We are all chasing happiness but how to know when we’ve found it? Is it obvious? What are the signs? Are you happy without knowing it? How many people have you heard complaining about the fact that things use to be better? It seems that most of them were not feeling happy then, still, they are missing this past era. Would you define yourself as a happy person? What’s missing to your happiness?
How To Define And Measure Happiness?
Happiness is a state of mind directly linked to our ability to be and stay positive. Feeling happy with a negative state of mind seems very challenging. With a negative state of mind, people tend to expect for the worst and as the law of attraction states ‘likes attract likes’. With negative thoughts and attitudes, people bring negative results to them.
Happiness is nothing more, nothing less than a choice. You can decide to be miserable – and you will be; or you can decide to be happy. By seeing things positively, by expecting positive outcomes, you will attract more positive results. It seems simple and it is. Your life will be easier if you decide to be happy and positive. I am not saying that it will be perfect, however, you will better deal with challenging situations and people.
The writer Tom Hopkins summed it up “Being miserable is a habit. Being happy is a habit. The choice is yours”.
How To Be Happy? How To Find Happiness?
We all tend to think that happiness depends on external factors. Most of us will measure happiness based on ‘having’: having friends, having a life partner, having a job, having beautiful things such as a car, a house, a nice watch.
What if I tell you that you have the power? You have the power to be happy, to change your vision of the world, to change your state of mind, and to make any action to reach your definition of happiness. It is a big piece of good news as you can’t change others, you can’t change the world, and you can’t always have the perfect here and now.
What you can change is yourself: your vision of the situation, your state of mind and your reaction to people and situations. The author Gary W. Goldstein said “All you can change is yourself, but sometimes that changes everything!”
Next time you want to be negative or to put the blame on other people or situations, remember that you are in charge with your own feelings. Refer to the visual below: when pointing finger at someone, 3 fingers are pointing towards your own direction.
About The Author
Maud Vanhoutte – Professional Development Specialist
Maud Vanhoutte – Professional Development SpecialistMaud Vanhoutte is a soft skills expert specialised in communication, body language, and presentation skills and who also excel in leadership and management. She has 10+ years of experience in facilitating interactive and dynamic corporate training workshops and excellent coaching sessions across different industries.
Her unique approach comes with a unique pedagogy: interactive, dynamic and playful! With the highest integrity, Maud provides authentic coaching and training from the heart, with passion and purpose. Positive, empathic, intuitive, creative, generous are some of Maud’s qualities.
She works with all kind of clients: corporates, non-profit organisations, individuals, job seekers, and communities.