| ||
| ||
|
||
|
|
|
Creating Happiness
Whatever we want in life, a partner, more money, good health, a fulfilling career, or enlightenment, it all comes down to the same thing: behind all the wishes, behind all the desires, and beyond every symbol, we want to feel happy. After all, if we feel completely happy, what more do we need? And if we don't feel happy, there is not a relationship or career that can satisfy us. All men and women want to find happiness, but you don't find happiness anymore than an artist finds a beautiful statue; he or she sculpts it from a shapeless stone. A musician doesn't find an intricate melody; he or she composes it from the eight note scale. Happiness is not an acquisition, it's a skill. We don't experience happiness because of something that we're getting, like a raise or money. We experience happiness because of how we're living. For example, having a tennis racket doesn't make you a good tennis player, learning how to play tennis does. Having material things doesn't make you happy; living each moment of the day to the fullest does. Happiness is living in the present moment. You experience happiness when you know exactly where you are in your life at a given moment, and experience that moment to the fullest. Getting the things you want in life won't make you happy unless you know how to enjoy every moment. For example, if you don't know how to enjoy five hundred dollars, you will not enjoy five thousand dollars when you get it, or even five hundred thousand dollars. If you can't enjoy taking a walk in your neighborhood, and you travel to Hawaii, Paris, or Rome, you won't be any happier there either. Now I'm not saying having money or taking more trips doesn't make your life easier or more fun. It does. But those things don't make you deeply happy because they can't. Only enjoying life's real moments can. If we look closely at our lives, most of us don't feel very happy much of the time because we focus our attention on precisely the things that make us feel bad, our problems, and the issues we have in our personal and business lives. Most of us find happiness elusive because we aren't exactly sure what it looks like. Like a rainbow, it appears before us at times, but it's always temporary. Working toward material success, expanded awareness, and love helps to make our lives exciting and meaningful. Yet, the urge to find happiness may be our deepest human drive. Despite our achievement and successes, many of us have a sense that something is still missing in our life. And it is this feeling that causes us to continue to search for happiness. Wanting to grow, expand, explore, and improve are natural human drives. But many of us think that when we find what we're looking for, it will make us happy. Only to find that it doesn't. And when we keep trying to find happiness it only serves to reinforce our dilemma of never being able to find it. The more we search for happiness, the more it reflects our resistance or avoidance of life right now. The past is behind us and the future has yet to come, what we have is now. We all have the choice to be happy now or never. Most of our stress and suffering in life comes from our mind's resistance to what is. Happiness isn't about getting what we want as much as wanting what we get. If our lives meet our basic needs for clothing, food, and shelter, then any unhappiness you feel comes from your mind's resistance. If you take this same resistant mind with you into the future, this unhappiness will remain with you no matter how delightful your external circumstances are. I don't mean to imply that the discipline of creating happiness is easy. It's not. And any process of learning involves mistakes and failures; but it gets easier over time. Happy people create happiness. It's the most contagious energy on earth. But, you can't pretend to be happy or engage in denial or repression. If you do, you'll only be fooling yourself. When you create happiness, you fully acknowledge and honor whatever emotions are passing through. You watch them like clouds passing by, but you focus your attention on the sunshine above the clouds. By doing this, you are intentionally creating a space of unconditional happiness. And this is much different from just saying "I'm happy" or bravely pretending to be happy. It's the only happiness that is not dependent on outside circumstances. If I could give you a formula for happiness, it would be: Become fully conscious of what you're doing, perceiving, or experiencing in a given moment. Once you're conscious of it, allow yourself to break through that illusion of separation and connect with the person, thing, or feeling. Then surrender totally into that connection and experience. Now you should be in tune with and actually experiencing the moment. Our lives are made up of a succession of moments that occur all the time. It's up to us to enjoy them. For example, let's say you're walking up a mountain that overlooks the ocean. You stop for moment and look out at the beautiful vista, feeling the fresh air, and for a second you feel at one with everything, you have this kind of high feeling. That's a real moment of happiness in your life. You deserve to have all the happiness that life has to offer. Make the most out of each moment in your life and enjoy it. Don't wait for happiness to come to you. Create it yourself with each moment. You can become the magician by creating happy experiences whenever and wherever you want. Copyright(c)2004 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates,Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. A former ad agency executive and marketing consultant, Joe's work in personal development focuses on helping his clients identify hidden marketable assets that create windfall opportunities and profits, as well as sound personal happiness and peace. Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Happiness - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Elusive Butterfly of Happiness Are You Chasing the Elusive Butterfly of Happiness?For many people happiness is an elusive butterfly in the garden of life. Imagine a young child in the garden on a summer day. May the Budgie of Happiness Sit on Your Head My grandmother, Mimi, was a great solitaire player. My family legacy is mainly memories, so I especially cherish my few tangible mementos. Are You Getting in the Way? Getting out of our busy mode and into our heart occasionally, I'm certain that many of us would find at least one moment during our day where we could pause, reflect on a situation, and see something that we can do to make a difference in someone else's life.The pace of life and work has increased a lot and I daresay we don't give as much thought as we could to the circumstances of other people's lives. 5 Fabulous B's for the Happiest You! Sure it sounds easy? "Be happy." Let's face it there is a little art and a lot of personal measures you can take to reveal true and lasting happiness. Get Out Those Legos Many of my clients are working harder than smarter. This is not a put-down of their intelligence. Growing Up Backwards It seems like I set out in this life to do things my own way and in my own time - no matter what was wise or prudent or tried, tested and true. And, regardless of the advice I give my own daughters, I continue to 'grow up backwards. Divining your Number of Destiny Your Destiny Number, which describes all of the talents and potentials that are at your disposal in this lifetime, is calculated from the letters that compose your full birth name. This is not your married name, but rather the name that is found written in full on your birth certificate. How To Live Happily Ever After In life, many of us simply plunge ahead, only to realize later that some of the things we did, we wish we hadn't, and some of the things we didn't do, we wish we had. How do you keep yourself on the right track, the right path? And how can you live happily ever after? Here's how. What is Happiness and How to Achieve It? True happiness is such a rare commodity that the whole of the world is continuously seeking it and failing to find it. All the people, who we consider to be the best in their fields, are seeking it too and failing to acquire it. A Surefire Way To Manage Your Fears While Leading A Happier, Healthier Life Imagine discovering a way to get rid of your fears in a quick and painless manner. In fact it can even become fun!Did you know only two of all the fears you have are innate: The fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. No Happiness Without Patience I'm searching for modern happiness. The old-fashioned kind takes just too long. Ode to Chocolate Chocolate delays reality. When I am eating chocolate, everything is on hold: anxiety, panic, frustrations, and insecurity. There is a Cure for the Summertime Blues I have never lived anywhere else where when you walk outside in the summer you not only feel like you have walked into a sauna, you also want to change your shirt after just walking from your car to your office (Tallahassee).At the same time, I really can't imagine ever living anywhere else. Helping Happiness Along Happiness is worth helping along.The benefits of being a happy person are huge. Three Inspirations for Happiness The following three inspirations were adapted from A Daily Dose of Happiness, and they represent three key ways to increase our happiness.1. If You Can Dream It you Can Do It! Confuscious, the Chinese Philospher is quoted as saying : "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. Great Relationship Problem Solving Technique This is one of my all time favourite problem solving techniques, and I use it on a regular basis with clients who find it hard to get along with other people. But really, the technique can be applied to any problem at all, not just the ones that are about relationships. Love, Uncles, and Etymology Thwack! . . Emotional Baggage We all have them. It has many faces. The Capacity for Happiness and Respectability Humans are liable to experience a variety of afflictions, but they are commonly endowed with a capacity for happiness and respectability. There is no guarantee, however, that they will exercise this capacity at all times and to the maximum, whatever happens.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
