By Shilpi Bhatt:
What is happiness? Google page says, “Happiness is a feeling of joy and fulfilment or a state of being happy.”
The definition is theoretically correct but what does the sentence mean in reality? How can a sense of joy and contentment be felt to gain happiness?
If you can maintain an equilibrium between what brings you satisfaction and what you’re happy about on a day to day basis and be consistent in controlling your feelings – you can live with a sense of contentment and fulfilment.
Long-lasting happiness needs practice. There’s this theory that resurfaces from time to time, the one that says that if you do/not do something for 21 days, you will have either formed a new habit or unlearned an old one.
Keeping that theory in mind, if we could control our emotions, fulfil our goals, concentrate on positive thoughts for more than 21 days, it can actually work! I tried it myself and the got positive results.
Even though happiness can be both short-term and long-term, hence, makes everything long term because short-term happiness fades over time as we get used to them.
For example, getting promoted in the team, birthday presents, and visit a beautiful place. Think of a day, when you woke up and saw a nice email from your manager where he/she appreciates your work or your first sale or anything positive that you are not expecting to happen soon, you become happy for a fraction of a second.
How long does that happiness last? A day, a week or probably two, it fades away with time. We can be happy about those little things in the long term by creating a positive aura around us, believing in us, self-confidence is the key here.
I still remember those days when I was a kid. My siblings, and I were happy with just about anything, from getting two mangoes to eat instead of one to having ice-cream or sleeping late. Those happy memories don’t exist anymore, lost somewhere in an abyss. Happiness is also about how you perceive things. Your perceptions must be positive to remain happy.
You can decide how fulfilling you want your life to be.
40% of your happiness is controlled by your thoughts, actions and behaviour. 50% is genetically determined, and your circumstances determine 10%. So, take care of that 40%, trust me it’s all a mind game, how you feel, what you think, how you deal with a situation, etc.
You cannot alter 50%, and 10% are a gift of nature but what can be altered is that 40%. Don’t try hard, just practice.
We all are aware of the fact that being in control over negative emotions and feeling joyful leads to the following:
1. Healthy life – Health is wealth
2. Productive at work and other activities
3. Relationships grow stronger
4. Motivation
5. Leads to Success
Or, we can say vice-versa, one is directly proportional to other.
When negative thoughts begin to overpower us, that’s the time it needs to be nipped in the bud, and that is the first step towards leading a happy life.