Happiness Is A Journey Not A Destination – Learn How To Be Happy

Happiness is a relative concept. To some people, it entails realizing achievements and having friends who deeply care about them.

While to others, it is about having the freedom to pursue one’s dreams. It may involve getting a good education, a well-paying job, and starting a happy family.

Being happy is the one thing that everyone hopes for. But many people go wrong by trying to figure out a “master” path that will lead them to happiness.

Happiness Is A journey

Just like the thrill of traveling, true happiness is not found at one fixed point in life. Instead, it is a continuous experience that one gets to experience in life.

To be truly happy, one has to accept one journey in life and purpose to make the most of it. It is believed that the more you chase something, the less attainable it becomes.

According to this theory, desperation for material things makes it hard for one to attain satisfaction in life. Therefore, focusing too much on material gains greatly reduces one’s chances of being happy.

To enjoy the ride to happiness, one should be willing to smile through the smooth and the rough experiences that life has to offer.

Is Happiness A Destination?

Some people believe that happiness can only be achieved after achieving a given set of goals. This kind of happiness is detrimental, and all those who follow it end up being frustrated.

Other people’s happiness is pegged on material items. For example, one might think that having a great job will bring happiness and satisfaction in life, only to end up being unhappy employees.

Another person may also believe that having a family will bring unending happiness. After getting a family, the person finds out that it comes with a ton of responsibilities.

The quest for this kind of happiness is unending since each new day comes with its new challenges.

Additionally, at some point, these predicted destinations may dissolve completely. The most important aspect of life changes. Believing that happiness is an end goal makes no sense at all. The constant desire to achieve goals and beliefs to have happiness is absurd, and it mostly ends with disappointment.

How To Start Your Journey Of Happiness

The best starting point of learning involves mastering the basics. This principle also applies to happiness. We can easily achieve happiness by focusing on the right day-to-day habits.

To be successful in the quest for happiness, consider starting with habits that are easier and more fun to do.

1. Start with something easy and fun

Experiencing positive emotions helps us to build a better part of our character and personalities. It also helps at broadening our mindsets, intellectual and psychological resources.

Therefore starting with easy and fun activities will help you increase your chances of achieving true happiness faster.

These activities help build your emotional intelligence. You ought to practice these habits regularly as they boost your emotional skills, which will improve your chances of controlling your happiness.

These habits include;

2. Practicing Positivity

You can practice positivity by restricting your thoughts and actions to activities that can result in happiness. All the negative practices with the potential of destroying your happiness are put aside.

3. Happiness values

Each person has his own aspects of happiness. You should identify and clearly clarify your values that lead to happiness and follow them. This will help you live a life that aligns with them.

4. Practice Mindfulness

Positive mindfulness leads to improved mental health and one’s well-being. You have to be more aware of all your emotions and accept them.

5. Practicing Mental time travel

It is all about imagination. When we imagine events, our brains tend to process the events as real. Imagining ourselves as happy in the future increases your chances of actually being happier.

6.Habits that foster happiness

Living a happier and more satisfying life is within your reach. All you have to do is make a few adjustments to your daily routine to enhance the experience. Most habits that lead to happiness are always positive actions in our daily routines.

7.Smiling

We smile for various reasons. Whenever we get excited, our brains release dopamine hormone, which makes us smile.

Don’t go around giving fake smiles, as that does not pass for happiness. Make it your habit of often smiling, even when you are having a slow day.

Start your day with a smile and challenge yourself to find more reasons to smile throughout the day.

8. Exercising

A little exercise helps one to reduce signs of stress, depression, and anxiety. It also increases one’s esteem. You are more likely to be happy in life if you have high self-esteem.

There are several physical exercises that can help you achieve this. Your choice of exercise should be fun and realistic to your goals.

You could sign up for a gym program, take a daily evening walk or try out yoga and see which ones work for you best.

9. Being grateful

Practicing gestures of gratitude lead to a feeling of hope and happiness.  Start your days by acknowledging the small things you’re grateful for and be thankful for them.

You can do this at any time, like when waiting for your snoozing alarm to go off or brushing your teeth. As the day goes by, try recognizing the pleasant things that are happening around you.

They can be things such as getting a promotion or knowing that someone loves you dearly.

They can also be as little as a coworker who offered to share lunch with you or the security guard who waved at you. The little practices of gratitude will help you notice all the positive things around you.

10. Giving compliments

Acts of kindness make one feel more satisfied. Giving clear and quick compliments can help brighten another person’s day while boosting your own happiness as well.

If you want to compliment a person, you should maintain eye contact while complementing them boldly.  It will actually make you feel good.

When offering someone a compliment about their physical appearance, make sure you do it respectfully.

11. Acknowledging unhappy moments

Even though having a positive attitude is a good thing, we do not have the power to always control the outcome of events. Whenever the outcomes are unfavorable, we should learn to accept and embrace them positively as everything happens for a reason.

Acknowledge the feeling and let yourself experience it for some time speeds up the healing process.

12. Documenting your experiences

You can organize your thoughts through journals, analyze your feelings and make better plans for days to come.

Keeping a journal can help you analyze your experiences and deduce invaluable lessons from your past experiences.

13. Treating yourself

Do not depend on people for your happiness, as happiness is an innate thing. On boring days you can choose to take yourself to your favorite places.

You could tour your favorite park or treat yourself to a piece of bacon at your favorite pork joint. This kind of act to yourself will give you some level of satisfaction, guaranteeing you happiness.

14. Socializing

Human beings are social beings by nature. Great and caring friends make us happier. Find out those you miss and spend some quality time with them.

You can also make long phone calls and know how they are faring on. Making friends in adulthood is hard. However, the number of friends does not matter but the quality of friends.

Consider taking part in charitable activities as this will help you meet new people.

15. Draw inspiration from nature

Nature has so much therapeutic value to offer. Taking part in conserving nature can also be fulfilling. You can conserve it through planting trees or feeding animals.

Though underestimated by many, nature walks can also lighten your mood as they are calming and therapeutic. You could take a stroll around your neighbourhood park, your backyard, or even a rooftop garden.

16. Meditation

There are several meditation techniques. It does not have to be something complex as long as it helps you achieve the desired results. You can learn meditation by practising how to concentrate on your breathing.

17. Create a thought list

Most people spend too much time on their phones and social media.  You can put this time to better use by formulating a thought list.

At the start of each month, write down the good thoughts you are looking forward to experiencing that month. Be it a ride, going to the market, and having unintended chats with people.

Conclusion

Happiness is the original emotion and a journey. Don’t wait till the end to start feeling the beauty and joy of happiness.  Each experience comes with something for which you can be grateful.

At times it isn’t easy to notice those things. But they do exist, right there under our noses. When you achieve something or hit a milestone towards your dreams, you need to celebrate.

Enjoy every step you take, not just the end. You need to enjoy the whole life’s journey and celebrate the small victories you get along the way.  That is true happiness.