Finding Happiness Within – The Surefire Way to Inner Calm

Happiness is an elusive emotion that all of us want but very few of us truly have. We spend most of our lives looking for happiness, either in people, things or activities. But what we don’t understand is that real happiness has to come from within, that we have to find it in ourselves rather than look for it elsewhere. And only by finding it inside us can we achieve peace and calm in our lives. If you’re constantly stressed and feeling out of sorts, here’s what you can do to relax and find that inner calm that we’re all searching for:

• Find pleasure in what you have: rather than cribbing about what you don’t. Life becomes so much more peaceful if you look for the good things in every person and every thing that’s a part of your life instead of noticing their faults and complaining about them. Your cheerful attitude radiates all around and permeates into the hearts of the people in your life – and they in turn are happy too. You’re more satisfied with your lot if you don’t think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and if you really believe that your life is perfect.
• Keep busy: An idle mind is definitely the devil’s workshop – it conjures up emotions of the most negative kind that eat into your very soul and happiness. Keep yourself busy doing the things you love to do and don’t give yourself time to brood over the things that you think are wrong with your life. Before you know it, your problems will disappear. Of course, new ones will crop up every now and then, but if you tackle them head on in a positive manner instead of sinking into depression and bemoaning your lot, you’ll find yourself feeling so much better.
• Pamper yourself once in a while: To be really happy, do something that you really love. If you love vacations, make sure you take one every year. If friends are your thing, then visit often or keep in touch over the phone. If you love shopping, do so, but within the limits of your bank balance. Do what it takes to make you feel good, but make sure that the feeling of pleasure is not a short term high. For example, you can’t splurge on your credit card and then face a crisis when the bill comes; or take a week off work and come back to find you’ve lost your job. Pamper yourself, but at the same time, be prudent when you do so.
• Look at those less fortunate than you: Anytime you feel like ranting at God or the higher power that dictates your life because of the unfairness of it all, just take a moment to think about those who are less fortunate than you – the ones who struggle for one square meal a day, the ones who are in constant fear of losing their lives because they live in war-torn areas; the ones who have lost children, husbands and wives to strife; the ones who have lost a limb or organ and are handicapped for life as a result; the ones who struggle to make ends meet because they have too many children and not enough money – the list is endless. It’s wise to count the blessings that we do have rather than agonize over the ones that we don’t, because, if we look around us, there are so many others who are worse off than we are.

The key to true happiness and inner peace is to be truly content with what you have, and to not expect too much out of life and other people.

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of the community college. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com