Challenging Popular Beliefs About What it Takes to be Happy
Many people who have struggles in life often pooh-pooh happiness and like to claim that true happiness is not even possible. The truth is there are different levels of happiness that you can experience in your life. It’s not a straight line. There are ups and downs that you will experience all throughout life but whether you are happy or not is all about your feelings.
You Have It in You
Just by virtue of the fact that you’re a human being and you can experience feelings, happiness being one of them, you know that true happiness does exist. You can probably write down many days and things that have brought happiness to your life over the years since you were born up until today.
Look Around You
It may be amazing but while it’s easy to say that people cannot be happy unless they have their basic needs met, it’s not true. You’ll find that there are people all around you who do not have their needs met but who are very happy. That bores out as true when you study rich people and realize they are not happier than poor people overall.
It’s Not About Stuff
If you look at a list of the happiest countries in the world, you will realize that being happy isn’t about the stuff you have. The happiest people right now happen to live in Denmark. Most people who live there pay high taxes, live in small homes and tend to not be as consumer-driven as people in the USA, for example. But the USA is 17 on the list. That shows that happiness is not about stuff.
It’s Not Even About Goals
You may think that happiness is about reaching your goals too. But, it’s not. If you often say things like “I’ll be happy when…” then it’s not likely you will be happy. You can be happy today, before you reach your goals, while you’re on the path to reach those goals. It’s honestly more about the day-to-day living and not moments.
It’s Not About Your Circumstances
Now, of course, some things in life can really get you down. However, for happy people, even the worst events will not make them unhappy at least not permanently. A happy person usually has the skills to navigate things in their circumstances. Dr. Gillian Mandich, a happiness expert, states that our circumstances account for only 10 percent of our happiness.
True happiness is about accepting that you can experience it, plus understanding what it really means. A happy person isn’t going to be the same level of happy 24/7, 365 days a year. When you observe that people who are sick with cancer are happy, that children who aren’t getting enough to eat are happy, and people living in huts in Africa are also happy it makes you realize that you can be happy too.
