Image from here |
Who doesn’t
want to be happy? I wasted almost an entire lifetime chasing happiness until
life taught me that happiness is not something to be chased but accepted. It’s
given freely. All around us. You just got to have a mind to choose it.
I feel like
being a little textbookish today. So here it is:
Psychological
researches consistently suggest that good relationships
provide the strongest basis for satisfaction in life. Even introverts require a
few close relationships if they are to be happy.
An effective
way of creating happiness is making positive differences in the
lives of others. It is not hard to find ways to be helpful to others
and reach out to the less fortunate. When you do that, your sense of self-worth
increases and you add a greater meaning to your life. Moreover, your
relationship with those people whose lives you touch will deepen. Another
advantage is that this will help put your own problems in perspective and
direct your energies away from self-absorption.
Enjoying your
work is
of prime importance if you wish to be happy. If you don’t enjoy your work, you
are in the wrong place; find your right place. Or else, learn to love what you
do. You can never be a good doctor unless you love dealing with your patients.
I will never be a good teacher unless I enjoy being with my students. This
doesn’t mean you have to dedicate your entire time and being to your work. No
one on his deathbed, so far, has expressed regret for not spending more time at
workplace. It is a good idea to strike a balance between your career and your
personal pursuits. I love blogging as much as I love teaching. The former gives
me an additional sense of contentment while the latter brings my bread home.
Meaningful
personal goals add tremendous happiness to our lives. Learning to play the violin or
writing a new book or creating a garden on your terrace can all be personal
goals. Many people make spiritual development their personal goal. Spirituality
need not be about religion at all especially in a world where religion has
become a loathsome thing that breeds hatred and violence. Genuine spirituality
ennobles you and touches others positively.
Openness to new
experiences is essential if you wish to be happy. Living in a fixed groove is the
easiest thing to do. We keep doing the same thing again and again. Then we keep
getting the same results again and again. Get out of the rut and breathe some
fresh air. Sing a new song. Moreover, let new things happen to you. Clinging to
traditions, however ancient and sanctified they may be, is not an ingredient of
happiness in any research done in that field so far.
Count your
blessings.
Optimism is not very difficult even when life is an uphill task. There is
something good happening in spite of all the pain we endure along the way. If
nothing else, I choose to be happy today just because I don’t have a toothache.
I’m sure we all have some much more than that to be happy about. How about the
seat you managed to get today in the crowded metro train?
PS. I’m indebted to Michael
W. Passer and Ronald E. Smith for all the highlighted points in this post. The
points are plagiarised from their book, Psychology:
The Science of Mind and Behavior.
PPS. This post was inspired
by the latest prompt at Indispire: #happinessworthless. The hashtag is a little absurd. The
blogger who suggested the prompt, Pranita
Deshpande, intends to ask whether the present chase for wealth has
hamstrung happiness. If wealth could provide happiness to people, Mukesh Ambani
would have been the happiest person in India. Even Modi ji and Amit Shaji ji ji
[multiple ji for him, he deserves it, sad man] should have been a lot happier by that
logic. They are all caricatures instead. Maybe, Ms Deshpande’s hashtag is not
all that absurd?
Nice post
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vartika.
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