The Art of Happiness
June 7th, 2017
Everyone has their own definition of happiness, which can vary depending on the day. On a good day, happiness for me is a positive feeling experienced over and over again. It is like a warm light at the background of every moment that I experience, like a walk in the park and a warm tea in my favourite coffee shop. Most of the time happiness includes me just being. Being in the moment. On a bad day, happiness is just surviving untill the end of the day. It is not losing it when my son doesn’t want to do his homework; it is staying calm when everything around me falls apart.
Have you ever really thought about what happiness means to you?
I believe that happiness is about a happy journey and a happy destination. Did you know that we can choose to be happy at any moment? Although the fact that we can choose it doesn’t mean that it is easy, and we can find that we make it very hard for ourselves. Today you can say that you will be happy when children are in bed and the house is clean and your work is done and your husband is not snoring while watching TV and… But is that the case? Would ticking off all the items on your to do list make you truly happy?
As I mentioned above, the key to happiness is learning how to be happy right now, not tomorrow. Here are my top tips to support you on your way to achieving happiness.
Practice Gratitude
We all have bad days, bad hair days, and bad work days. But there is always something that you can be grateful for, even if it is something basic: a roof over your head, a meal or someone to hug. Start a journal where you write three good things that happened on that particular day. Coming back to this journal on a bad day can be all you need to feel a wave of happiness.
Stay in the Moment
Whatever you are doing, make sure you stay fully engaged. We live in times when it is so easy to become antisocial while using social media. Make sure that you stay focused – breathing exercises are an amazing way of focusing your mind.
Accept Responsibility for Your Life
You are not a victim of terrible circumstances. We have a right to respond to everything that happens to us in the way we choose to. We may not control everything but we can definitely control how we respond to life crises.
Dalai Lama XIV said that “a disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” So practice positive things daily!
Magdalena Lorynska is a therapist and owner of Wellness in Motion. She is passionate about helping people feel better physically and mentally. Visit her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/wellnessinmotionuk) for wellbeing updates or see www.isbourne.org for details of her classes.
