Paths to Happiness [1]

Happiness is one word that has come to mean several things; while to some people, it is commonplace, to others, it is an illusion. Whatever your understanding of happiness is, it's been proved severally that people with a happy disposition live a better and more fruitful life. In fact, it has been shown, in several studies, that health and general wellbeing are greatly influenced by individual characteristics. 'Happy people fall sick less often' is a statement I found on a medical site.

Late in the 1990s, researchers at the National Institute on Aging, after a ten year study, found that, irrespective of changes in marital status, age, job or finances, people with a happy disposition would still be be living a happy life after a decade. That is, no matter what life throw at them, people that have learnt to be happy, will always have a happy life. That's an astonishing fact. The question is; 'can we learn to be happy?' or 'are people just born with happiness?'
Wherever you are in life, and whatever you might be going through, you can decide to be happy and remain happy. Within every one of us lie the power, the will and the resources to lead a happy life. Problem is, some people don't just make use of what they have, while some others search the wrong place for it. We have all been conditioned to think that more riches, more luxury or a better job will bring us happiness. And unfortunately, it takes some people several years of following the wrong path to learn that they have been misled.

Happiness is a result of the mix of several habits or characteristics we develop over the years. Happy people everywhere exhibit these characteristics and just by learning these habits, you could find lasting happiness. These blends of habits vary, depending on your point of view, and ranking them on a scale of importance would be difficult. But in the next four posts, I shall be discussing these 'habits of happy people' one after the other.

SELF ESTEEM

Of the 'habits of happy people' my first pick is self esteem. It is sacrosanct that you'll never find happiness if you do not love, trust and believe in your self. Self love or self esteem is one of the most important prerequisites for a happy life. Sometimes, I start my day by listening to Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love", and where I feel most inspired is where she said "if I fail, if I succeed, at least I've lived as I believed". That is the highest point of self esteem. You must take control of your life, you must realize that the most important thing in life is not failure or success; it is the ability to decide what you want to make of your life and to follow that path.

When you feel that you are in control of your life, that you are following the path you have chosen for yourself and doing what you want to do; you feel that immense inner love for yourself and your self esteem will soar. And, most importantly, you would have laid the foundation for a happy life. People who feel their live is being controlled, often feel dejected, depressed and used. They have very poor image of themselves, want to blame everybody for the problems they have and spend the best time of their lives wishing they could do better with their life. You don't want to follow that path.

Decide today to love yourself, to take control of yourself and determine where and what you want to do with your life. If you haven't learnt anything from everything above, at least, know that 'your life's your business'. It's your business to be happy, go work on it today.

Words for Today

Depend not on another, but lean instead on thyself...True happiness is born of self-reliance.
The laws of Manu

I have failed many times, and that's why I am a success.
Michael Jordan (1963 - )