What will it take for you to be happy in life? Will it take success, lots of money, and that car you have been wanting? What will it take to really allow you to just sit back and enjoy the moment? If you have an answer to that question then you may be missing the point of pure happiness, and you may never truly be happy with what you have. Allow me to explain.
The truth is that most people do not become happy once they receive the things they thought would make them happy. This is because pure happiness is a mental state; it's not something that you receive when you get something in your life. You have a choice to be happy, and if you haven't chosen to be happy yet then you probably won't be happy when you get something you want. It's just that simple.
How to Be Happy With What You Have
Only Accept Things in Your Life That Make You Happy
First of all, don't accept things in your life that make you unhappy! Jack Canfield once said that he only does things that make him happy, and he's a pretty happy guy! This is so obvious but many of us don't follow this simple rule. We work at jobs we hate, we live in a house we hate, and we do things we don't want to do because we think we have to. But the truth is we don't have to, we always have a choice.
If you find that you are unhappy with what you have then start taking action to change. For example, if you are unhappy with your job then take action towards finding a job you love. Get the education you need to get the job you want or just go ahead and apply for it. Do whatever you have to do to make that change and be happy.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a way of being in the moment and really seeing it for what it is. Have you ever heard of the raisin exercise? This is an exercise where you mindfully eat a raisin by noticing the taste, texture, and the way you feel while you eat it. In the exercise you are aware of the process of eating the raisin from beginning to end. This is an example of being mindful of what you are doing. You are not passing judgement, you are just observing.
Mindfulness can help you to be happy with what you have by allowing you to really appreciate what you have. Take the time to really notice the things or people in your life that you may otherwise take for granted. Notice those things or people and really be mindful of how they benefit your life and what they do for you. This can be about something as simple as your shower and being mindful of the great job it does getting you clean. You will find that it will be hard not to be happy with your shower after you allow yourself to see and feel how great your shower really is for you!
Live in the Moment
Ever notice how you are really happy when you are on vacation? That's because you are living in the moment. Can you imagine having that feeling at home, everyday? Doesn't that make you want to live in the moment?
When you live in the future you may find yourself worrying about things. This includes waiting for something to come into your life in order to be happy. For instance, if you are waiting for a soul mate to come into your life in order to be happy then you are probably focused on what the feeling will be like when you meet your soul mate and how your life will be different then it is right now. But you are probably worried about the how and when of it all as well, and that is causing you stress - not happiness.
Living in the moment allows you to stop stressing about what is going to come and when it is going to come. You can have dreams, you can have wants and desires, but if you spend your whole life stressing out about when those dreams and desires are going to manifest then you are missing out on the now and the happiness you could be feeling.
Bottom line: Don't let go of your dreams and desires, but don't spend all of your time in the future. If you want to be with what you have then you have to be living in the present. You can't be happy with what you have now if you are always living in the future that you think will make you happy.
