There have been so many people who have tried to decipher exactly what happiness is. The heart of happiness boils down to acceptance. Acceptance is not passive. Acceptance doesn’t mean you don’t want to change something in your life. It means you accept things are what they are now, while actively changing what you don’t like.
That is different from complaining and moaning how you wish things were different. That is not acceptance. That is magnifying the situation you are unhappy about and making it worse.
Quietly notice and acknowledge what is happening in your life. And quietly change the things you don’t like, while accepting where you are now.
This is the root of happiness. When you are content with everything you feel satisfied. And a string of continuous happy moments equals a happy life. There is no “big defining moment” you have to work towards before you can allow yourself to be happy.
Many believe they will be happy when they have found their perfect soul-mate. Many believe they can only be happy when they are earning a specific amount of money. And many believe they can only be happy when they look a certain way.
Postponing happiness is not the answer. If you define your life by so few “big moment” your allocated times for happiness will be small. And what happens if you don’t achieve any of your defining moments? Does that mean you will never be happy?
The trick is to acknowledge joy and contentment in everything. Yes every little thing. At first, you will have to actively remember to be joyful and to slow down and allow yourself to enjoy what you are feeling at the time.
If something has happened in your life that you are unhappy about, simply note that you feel unhappy but don’t dwell there. Ask yourself if you can accept what has happened. If you can’t then ask yourself what you can do to better the situation. Then feel happy you are doing something positive.
Once you are in the practice of regularly feeling content, this feeling of happiness will overwhelm your life. Because you are living in the present moment and accepting (but not being attached) everything in your life you will be living life every day as a happy person.
