The Happiness Condition

Hmmm…happiness… it’s a condition many people contemplate.  It's probably THE one thing we have in common that we are all seeking.  What is the condition of happiness?  How do we achieve happiness?  Seems like everyone is looking for it but just can’t seem to achieve it. 

I believe it’s because everyone is looking for happiness in all the wrong places!  Almost everyone believes that once they get “THIS THING” they will achieve happiness.  Those goals are endless - more money, a new lover, starting a family, moving to a new house, losing weight or getting a new job.  This list is different for everyone, but the one thing that they all share is everyone’s belief that if they get “THIS THING”, they will achieve happiness. 

But the flaw in this thinking is that typically, once you achieve “THIS THING”, almost immediately it feels underwhelming and you set out to create another goal for yourself to achieve this thing called happiness. 

But I’d like to ask you…what if?  What if you simply decided to be happy right now?  I mean happy!  All of the happiness!  Big toothy grin, heart filled with joy!  Just in this moment.  Just in this right NOW.  Regardless of your life story!  Regardless of your current list of “problems”.

Take a few moments and look around.  What do you see directly in your current view that makes you happy? 

I will share what I personally see right now.  I see my dog Valentino sitting in my lap.  He makes me so freaking happy I cannot even express this!  I see my plants in the window, they bring me happiness too.  I see the large open windows of my home that face south, I love the sunshine that I get from those windows and that makes me happy.  I look at my kitchen that I love, and the family gatherings that we share in that kitchen, and that makes me happy too!

Do the same in your environment!  It doesn’t have to be monumental!  It doesn’t have to feel life changing.  Just take a few moments and seek out the things in your direct environment that make you feel happy.  It could be that coffee cup your co-worker gave you last Christmas or that drawing on your fridge your child made for you.  You see it’s the moments we are living right NOW that create happiness!  It is your mind and your focus that perpetuate it!  Not your achievements, not your goals, not your hard work! 

I know I know!  You are saying to yourself right now “Seriously, it can’t be that easy!  I’ve been taught that you have to work for happiness!”.   But I am here to tell you THAT IS A LIE!  It is a fib told over and over again by people that haven’t achieved the condition of happiness because they need an excuse to explain why they feel inadequate, why they don’t feel happy.  So they blame the fact that they haven’t achieved the results or the goals they have set for themselves to obtain this condition.

I’ll give you a great analogy.  My dog LOVES to chase his tail (which is what most people feel like when they are seeking happiness).   But the funny thing is, if you could see my dog when he does this, you would SEE the sheer happiness in his face!  The absolute JOY of chasing his tail!  He recognizes the joy in this moment is simply enjoying what he is doing.  Revelling in THIS VERY MOMENT.  He’s not worried about what he will do tomorrow, or who he will do it with or how he will finance his next tail chasing experience.  He is just loving his life RIGHT NOW. 

So do yourself a favor, and for the next week (or month or year) spend time every day and appreciate the little things that make you happy.  I PROMISE doing this, will shift your perspective and you will begin to feel happiness every day, regardless of the goals you set for yourself.   And I will let you in on a little secret, once you begin to appreciate all the little things in your life that bring you happiness every day, those big goals you set for yourself will come to you faster than you can imagine!

Bobby McFerrin said it best “Don’t Worry, be Happy”. 

~Donna