Saturday, November 27, 2021

Ready-Made

 Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions. (Dalai Lama)

Dear Happiness Seeker,

Most people spend their entire lives searching for happiness. I’ve come to realize that being happy or unhappy is a choice that people make every day. People can’t always control their location, situation, or the people around them, but what they can control is their attitude towards these things and their reactions to them.

With all of the sickness, evil, and uncertainty of this life, I believe one thing is true. Life is too short to live unhappy. Happiness is not going to fall out of the sky. You have to make a conscious choice to bring happy thoughts and actions into your life each day. I hate seeing people unhappy even though they could easily do something about it even more. If you are extremely unhappy, then you most likely need to make some changes in your life.

Change is sometimes necessary for growth. Not everything will be fixed just because you decide to make one simple change. Nothing will be fixed if you don’t make any changes ever. Searching for happiness means finding what works for you, and no one else. One of the biggest humps to achieving true happiness is not focusing on what others thing about you.

It’s about what is best for you and your mental health, and no one else’s. There is no judgment here. The point is, if you are living your life trying to please the people around you, you can never please yourself. You may not even know what it is that you want for yourself because you’ve never actually thought about what you, and only you, want for yourself. Having happiness doesn’t always mean that everything in your life is perfect.

Finding your own happiness means taking the imperfections, accepting them, and dealing with them. It’s not complaining all day or feeling sorry for yourself. It is holding your head up high, thanking God for what you do have, and doing what it takes to become who you actually want to be.

People might not understand, agree, or like it. But more often than not, people are going to judge you no matter what you do. You might as well do what makes you happy. I know that there are extreme circumstances and that bad things happen. I’m not saying that you should never get sad or upset about things that get thrown at you. I am simply suggesting that instead of wallowing or envying someone else’s happiness, grab each day and own it because you deserve nothing less.

XOXOXO

Me

“If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.” (Roy T. Bennett)[i]



[i] Adapted from: “An Open Letter to those Searching for Happiness” by Katie Church




 

 

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