Simple Suggestions To Incorporate In Your Life In The Pursuit Of Happiness
The pursuit of happiness. It is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence so it is something in the many ways America is founded on, but what exactly is the pursuit of happiness? Is it seeking out the high paying job? Is it finding true love? Exploring the world? Growing your knowledge? Is it simply having all your needs met? It feels like in modern society happiness is largely a commodity. Something we are told we will attain once we collect the certain amount of degrees or zeros in our bank account. That it is something we can commodify and hence purchase. Of course we know this isn't true at a basic level, but that doesn't stop us from buying things to try to bring happiness or buying into promises from brands that likely will not bring the changes we want in our lives. So how do we pursue happiness? Sadly, there is no quick fix or easy solution. Each of us have a different journey and goals in our lives. But we can offer some guiding tips to help you find the happiness that you seek.
1- Stop Searching for Happiness
Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to start dating but you couldn't find a partner and your parents told you to stop looking for it and it will come to you? This is true in happiness as well. If you go through life just searching for things to make you happy, you likely will never find it. Many people link their happiness to what they achieve in life, but you should instead link your happiness to the joy life brings. Not everyday is going to be a home run in productivity or goal reaching, and it is unrealistic to believe it can be.
2- Count Your Blessings
When you are feeling especially down, it is important to remember what you have. In the modern world we are constantly being bombarded with images of what we are supposed to want: fancy cars, designer clothes, beautiful people. Our social media creates a consumerist spiral in which you will never find happiness. Stop looking at what you don't have and start looking at what you do have. Do you have problems sitting down on the spot and writing down all your blessings? Start small. Every time a blessing happens, write it down in a note or put it in a jar and whenever you are feeling down pull this note up or open the jar and see all your blessings before you. We have wonderful lives if we know how to look at them.
3- Happiness Comes from Within
I think we all know true happiness comes within, but this doesn't stop us from trying to find shortcuts via purchases or vacations or other things that distract us and bring us short term pleasure, but ultimately these do not bring us true happiness. Try reframing how you view happiness as less of something you attain and something that is inside yourself all along.
4- Be Present
As we have mentioned before, the single easiest way to be happy is to be present in the moment. Throw yourself completely into your tasks, be fully present in conversations. While we say this a lot what does this look like? This means putting the phone away, the tablet, the to do list, don't check on them and don't let yourself mentally get distracted thinking about these things. Throw yourself completely into the moment and you will find yourself being truly happy. Of course the funny thing about happiness is that it is not aware of itself so you won't realize until after the fact. As you get more comfortable with this behavior you will become aware of your true happiness.
5- Grow Your Self Worth and Self Esteem
Perhaps as you are working through all these tips you are noticing that one of the reasons you are losing happiness is because you feel like you do not deserve happiness. If you notice yourself denying yourself rest or reward, treating yourself like a bad employee over a trusted friend, perhaps it is time to take a step back and appreciate how great of a person you are. Write out a list of your good qualities and remind yourself you deserve love and happiness.
Happiness is not a quick and easy thing to obtain sometimes, and in the modern world it seems to be even more elusive, but with these tips you can at least start yourself on the path of true happiness. Reach out to us at info@bullionite.com with your questions or comments and visit our blog https://www.bullionite.com/blog for more articles.