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There is a constant quest for happiness. Sometimes we are fed misinformation and terrible ideas that tell us that putting someone else's happiness before our own is the right thing to do. For some of us, we are taught that our happiness comes in the form of servitude to parents, a spouse, children, jobs and the list goes on. We are often given misinformation based on another person's personal experiences and preferences as it pertains to their happiness.
What we fail to ever hear is that happiness is different for everyone. The things that make you happy may not make someone else as fulfilled. Many of us spend significant amounts of our time chasing someone else's vision of what happiness is. We think because we don't have the same ideas or goals as others that we will be less happy than someone else.
The problem with taking another individual's idea of happiness is that you don't give yourself time to try to figure out what will make you happy. Therefore causing yourself unnecessary mental turmoil over why you are not feeling as happy as you thought you would be once you mimicked the life of another individual. Often we tend to go with society and what the status quo tell us will make us happy, or the visions portrayed by someone else's life, and we tend to make the assumption because they have a particular lifestyle they have attained true happiness. Assuming someone is happy, based solely on their looks is a big misconception and further inhibits our acquisition of true happiness. I will share with you eight ways to attain personal happiness.
1. Take care of you. If you are not performing at your greatest potential how can you be any good to anyone else. All of your needs must be met, and you should actively work on doing something for yourself every day. Stop putting what you want on the back burner for others. You should be the most important person to yourself.
2. Work on your dreams. Not a day should pass where you don't spend some part of it no matter how small devoted to your dreams and goals. Even if it's only five minutes, there will be so much fulfillment in those five minutes that you will be encouraged to spend more time devoted to making your dream come true.
3. Use happiness confirmations. Tons of books and websites offer beautiful happiness reminders. The happiness quotes and testimonies are great to read and reaffirm your mission of joy. Humans are creatures of habit, and we need constant reminders of things before they become second nature to us. Therefore, the confirmations work to train our minds in a new way of thinking and approaching our fulfillment.
4. Be thankful. Gratitude is crucial in attaining happiness. The things you currently have in life were once a desire, so you must be grateful for the current manifestations in your life to manifest more. The universe operates off of vibrations: if you are always thankful, you will receive more reasons to be thankful.
5. Make no comparisons. When you compare your life to that of a person who you presume is doing better than yourself you are setting yourself up for mental strife and emotional instability. The feeling that someone doesn't deserve something as much as you do will drive you mad. What the Universe has for you will come to you just be patient.
6. Celebrate small victories. Every little thing you do counts. Praise yourself for small wins, small wins add up to big wins. Celebrating little things will help to keep you focused on the bigger goal in mind. If the little things are being done, then there is only a matter of time before the big goal is accomplished as well.
7. Believe that you deserve. You deserve to be happy. There is nothing that you have done in your life that ultimately decided that you can't have joy. You have to know and understand that you deserve to be happy and that you are the sole person responsible for making you happy.
8. Stay away from negativity. Negativity comes from everywhere. It is your duty to recognize when something makes you uncomfortable and does not add value to your life. It is crucial to do your best to rid your environment and life of negative energy, people, situations, etc. One cannot attain happiness in an atmosphere full of negativity.
Happiness is attainable by all. We must remember to understand that everyone's view of happiness looks different, and it is imperative that we do not compare our happiness to someone else's. Happiness is like a fingerprint: it is unique to the individual.
By Anya Hollis, the Huffington Post, February 26, 2016
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