Everyone has their own definition of happiness. And one’s definition is as just as good or right as the other. Because in the end, what matters is how you feel about yourself and everything around you. You are the only person who can tell whether you’re truly happy or not.
No Definite Meaning of “Happiness”
For some people, happiness is achieving certain milestones in life. Happiness is a great and stable career, or a new house, a happy family, a wonderful relationship with someone you love, a new pet, or anything really. We cannot dictate happiness. We cannot impose our definition of happiness to someone. Just because a person is “unhappy” based on our standards doesn’t mean that person is indeed not happy.
Happiness is subjective. It’s not a one-shoe-fits-all kind of thing. It’s as unique as every person on the planet.
It’s a Way of Life
Being happy is a feeling. It’s an emotion. There are many ways to make yourself feel better. But being happy doesn’t always mean that you are a happy person. Being happy is not always equivalent to happiness. In a broader sense, happiness is a way of life. It’s your relationship with yourself, the people around you, and life in general.
Just because you feel sad and depressed due to hormonal changes at times doesn’t mean you cannot achieve or haven’t achieved happiness. Life is a roller coaster of emotion. It’s normal to feel all these emotions at some points in our lives. But that doesn’t mean we are not happy. Embracing our being human is a step towards happiness. To be happy, we must first feel how not to be happy. It’s normal to feel different kinds of feelings. . Achieving happiness includes acceptance that we cannot be happy at all times.
You Can’t Buy Happiness
Yes, this is a cliché. This is something that you see printed on a home décor or a sticker. But being a cliché doesn’t make this statement any less true. You can’t buy happiness. You cannot drink it or recycle it. While things make us happy, like a book, a new car, a jewelry, and whatnot, happiness is intangible. It’s a state of mind. In order for us to be truly happy, we must look beyond the physical. Material things can make us happy. But to be truly happy, we must go inward and discover it for ourselves.
It’s Inside You
You can’t look for it anywhere. No matter how far you go, if you don’t discover yourself and start a journey inward, you can never find true happiness. It’s not just something you find outside by taking out a flashlight and start searching. Of course, you need outside experiences, you need to be in touch with families and friends, you need to discover things. But if you truly want to be happy, you must look inside yourself.
Happiness grows inside of you. Connect with your body, mind, and soul. Accept truths and embrace yourself. Oriental philosophy teaches us about how our journey inward matters more. That’s a thought to ponder on.
Don’t Try Too Hard
You cannot rush happiness. Being happy takes time. It must grow naturally inside of you. And this starts when you accept that life is full of surprises, of ups and downs. Life is hard or can be. Accepting that fact and learning to live your life and stay happy despite through it all can lead you to real happiness.
Cry, be angry, shout, feel guilty, laugh. It’s normal to do all these things, to feel all these emotions. You are a human being, not an emotionless computer program or a robot. You cannot dictate happiness. Just let it flow.
The ones mentioned above are just guides on being happy and achieving happiness. In the end, you are the only person who can truly say that you have achieved true happiness or not. Now it’s your turn to ask yourself this: What does it mean to be happy?