Happiness goes beyond just feeling joy, excitement, and external happiness. This is deeper within us, where we have contentment, gratitude, bliss, and self-love. Happiness is an appreciation of one's whole self and the aspects of one's life. These can be clouded with all of the external aspects of life, like our careers, money, the news, social status, social media, our work and home environments, and so much more. 18% of our population report being depressed, and there are so many who report they are unhappy with their lives, and some are misdiagnosed today. Our mental health is crucial to our physical health; it helps us be more aware of our decisions regarding food, stress, emotional responses, and much more. In this article, I will explain the art and science behind happiness and how you can find it for yourself.
Happiness is a Perspective More Than a Feeling
We have been given many examples of happiness, such as money, nice cars, a big house, and being well-known and liked. In reality, when we look at the science behind people who are wealthy and have all of those things, we actually report less happiness than people who make a middle-class salary. It leaves them feeling like it's never enough and wanting more. People desire security, stability, and freedom when it comes to money. This comes from having a sound financial plan with your money and spending your money wisely. This is also directly correlated with your satisfaction at your job. More than 50% of the US reported feeling stressed at their job daily, 44% more worried, 22% feeling sad, and 18% people reported feeling angry. This is all due to people being unable to pursue their passions and fulfill parts of themselves that make them feel like they have a purpose. As you can see, people need to feel more passionate about their work, leaving you unhappy. (This is not true for every company)
Happiness begins with finding what you love to do and doing it with all of your heart. Within your job, lean on your team, build connections with them, and lean on them to have support, security, and safety in feeling. When we can rely on our team, we create a support system that can boost your sense of purpose and make you feel more passionate about your job. Create a healthy relationship with your boss, learn about each other, find out their goals, and then see how you can help them help you. This can help you climb in your career and make you feel like you are growing towards something you care about. When we think of stability within our team and that we have a path of growth with our boss, it turns from just a job to a place of purpose and growth. This boosts our levels of bliss, gratitude, and overall happiness.
Healthy communication is key to building a healthy perspective on your job and life. It all starts with how we talk to ourselves. Start your day with a healthy evaluation of what you are grateful for and what you love about your life. This can help with self-talk, self-love, and confidence. Practicing these types of communication also builds more positive communication skills with others because it can influence more positive conversations instead of negative ones. I recommend journaling, saying positive affirmations, and practicing meditation to help with building more mindful approaches to build a happiness-based perspective.
Gratitude Improves Our Levels of Happiness
Happiness comes from a place of genuine gratitude for the things we have. It's not how much we have that makes us happy; it's about the things we find meaning in. The things for which we have a genuine appreciation. When we recognize the value within something by how it makes us feel that it is a place of happiness, when it just fuels our ego, that is never sustainable because it relies on the instant dopamine hit for happiness. This all comes from gratitude for what we currently have. Gratitude is giving thanks to things we have been given that may be the simplest things in the world but have the most importance in our lives. For example, the fact that you can walk, see, smell, touch, and breathe are all things we do naturally that we don't have to think about. We take these things for granted each day, and they have found that when we can find gratitude for these gifts, we begin to experience happiness within ourselves. Now, does this mean you have to be or will be happy all the time? No, because happiness is a fleeting thing. It's okay to be sad, frustrated, anxious, depressed even throughout your life because that is the normal cycle of a human's emotions. But when we can focus on one thing we are grateful for, it can make those seasons of life a little easier.
They have found in studies that people who practice more gratitude experience more positive emotions, improved resilience in times of stress and worry, and decreased levels of depressive symptoms.
How can you begin to bring more gratitude into your life? Start with the things that stick out to you the most, and write down as many things you can think of that you are thankful for. When you do this, then journal what you're grateful for about all those things. This can help you narrow the list to find the things you genuinely appreciate that mean the most to you. Meditate daily on these things, feel your appreciation for them, and how they make you think. This boosts happiness and releases endorphins, which increase your mood and energy.
