Still on the topic of self love and self appreciation. The next question I have for you is….What Makes You Happy?
Yes - What makes YOU happy ?
I asked two of my good friends over the weekend, ‘What makes you happy?’ The answers i got back were a little mundane - (sorry girls) they answered in a similar way one of my friends said ‘well I think I like this and I think I like that’. Then my other friend said ‘I don't actually know’, so then I told them the things that make me happy and they were more forthcoming with their response.
You need to be happy on purpose and seek after a lifestyle that actually makes you smile, of course there are things that we can't control that will make us sad, disgruntled and so on. This is life!
It is fundamental that we live our lives doing what we can to make ourselves feel positive and cheerful. It sounds so cliché, but the truth of the matter is that life is short and we need to do everything we can to live a fulfilled life.
Often we want other people to make us happy but we can't live our lives dependant on someone else, we can't hold another person responsible for our happiness. I believe people can add to your happiness but they shouldn't be the sole reason for your happiness.
I have spoken to different groups of people and in particular married couples who have said ‘well my wife/husband doesn't make me happy anymore’ and I used to have the sorry outlook ‘You’ve got it all - how can you not be happy? You've got kids, you’ve got a house - why wouldn't you be happy???’ I think it is very important to appreciate what you already have and I know this is something that we are told to do all the time.
It is great to have bigger goals and want more for yourself but also take time to enjoy the present and cherish the great moments within the current situation. Human nature is that we will always want more and we always want to try to get the next attainable thing, which is not a bad thing as long as you maintain a sense of happiness whilst doing it. I’m not saying don’t try to achieve better what I am saying is don’t let your current position make you constantly unhappy because you are trying to get to the next phase of your life. Just take it in one day at a time, do what you can and do it with a smile : )
The real sense of happiness comes from you as the individual, everything else is an add on bonus. Some people say well if I had lots of money then I'd be happy, errrm - I've also heard about filthy rich people who wish that money never came their way.
The bottom line is take some time to really figure out what makes you smile. I recently discovered that I love beautiful scenery, so I have started taking pictures of the sunrise and sunset because it reminds me of how awesome God is. That's my personal journey and my little place of happiness.
Take time to be happy on purpose and live a life that brings you joy, it isn't easy and we learn new things every day, but it’s a journey worth discovering.
Be happy on purpose :)