3 steps to Happiness NOW

Are you still waiting for your circumstances to change before you’ll allow yourself to be happy? Most of us have preconceived ideas of what would make us happy, and those goals are in our future thus we refuse to be satisfied until those things happen.

Have you ever noticed that even when you achieve specific things in your life that you are rarely satisfied in the long run! Instead, we shift our focus to something even bigger and better, believing “it” will make us happy (or happier). We are always striving and therefore never allow ourselves to reach a point of contentment. Have you done the same thing to yourself?

The good news is that you can decide to be happy NOW – even if not everything in your life is perfect. Below you’ll find 3 easy ways to do so:

1) Be grateful. Gratitude is one of the most powerful states of mind that you can adopt. Not only does it make you feel good, it shifts your focus from what you don’t have to what you DO have, and keeps it there! As you focus more on what you are grateful to have in your life (even the really small blessings!), you worry less about anything that may be lacking. The result? A more pervasive sense of happiness! Take a few moments now to reflect on what you are grateful for.

2) Take time to smell the roses. If you spend most of your days feeling rushed, stressed and scattered, it’s hard to feel happy and content. In order to be truly happy, you need to make time for yourself to relax, dream, and take pleasure in life’s simpler moments. All the great teachers in history have spoken about enjoying the present moment. Beginning today, make sure to spend time doing things you love on a regular basis. Read books that stimulate your imagination; listen to great music; take long walks, and generally make an effort to enjoy your life as it is right now.

3) Love the journey. Many of us make the mistake of pinning all of our expectations on some vague, far-off result, like the completion of goals. We believe that once we “get there” everything will be perfect and we’ll finally be happy. However, happiness then becomes elusive. There is much to be gained from enjoying the journey TO your destination! Make it your mission to revel in every moment that you’re working toward higher goals. Enjoy the sense of self-mastery and accomplishment you gain with every goal you achieve. Make it a worthwhile journey and you’ll savour the end result that much more!

The most important thing to understand about happiness is that it is largely a CHOICE you make from moment to moment. Though certain serious situations make it difficult to feel happy at times, most often we allow the little things to bother us and block any happiness we would otherwise feel. Happiness comes from within not outside us. Embrace happiness for how things are now, and it will grow to huge proportions in your life!