HAPPINESS IS SUBJECTIVE, IT DEPENDS ON YOU!

What is happiness?
People have agonized over this question for centuries, but only recently has science begun to weigh in on the debate. Is a state of being happy really that far from being attained by us all?

Well, the answer is no – what if I told you that it was under our noses all this time?

Happiness is not about feeling good all the time. Now, that would seem a bit frivolous, huh? Research even suggests that if you focus too much on trying to feel good all the time, you’ll actually undermine your ability to feel good at all—in other words, no amount of feeling good will be satisfying to you, since what you expect (all the time) isn’t physically possible for most people.

Happiness is not about being rich that you can afford everything you want in life. While living below the poverty line certainly makes it hard to be happy, beyond that, money does not appear to buy happiness. It would only be a matter of time before your expectations change to fit your new budget. This holds true for all the new houses, new cars, new gadgets, and all of the other material goods that people spend so much time pining for.

Happiness is certainly not a final destination. The old phrase, “Are we there yet?” is often applied to discussions of happiness, as if a person works their way towards happiness and one day “arrives”. It takes regular effort to maintain happiness. Most established techniques for becoming happier is by keeping a gratitude journal, for example. Keep in mind that habits (not one-shot events) and most life events that make us happy in the short-term, like getting married or being promoted, fade over time as we adapt to them.

So, what is happiness?

Think of it like you think about weight: if you eat how you want to and are as active as you want to be, your body will settle at a certain weight. But if you eat less than you'd like or exercise more, your weight will adjust accordingly. If that new diet or exercise regimen becomes part of your everyday life, then you'll stay at this new weight. If you go back to eating and exercising the way you used to, your weight will return to where it started. It goes, too, with happiness.

In other words, only you have the ability to control how you feel. With a consistent practice, you can form life-long habits for a more satisfying and fulfilling life.

“If you want to be happy, be.”
-Leo Tolstoy