Abraham Lincoln once said that most people are about
as happy as they make up their minds to be, and I couldn’t agree more.
Yet, for millions of people, happiness is as evasive as the proverbial white rabbit, and try as they may, they cannot get their hands on it. The reason for this is not because there is a conspiracy to keep you from contentment; it’s because you’re looking in the wrong place.
Many people, and perhaps you fall into this group, search for happiness from external sources. You may feel you need to find your soul mate, make more money, or become a size 2 before you can be happy. Yet, all of these
external factors will not bring you happiness, because true happiness only comes from within.
And the sooner you realize that you CAN be happy, right now and under your current life circumstances, as Lincoln said if you make up your mind to be, the sooner you will realize that joy exists all around you.
Tapping Into the Happiness in Your Life Whether you are 18 or 80, there’s always time to
shed your current, perhaps limiting, beliefs about happiness. The insightful tips that follow take the abstract idea of looking for happiness from within and put it into practical strategies that you can use to tap into your inner happiness today.
1. Accept yourself: Don‘t get too critical about yourself. Just learn how to love yourself as you are.
2. Happiness is a state of mind: No one can make you unhappy if you have decided for sure that you will be happy in most situations.
3. Prioritize your life: Learn how to
balance the various responsibilities that you may have so that your priorities are being met.
4. Take care of your health: An unhealthy body cannot be the home of a happy mind.
5. Stay in the company of happy people: Being in the company of people who have a habit of criticizing is likely to divert your mind toward negative thoughts.
6. Be grateful: Saying a small "thank you" for what you have can make a lot of difference.