Who Else Wants to Find the Keys to Happiness?
The keys to happiness … if you could just get a hold of them once and for all!
But what’s the meaning of happiness for you? Would you like to have:
- total financial freedom?
- perfect health?
- your ideal spouse or romantic partner?
- intelligent and successful kids?
- the perfect job or a flourishing business?
It’s wonderful to have all these; but if you happen to have achieved them after first having most wanted them, you know that they are not enough for you to be really happy.
You know these are not the true keys to happiness.
And not only that; more often than not, they are side effects of living in a state of authentic happiness.
Famed philosopher Napoleon Hill is quoted as saying, “Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.” According to him, one of the keys to happiness lies in experiencing – the adventures, the discoveries, the surprises and the sheer excitement of success and achievement.
Traditional Approach: Happiness from Outside In
You think that if you could gather “this” and “that”, you’d be happy?
When you are young and on the cusp of making a mark in the world, happiness probably means getting the career you want, the lifestyle and all the symbols of success. At that time, money and happiness are interchangeable, right?
Then, happiness shifts to getting married, having kids, a house and two cars.
Fast forward several more years; if you are like most people, you hit the skids with a mid-life crisis. You start to realize that your control over the outer world is not only temporary and limited, but illusive as well. From time to time, you may experience bursts of conditional happiness - as long as your expectations of others are fulfilled.
But when your boss makes you angry, when your father depresses you, your teenager disappoints you, your spouse hurts you, the politics infuriates you, the economy worries you, the government lets you down, your happiness plummets. When they – your boss, father, teenager, spouse, the politicians, the government don’t please you anymore, disillusionment sets in.
What previously made you happy makes you less so now, and a new search begins for finding life purpose and the keys to happiness.
Your Joy & Happiness Come from Within
Would you like to experience happiness from the inside out? How would you like to experience unconditional, authentic happiness – regardless of others and external circumstances? How would you like to experience a deep sense of serenity and fulfillment that infuses all your life?
Is this possible?
The positive psychology of happiness proves that it is. Increasingly popular in the last few years, it teaches you how to find happiness by releasing your “stories”, changing your thoughts and attitudes. When you stop judging others or outer circumstances and begin to practice acceptance, forgiveness and gratitude you put in motion the secret Law of Attraction, the ultimate Genie.
Moreover, when you have a high self esteem and give up your need for external approval, you gain enormous mental freedom – another one of the keys to happiness. The more real you get, the more unreal and irrelevant “things” get.
This idea has been around since ancient times, but was brought to light again recently by gifted spiritual teachers, like Eckhart Tolle, for example. He offers a novel approach, which runs in sharp contrast to the tendency of our modern world to live in our heads and to be always planning what’s next.
In his bestseller “The Power of Now”, he talks about the keys to happiness lying in being fully present for what is happening “now”, totally savoring and enjoying each moment as it comes. According to him, it’s in the present moment that we find our greatest creative power as well.
Yet, Eckhart Tolle’s teaching is not so different from the thoughts of ancient enlightened thinkers. The Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius said, “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.”
So the idea that the keys to happiness lie in your mind is not new; it was forgotten and now it’s here again bringing our sanity back. Isn’t the thought of only you being responsible for your own happiness deeplyliberating?
Once you understand that happiness begins within, you start finding joy everywhere, even in a simple cup of coffee in the morning. Pretty soon, your inner joy spills into every aspect of your life, onto everyone you meet. It starts to guide you in choosing the right opportunities, making the right decisions.
So consider this.
The true keys of happiness are within. They are independent of other people and outer circumstances. You’ll only own them by changing your view of the world, appreciating what you already have and accepting the things you cannot change – a well-designed self help program will help!
When you are happy, you are passionate, inspired, creative, kind and loving; you are self confident, appreciate yourself and others, play, and laugh often. You radiate joy and optimism wherever you go, whatever you do. Happiness and work go hand in hand and you start living on purpose and enjoy true abundance and prosperity!
