tested at your weakest moment.
Choosing to be happy is the best thing you could do for yourself. Quite frankly, it's probably the one thing your future self will look back on and thank your present self for. I think I'm not alone in admitting that half the things we worry about now aren't even consequential to the success or well-being of our future selves anyway. We are often so caught up in a nuances of life that we don't stop to consider the big scheme of things. I mean like the grand GRAND scheme where we are all just people, and money is just pieces of paper and plastic which, if you think about it, is pretty useless because you can't eat it, it can't keep you warm, it can't love you. It can't event make you smarter. We only have this one life and people spend it chasing all sorts of things. But cutting to the core, aren't all of us chasing happiness? Get a job, get a house, get a spouse, start a family, etc. etc. all just because we think these are the things will bring us happiness. Well, that's not a mistaken belief - when done right, these are the things that can have significant impact on a person's willingness to be happy - but you have to find that right fit for you (and that's a whole other blog post altogether).
What I'm trying to say is, the ultimate goal for a lot of people is to be happy. They think that by getting and achieving all these things, they will become happy.
But in stead of wanting to become happy, why not just be happy? It's like skipping a step. (reference to my favourite line from the movie "A Cinderella Story" starring Hilary Duff)
Instead of chasing it your whole life, trying to find it in things that claim to give you happiness in bite-sized increments, isn't it better to just wake up one day and decide that that (happiness) is simply what you are?
Being happy is the best thing because when you no longer rely on outwardly things to brighten your mood (and the reverse also applies: when you no longer let negative things in your life e.g. quarrels, fights, failures affect your mental and emotional well-being) When you're not dependent on someone or something else to make you happy, you are empowered. You have something so precious that no one else can take away from you, simply because you won't let it happen. You won't let go of it.
And when you are happy, many other good awesome things follow. From the scientific perspective alone, happiness and endorphins are so good for your health. Moreover, it's been proven that people just like being around happy people. More often than not, being happy is infectious. In many ways, it is like sadness and depression - in that it's pervasive and it's effects spread like wildfire. The only difference is, happiness feels good.
It's the best drug there is, the best makeup you can buy, and the best thing you could have. And it's free. People want to figure out how you do it. Why you are happy. Because the happiest people are the ones who truly enjoy their lives, just by being grateful for everything they have. They are the ones who truly live.
So whether this is as much a revelation to you (as it is to me) or simply a reminder, I challenge you to make that choice at the start of each day to Live Happy, Bounce back, and never let anyone take it away from you.
:)
No comments:
Post a Comment