Discipline Generates Happiness
When we talk about discipline, it is not punishment or negatively reacting to something you have done. It's about creating a sense of control and accomplishing things that make you feel good. When we are in a state of confidence, our happiness increases. When we have no path or sense of control, we chase chaos or distractions, which lowers our ability to be happy. Self-discipline is the ability to control one's feelings and overcome weaknesses. When we have this control, it boosts our confidence to do things that may overwhelm us or make us feel afraid. Fear can make things seem worse than they are. This increases our stress response, creating feelings of anxiety, frustration, and overwhelm. Bringing awareness to what we fear and doing it helps us overcome our fear and build resilience to things we don't have control over. When we consistently do this, it builds our confidence. Confidence drives good feelings about ourselves and, in turn, will create an overall better sense of happiness.
Getting started with discipline in your life doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as simple as wanting to exercise three days a week for 20 minutes. Set the goal, and then even when you don't want to do it, you decide to do it anyway. That builds confidence. Another example can be reading a book. You want to read a book for 10 minutes a day. Again, even when you don't want to, you do it anyway.
When we stick to what we say we are going to do, it translates into so many aspects of our lives. Being consistent with showing up for yourself will boost your confidence, increase your energy, generate positive thinking, and improve your happiness overall.
It's the Little Things In Life That Make the Biggest Difference
We have all heard that life's little things make us happy. Does this statement have many facts to it? In fact, it does; when we appreciate the little things in life, we generate joy, gratitude, and bliss for the things that we already have. Living from a place of contentment is vital to living a life of happiness.
In today's society, we are always looking for the next thing, whether that is the newest iPhone, the newest Lulu lemon outfit, a big house, more money, etc. Whatever it is, these create dissatisfaction with where we are in life and can create feelings of disappointment and painful cravings for things we don't or can't have. When we live in a place of contentment, we allow ourselves to be happy with what we have, making room for us to grow toward the things we want to gain.
A tip you can use to raise awareness of the little things in life is to have practice in the morning or throughout the day of recognizing little moments that make you feel joy, whether it's your morning cup of coffee, your walk in the evening with your partner, the sound of the wind, or the birds chirping. These small moments can be considered blessings that we have been given, which can generate feelings of joy and gratitude.
Giving Back Brings More Happiness
There is so much science and research behind the art of giving back to your community, neighbors, friends, and family. It generates more than just positive emotions when we can lend a hand or help someone in need. It provides us with a sense of peace and love.
Giving back doesn't just have to involve money. It can be helping your neighbor cut grass or cooking them a warm meal. It can be volunteering at the homeless shelter for the day or at the children's home. It can be as simple as telling a random stranger they look nice today. Giving back doesn't have a size chart.
When we help others, we release a hormone called oxytocin in the brain, which boosts our bodies' feelings of being loved. This helps regulate and reduce stress levels in the mind and body. Give back in some way: buy someone's lunch, give a compliment, or be someone's ear for an hour. By giving a gift, you are also receiving one at the same time.
Happiness Comes From Our Place of Peace
Peace is found within ourselves; our place begins with where you find security, bliss, and presence. To find this peace within ourselves is first to understand where we are currently and what it would mean to get to this feeling of peace. There is no example of this; I recommend spending some time in meditation to really think about the things most important to you. What brings you peace when you think about it? Is it your spouse, children, hometown, or childhood home? Wherever it may be, create this place of peace within yourself.
We all have different circumstances, and those situations may have complex environments. Still, the beginning path to happiness is to figure out what will bring you peace, which will give you something to work towards. I recommend working with a therapist on this to help you create the tools necessary to help you get to your place of peace healthily and safely. Also, practicing silent meditation or working with a coach to guide you through learning meditation and implementing it into your lifestyle can be a great way to build more mindful habits as you work towards your place of peace.
Take Away
Happiness can't be defined by anything; there is no data-driven way to be happier. The only way towards happiness is through self-love, fulfillment, and gratitude; all of these have different definitions that we find within ourselves. I want to tell you that all of you have the power within you; all you have to do is give yourself some space to listen.n.
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