Four Secrets to Happiness…
1) Positive Thinking:
Positive thinking is one of the best ways to achieve our goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives. Happy people feel empowered, in control of their lives, and have a positive outlook on life.
Action Plan: Make positive thinking a habit. In fact, this should be one of the first habits that we should develop. Get into the habit of squashing all negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. Instead of “I can’t,” think “I can,” “I must,” or “I will.”. It works.
2) Good Relationships:
We have a human need to be close, to be intimate, with other human beings. Having good, supportive friendships, a strong marriage, or close and loving relationships with our family members will make us much more likely to be happy. Therefore, we should realize that when we have mates, buddies, and old friends — brothers and sisters who we chat with, laugh with, talk with, and sing songs with, talk about different places or any topic under the sun — that is more likely to make us happy!
Action Plan: Spend quality time today with your loved ones and friends, to tell them what they mean to you, to listen to them, and to develop your relationship with them.
3) Flow:
Flow is the state we enter when we are fully engrossed in or completely focused on the work or task before us. We are so immersed in our task that we lose track of time. Having work and leisure that get us in this state of flow will almost undoubtedly lead to happiness. In this state, there is actually no difference between work and leisure. People find greatest enjoyment not when they’re passively mindless, but when they’re fully absorbed in something they love, have deep interest in, or are passionate about.
Action Plan: Find work that you are passionate about. Seriously, this is an extremely important step. Find work or hobbies that you are passionate about. Turn off the TV — this is the opposite of flow — and get outside and do something that truly engages you.
4) Being in the Present Moment:
In our dealings with the world, we function in chronological time. But if we are not alert, subconsciously we may lapse into what is known as “psychological time”. It is defined as identification with the past and continuous compulsive projection into the future. We are trapped in time when there is a compulsion to live almost exclusively through memory and anticipation. This creates an endless preoccupation with the past and future and takes our focus away from the present moment.
Happiness is not in hanging on to the dead past or being anxious about an uncertain future.
Action Plan: We have to make it a habit to monitor our mental and emotional state through self-observation. “Am I at ease at this moment?” is a good question to ask oneself frequently. Or one can ask: “What’s going on inside me at this moment?” Wherever we are, we have to be there totally.
Always live in the present moment, neither in the past nor in the future.
Definitely money is lower in the order.
We should not educate our children to be just rich. Rather, we should educate them to be happy. So when they grow up they will know the value of things, not the price. Most people know the price of everything without knowing the value of anything.
“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket — keep it in your own.”
Chitti Babu
Thanks Guruji for reinforcing the most essential ingredients to happiness through clear precise explanation.