How to Find Happiness Within Yourself
Although most people believe happiness is essential, to many it appears elusive, conditional, and dependent on factors outside of themselves. What if I were to tell you that your happiness has less to do with your circumstances than you may think? What if I were to tell you all the happiness you will ever need resides within you right now? In this article we’ll discuss how to find happiness within yourself using four deceptively simple tips. When used together, these easy principles become a powerful strategy for finding and cultivating your inner happiness.
1. Don Your Rose Colored Glasses
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” —Winston Churchill
Be an optimist, and choose to see the bright side. An optimist tends to see obstacles or hard times as temporary, while a pessimist views them as permanent and ongoing. Respond to life’s problems and challenges with confidence knowing you can handle them. One way to increase your optimism is to make sense of hurdles; find meaning and purpose in hard situations and focus on it.
2. Make the Choice
“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” —Abraham Lincoln
Happiness is a choice; choose to be happy. Your perspective and world lens is the result of a choice you’ve made, whether conscious or unconscious. To find and increase your inner happiness make a deliberate decision to do so.
3. Take Out the Garbage
“Throw out everything you don’t need . . . that is keeping you from this moment. You’ll be amazed [by] what you can do.” —Socrates (Peaceful Warrior movie)
Clear your mental clutter, and make more room for happiness. Of all the things that require your mental energy, make the distinction between things that are really important and things that are not. Actively release thoughts, worries, resentments, etc. that consume your mental space. Without unnecessary things to clutter your mind, you’ll have more room for things that add to your joy.
4. Live Your Individual Bliss
“One way or another, we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life, and dedicate ourselves to that.” —Joseph Campbell
Observe yourself, learn what makes you truly happy, and add more of it to your life. As unique individuals, we each have a different formula for what nurtures the happiness within. Recognize your passions, respect your goals and life mission. Find things that bring you happiness, and do them in your own unique way.
You know how to find happiness within yourself, and it is something you can access all the time regardless of your circumstance or situation. Be an optimist, intentionally choose to be happy, clear your mind of unnecessary clutter, and find ways to nurture your own unique bliss. This simple strategy will allow you to access your inner joy at all times.