What is real happiness anyway?
How can you tell if you’re really happy?
Happiness seems less a matter of getting what you want than a matter of how you feel about what you have. It has little to do with how well things are going and everything to do with the ability to adapt to difficult circumstances and maintain a sense of well-being.
No one is an island. We all have other people in our life to consider. One small step toward happiness is learning that it is okay to be sensitive to other people’s feelings, without having to ignore your own. You will still find wonder in the smallest of things. Nurturing and caring are as natural as your smile.
Keeping a journal helps me stay grounded. It centers me if I’m feeling bad and lifts me when I’m feeling good. For me, anger has always been the most difficult emotion to deal with. Learning to pick my battles has been a struggle. I had to start learning to recognize what I could change and what I couldn’t…letting go of the latter so I could pour my energy into the stuff I could do something about. Writing those emotions down rapidly became a step toward real happiness.
Learn to slow down. Open your heart to simple pleasures. Each moment can hold them. “A bee is never as busy as it seems. It’s just that it can’t buzz any slower.” Stop and smell the roses. Maybe dig in the dirt of a small garden and plant a few roses of your own.
Smile more. The world will smile back.
Celebrate life’s little victories with the heart of a child. Singer Lena Horne once said, “ It’s not the load that breaks you down. It’s how you carry it.” Take a break from adulting every once in a while.
When was the last time you did something new? Try something different. You might just love it.
Stop fighting nature! Don’t try to fit into some ‘Ideal’ mold. Accept who God made you to be and focus on your assets. Relax, and be good to yourself.
Make a little effort to take small steps to enrich life and bring true happiness and peace of mind into every day.
You can’t go back. Can’t fix what broke. But you can go forward. And every step matters. Every step makes a difference.
I pray you’ll take at least one small step toward real happiness today…and another tomorrow and the next day…and the next.
Contentment Cottage 