Finding Happiness - What the Pursuit is All About
What is happiness? How do we achieve it? People all over the world have struggled over these questions for centuries. The truth is, the answers have always been out there!
Every American has heard the phrase "the pursuit of happiness," but not a lot of people understand what it really means. "Happiness" is not something you must strive for; instead, happiness is something you achieve via the pursuit of another goal. People don't wake up some time in their lives and say, "I'm happy now." Everyone must find his or her own unique path to happiness.
So how do you find your path?
First, picture yourself in a perfect world. Try not to think of the cliché fantasy of a sandy beach drinking a piña colada. Instead, try to think of what changes you would make to your current situation to make it ideal. Would you prefer a different job? Do you wish you had a better house? Is there a skill you always wished you had? Picture all these things coming true. If you like, you can write these things down and number them. This is your path to happiness.
Let's pretend you always wanted to play the flute. First thing is first, go out and get yourself a flute at a local music store. Ask a friend who has one. Borrow one. Buy one on eBay. Whatever you need to do!
Next, find someone who can teach you how to play. Maybe there is someone you met who knows how to play. Ask that person for lessons or find out if he or she knows a good teacher. Look online for websites. Go to a bookstore and pick up a music book. Or just start teaching yourself.
At this point, you would probably be no better at playing the flute than you were before. However, I can guarantee that you will already be extremely happy with yourself. That is the idea.
Achievement is not always Success
Actually achieving a goal is a very relative idea. How well do you have to know the flute before you can say you achieved? The point is not to focus on how good you want to become, but how good you already are. Seeing oneself progress at something brings with it one of the greatest feelings one can experience. In other words, even if you do not "achieve" your goal, you are still able to make yourself happy.
Go through your list of goals and try to actively work toward as many as you can. If you ever find yourself bored, unhappy, or upset, go back to your list and continue working at your goal. The closer you get to success, the happier you will become.
A friend of mine once told me that when he was very young his goal in life was to climb a mountain. Eventually, when he was a preteen, he and his family went on a hiking trip. "Look! We climbed a mountain!" his mother told him. Though it made him very happy to have achieved his goal, he was also saddened. "What now?" he thought. Ever since, he has strived to achieve everything in the world that can be achieved. "That way," he told me, "I will always have something to strive for." My friend knows there is no way he can achieve everything in the world, yet every step he takes gives him joy.
You don't necessarily have to be like my friend and strive to achieve everything. Even if your goal is to achieve everything you personally may ever want, you have all the opportunity to reshape your world in whatever way you desire.
Don't Look Down!
Happiness is a purely mental state. Therefore, you must change the way you think about things in order to get the most out of life. If you find yourself frustrated or saying, "This was a waste of time!" stop and reconsider. Don't evaluate your life based on how much material success you are awarded. People forget that the pursuit of happiness is for happiness, not money. Money is just a means, not a goal itself. In other words, if you don't need more money to get what you need to achieve your goals, then place less of your focus on monetary gain.
If you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, think about what it is that makes you upset and find something about it that is beneficial to you. If you can't, then focus on something else. Always keep the "Don't Look Down" principle in the back of your mind.
If you were, for example, late for work and you kept saying to yourself, "My boss is going to be mad," "the traffic is going to make me even more late," and other negative statements, guess what? Even if these things don't happen, you will still feel terrible when you arrive. However, if you think positively ("The boss will understand," "Traffic will be fine," etc.), then even if things do not go as you hope, you will be more prepared to deal with the worst. This is the basis of the "Don't Look Down" principle. Simply, you travel towards what you can see, so if you are looking toward where you do not want to be, that is where you will end up.
In short, seek the things in life that make you happy. Do not get bogged down by negative thoughts or the pressure of achievement. But most of all, don't look down!
Source: www.articlesbase.com
