Happiness, it is one of those states we haven’t quite mastered yet let alone practice its perfection, a puzzling ordeal to say the least. Now I’m not talking about the type of happiness that surprisingly plans a limited visit every now and then just to remind us how miserable our lives have become just before it packs its bag and disappears again. I’m talking about that lasting feeling of satisfaction and appreciation, the good stuff!
But how do we get that lasting happiness, one of daily smiles and laughter? That feeling of letting life’s problems perish away because deep down we know that the problems we face can suffice another day and to be quite frank they really don’t bother us as it is just another experience for us to shine and grow right!
I recently stumbled upon a video that resonated with me on so many levels. A compassionate yet highly insightful understanding that I thought must be shared!
Mo Gawdat” “A Google Executive” (https://youtu.be/FfCq-3L_rNk) voices his views on happiness and I couldn’t agree more, his sharing’s have inspired me to reconstruct his insights and use his understandings to prepare this post for all my valuable readers.
We must really come to terms with and appreciate that happiness isn’t a temporary state, it is meant to be a consistent way of living, a lifestyle! As absurd and astray as this may sound, it is what we are all fighting for!
Happiness isn’t found within the riches we gain, nor is it within the material we acquire. It is an internal acceptance and reassurance that life is just right for us within “this exact moment” we are experiencing and is on the path of getting better the more we grow to experience this gift we have received. Believe me once we change this mind-set and come to see the light is and can be brighter on the other side we accept it more openly.
Mo Gawdat explain happiness like this “Happiness is equal to or greater than, the difference between the way you see the events in your life and your expectation of how life should behave!
It’s an internal state of acceptance as I like to call it, how do you picture your life to be and how is life behaving, is it acceptable for you? Should you be doing more? Because until we can accept it, life will continue to feed us everything that we being exposed to.
This understanding compliments my previous post “curve balls & that famous saying seeing is Believing” very nicely.
That life projects the experience and understanding internally before it interprets it in the outer reality, it’s simply a matter of changing the lenses we look out of. First we must see life for what it is in a nonbiased manner. Look at what you’re expecting from life and list down everything that you have right now. Compare the two and see what is complimenting your journey and what may be delaying it. Then you must acknowledge a few simple truths, are you happy with the results life is giving you, is it behaving in an acceptable way that you are willing to feel comfort towards? Understand the way we process this information and through which lenses we choose to see them through, this is the key!
Mo further explains a common misconception of how the modern world comes to see fun as a worthy opponent toward this endless feeling of happiness. The misunderstanding of these similar states can cause a whirlwind of confusion within us all. Firstly we must understand that the state of fun is experienced through our extraverted senses and then the state of happiness is experienced internally. Fun is absorbed through the external and then manifested within to trigger a responses of happiness.
A misunderstood feeling can usually cause us to attach to un-wanting yet toxic behaviors for a quick fix as they say. Some of us substitute toxic behaviors such as alcohol or drugs to revert this quick response and in time cause us to believe that these behaviors are acceptable to drain away all life’s problems in a simple binge. Others revert to more abundant behaviors such as dancing or singing, but later put too much emphasis on the results they generate within us. As a result we hypnotize our understanding to believe that we are only happy when we are participating within these events, then slowly but surely we continue to add such pressure toward these activity’s until we wear out the novelty. That our abundant actions do contribute to an everlasting happiness it is true, however they are only a limited experience or a sneak peek toward the all mighty state.
See when we are having fun this causes us to stop thinking momentarily, our thoughts seize which causes us to forget about life and all its dilemmas to help us find that state of internal fulfilment. That when one is having fun, it’s a sneak peek towards the real thing. A momentary experience designed to motivate us in achieving this abundant state of living. We simply forget our troubles because we are distracted by the moment.
But what if we could release our thoughts of sadness from the very beginning, even before we start to let our hair down? The good news is that we can but it requires work. By practicing to live in the moment every single day of our lives with a positive outlook we can start the process to happiness quite quickly, but we must incorporate the feeling of acceptance and gratitude as well.
We must acknowledge what we have and what we are being given so we can then start to strategically adjust our motivations to suit. Accept the position of life you are in right now, truth is we always want more and are constantly dissatisfied ever so often, but without accepting our current stance we have failed before we have even began.
They are millions of people that are living in a far worse situation than most of us are, living in poverty, low class society’s trying to get a foot in the door, however It would not surprise me if they in return live a more fulfilled and abundant life than many of us do. The modern world has a way of exposing us to an endless opportunity of riches and unlimited material abundance, which subconsciously affects us emotionally and subconsciously. We see so many opportunity’s that can be gained and experienced which cause us to become envious and dissatisfied with our efforts, maybe even a little annoyed. We simply have too many choices these days, there is no two ways about it. The difference between the developing world and the developed world is that one side accepts what they have and make the most of it, solely because they are not exposed to the social pressures we experience in the modern world. All the data that these less fortunate individuals process through the external world are reassured by the same results as their neighbor. Opposed to the modern world where we are constantly being exposed to many platforms that shape our understanding of the world. Though the media, work, our close friends and family, these all affect us subconsciously and distract us from being grateful and accepting of what we already have.
