What does happiness look like? Everyone has a different definition, and all of them are correct. Read on to know how to be happy in life.
If you ask a doctor, happiness is seeing the sick recover; for a painter, it is seeing his visions come to life. For a child, it is probably the silliest thing you’ve ever heard! The definition of happiness changes, but the formula is the same—surrendering to your present. So, what is true happiness? Read on to find out.
How to Find Happiness and Be Happy
For some, happiness is petting a puppy, while for others, it is eating that perfect slice of cake. As far back as you can think, the quest to find true happiness is a constant in all human civilizations.
The first step in defining true happiness is to accept that there is no one true definition. It is that feeling that motivates you to get up and get things done. To quote Aristotle, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim, and end of human existence.”
While material pleasures can make you immensely happy, it is not long-term. The moment there is a better phone out on the market, your beloved old phone no longer makes you happy. To break this vicious cycle of finding happiness in material things, try making your own happiness. If you become a source of happiness, you will never run out of it in your life!
Our Wellness Programs
Looking for services related to this subject? Get in touch with these experts today!!
Experts
Neelam Parwani
India
Life Coach
Experience: 5 years
Mansi Chawla
India
Psychologist
Experience: 12 years
Sapna Zarwal
India
Psychologist
Experience: 19 years
Deepti Gandhi
India
Life Coach
Experience: 6 years
Zabby Sharma
India
Life Coach
Experience: 11 years
What True Happiness Looks Like
When people ask what happiness looks like, they often think of how it makes them feel and not how it looks. Can you define how an emotion looks? Yes, you might say happiness looks like a new pair of shoes or maybe a promotion letter that was long due; in its truest sense, what you perceive as happiness is simply the cause and not the effect itself.
So, what does happiness feel like? Let’s take help from biology to understand this. It is a pleasant feeling that runs throughout your body, caused by the interplay of three hormones—oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine. In fact, this pleasant sensation is the flurry of electrical signals running through your brain as a result of certain external stimuli.
Hence, simply put, when you seek happiness in life, what you are essentially doing is looking for these stimuli. However, the best kinds of triggers are not the tangible ones but those you find within yourself.
What is True Happiness?
“Happiness is not a goal … it’s a by-product of a life well-lived.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
It is common to put your happiness in places where you have to work hard and achieve rather difficult goals to get to them. While this is a great motivator for getting something big in life, it does nothing to make you truly happy.
True happiness is what you feel when you plant a tree or see the perfect sunrise (it doesn’t matter where you see it from). When you search for happiness outside, it is often hidden in plain sight, within yourself.
So, the next time you hear yourself asking, “why can’t I be happy?”, stop and take a long and hard look at where it is that you are looking for. Is it amongst tough goals, or is it in simple, everyday things? You’d be surprised to see how much a small change in your perception of happiness impacts your overall mental and physical state.
How to Be a Happier Person?
- Defeat Negative Thoughts: Training your mind to be positive is paramount to internal happiness. When you think positively, you radiate all of this positivity and, in turn, allow positive things to come your way.
- Be More Physically Active: Meditation, breathing exercises, and general physical activities all release happiness hormones and make you love your mind and body. Self-love is the starting point of being your personal source of happiness.
- Meet Happy People: The only way to get “Good Vibes Only” is to be around people who are optimistic and happy. A negative mentality is very potent and can waste all your efforts in keeping happy.
The Secret to Finding Your Own Happiness
The answer to how to find happiness is rather simple. When a baby is born, he is always happy. So, what does the baby do differently? He enjoys every moment of this life without prejudices. Here are four ways to find happiness from within.
- Enjoy life’s little things instead of fixing your happiness to tough goals.
- Spend a good amount of time every day doing what you love the most.
- Take charge of your daily life, plan it as you like and execute it wholeheartedly.
- Love yourself before loving anyone and anything else.
How to Be Happy with Yourself
How to be happy with yourself is one of the most popular searches on the internet today. One of the easiest ways to be happy from within is to stop comparing yourself with others and being so hard on yourself.
Yes, it is important to be successful, but as Leo Tolstoy said, “If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.” The step toward self-love is accepting your quirks and flaws; only then will the world accept you for who you are.
“Why Can’t I Be Happy?“
If you ever ask yourself, “why can’t I be happy?”, try following the simple tricks above. However, if nothing else works, you should evaluate your mental health status. Depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders clinically prevent a person from finding true happiness.
Being depressed is okay but not accepting your mental state (living in denial) or not seeking professional help is NOT OKAY. Register for our online counselling and therapy sessions at United We Care to assess the problem and address it. These sessions are confidential and personalized to meet your unique needs.
Remember, you live once, and the only way to live is happily!
| [1] | J. R. Averill and T. A. More, “Can money buy happiness? Not until we can clone it,” Am. J. Med., vol. 92, no. 1, p. III–IV, 1992. |
| [2] | W. Tatarkiewicz, Analysis of Happiness. Leiden: Nijhoff, 1976. |
| [3] | J. F. Helliwell, R. Layard, and J. D. Sachs, “World Happiness Report 2017,” 2017. |
Unlock Exclusive Benefits with Subscription
-
Premium Resources
-
Thriving Community
-
Unlimited Access
-
Personalised Support
