By Ahsan
I need to make a confession.
Honestly, if I think about the news I have been following and looking at the state of the world at the moment, I feel like shutting the door on it. How about you? Is everything going “hunky dory” in your world?
Life has no guarantees, yet it is certain that curveballs will come at us individually and collectively. So the point I wish to make is that we need to be ready to respond well to the everyday issues that don't go our way, the people who don't play ball the way we want, and to be resilient for longer than we initially imagined.
Pandemic in year 3 is a case in point.
Let's test a hypothesis: it is possible to be happy even when life is challenging because we can create it from nothing. It's like experiencing a feeling we all get from time to time: being happy with no particular reason for it.
In fact, do we need a reason to be happy? Should we only be happy when a cause is present?
Are we obscuring our happiness because somehow our view is obstructed?
It is my contention and perhaps corroborated by your experience that, we can be happy by making a point of doing so.
Here are a few ideas to consider that may be helpful on a day when the stock market is down, someone stepped on your foot, and you burned dinner before your guests arrive.
Put your focus where you want it to be: don't let the 6 o’clock news or social media influence you. This negative influence happens because we get lured into scrolling or wanting to be “in the know”. If you do engage, do it for a limited daily time; at certain times, and take a break for your own sake. Do something where you focus on what you want to do, not what others are steering you to. Refuse to be one of the masses.
Understand that you can manufacture happiness. It is evident that we are happy when things are going well, but it is not so apparent that you can whip up a happy mood by making a point of it. So when things are off, and you start feeling drawn to a sullen mood, just don't go there. Instead, listen to music, visit a friend, make a nice meal. Have a list of a few things that you know are your go-to list of pick-me-ups. Make a list of your top 10 now before you read my next point, please.
Ask yourself where do my feelings come from? I have asked many people this question, and when I offer the answer, not one person has disagreed with me. So here it is, your feelings come from your thinking! Always. Knowing this can be enlightening and may lead to an insight that will help you the next time you are stuck in your head or replaying a thought over and over and over again. We all do it. I'll admit it, but when I think to myself, it is all thought; I open the door to a new thought that eventually crowds out the offending thought. So ponder this, if you please.
I hope that you feel like you are ready to live your best life based on the concept that happiness can be manufactured when it is not there.
You are only here for a limited time dear friend, so make an ideal life because the alternative is pointless!
Maybe we should open the door to the possibility. By the way, do you have any ideas and suggestions on how you build happiness on purpose in your life?
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