Happiness is not within the things we buy nor the way we show ourselves to the world, because let’s face these actions are all just way for us to get something in return, be acceptance, confidence, to show authority, power or superiority. Instead it is how we feel within.
Happiness is within each moment we are blessed here on earth, within the laughter’s, the smiles within the people and experiences, it is within everything that we do that all contributes toward achieving this utter piece within us all. Even if we don’t feel that life is measuring up to our standards we are expecting, we should understand that we can make little steps within the moment to progress the end goal. That way we can achieve a feeling of acceptance toward this very stage of our lives right now and know that soon enough we will reach this abundant state we are all longing for.
If many of us were to sit down for five minutes and really think about what it is that we are expect from life, we would be amazed with the results we could achieve. When doing so, it is important to rid of the ego and external data we are exposed towards. Forget money, material and all those deceiving items that keep contributing toward our confusion. Really think about, what you expect from life and what feelings you want to generate through this experience, remember don’t look at the surface level but really question how the feeling of acceptance and happiness is generated within you.
A quick exercise that only takes a few minutes which really helps me to stay grounded and understand my true intentions is to question my beliefs and so called ego that weaves within my waking reality. Let’s try to question our happiness!
Example – (Money + Travel = Happiness)
John wants to make a lot of money?
But why I ask?
I love to travel and to be abundant within my finances so I can travel whenever and where ever I want he replies.
But I ask why?
Because I like to travel, he replies.
Instead I say, what does travelling offer you internally, explain to me the feelings it generates within?
John reply’s, I get excited seeing new sites, eating new foods and meeting new people.
Ok, I continue why?
Because it makes me feel free and forget my problems he replies.
So is it a distraction from the world and a way for you to experience your happiness, a momentary happiness I ask?
Yes he says.
So this example above is explaining how john is substituting a state of fun (External influence) for happiness because he is unfulfilled within your current stage. How can we change this around now?
So I continue to ask.
If I gave you ten million dollars to travel the world all alone with no civilization around would you still enjoy it?
I guess it would not be as fun, it would be quite lonely he replies.
So you need to find that special someone to enjoy your time with as well I continue.
Now we are starting to justify john’s internal morals instead of just looking at travel from a surface level. John subconsciously relates travel as an exercise for him escape and distract him from his current reality.
By finding our true morals and assessing if they are being satisfied we can understand what elements will compliment us towards achieving this everlasting happiness in all areas of our lives. Further by starting to make small and steady steps to achieving our happiness we can achieve a satisfied feeling within our lives and most importantly within this exact moment we are living right now. (Remember those silent whispers that visit you within your thoughts are only invited because you feel unsatisfied with your efforts within the moment, this is your ego)
Further learn to bargain with life, we bargain all the time be at work, with friends, buying or selling. By learning to bargain with your ego you can really start to compromise with yourself and feel satisfied toward the even the more out of reach expectations you may have. Yes I like to travel, to experience new things but how can I compensate my expectations so I am gifted an internal fulfilment and acceptance until my goals are met? Shall I sacrifice a five star hotel for a shared accommodation or can I reduce the duration of my time of travel to six weeks instead of three months? Learning to compromise can do wonders. Further change your perspective toward the experience, say yes this will be fun to experience shared accommodation, this will force me to meet a lot of interesting people and help me get out of my comfort zone, it may also be a good way for me grow within the process – now it has become exciting!
Many of us might say, isn’t travelling just an act of fun, a distraction from the world? Remember that by looking at our fun distractions from a different light and justifying the outcome of our intent, it can help motivate us to make solid internal changes and truly understand our morals and what elements truly compliment this abundant state of happiness until it becomes a habit. Acknowledge what you love and your overall morals. Make small and steady changes each day to contribute to your end results, but overall and most importantly acknowledge that true happiness is the result of overall acceptance.
Spend the time to realize what will generate happiness within you and work towards it, understand the graciousness within the day and feel the abundance. It is the journey that shapes our understanding, this is what counts. The prize is not winning as the prize is within the journey.
Fun is only a sneak peak of what there is to be gained, but by understanding what your fun generates and practicing within the abundant feelings it can lead you to captivate those habits of an everlasting enjoyment and happiness. See being happy is a choice we make, and a choice we can make right now. Yes it can be hard and will require some practice to reach that everlasting and rewarding feeling, but like your thoughts of negativity and depression, we had also practiced them subconsciously in the past. Some of us even practiced negativity that well that we eventually mastered the darkened arts. Now it’s time for us to learn and practice the art of freedom and Love. Let’s change our mind-set and make a new habit for the best. We go to gyms and practice cooking etc. these all have their benefits so why not incorporate a little maintenance for our emotion state as well!
Every result in your life comes from the effort you put into it, let’s all make a movement together for a more fulfilled experience. Let’s practice the arts of happiness and together create a movement within us all.
I hope you liked this post, and look forward to all your insights you would like to share.
Until Next Time, Take Care.
simplisticInsights 