What happiness means to each person can vary significantly, but the universal definition is associated with emotions such as joy, contentment, pleasure and satisfaction. A significant indicator of happiness relates to how satisfied one feels in his/her life. Therefore, happiness is subjective to an extent. When you look at your life and reflect on your job, your relationship, your personal achievements, how you view these areas of your life has a direct relation to your overall happiness.

This is significant because it tells us that happiness has a direct relationship to living the life that you most want for yourself and living up to what you define as successful, accomplished, and satisfied.

Living to the best of your capabilities takes on a whole new understanding…and becomes imperative to your overall wellbeing.

Too often we hear people saying “I’d be so much happier if…” It could be finding a partner, conceiving a child, getting a better job, driving a better car, living in a better house…. You name it and we can find a reason we need that particular thing in our life to complete our ultimate happiness.

However, having something won’t ever lead to last happiness. It can only bring temporary joy in the moment, but not true happiness.

That is because happiness is never associated with something external. Happiness is actually an internal state of being that is not motivated by anything outside of us. When we allow happiness to become our internal state, we become unmoved by the external world around us. Happiness then becomes a part of who we are rather that what is going on around us and what temporary emotions we are feeling.

Being happy is detached from the physical world.

Have you ever wondered how certain people are able to find happiness and joy in the most unfortunate circumstances?

This can be attributed to a state of being they are in. It has become who they are regardless of the events taking place around them.

You see, if we allow our external world to be in control of our happiness, at any moments notice it can be taken from us. This is a scary place to be because there are unfortunate events happening every single day. No matter who you are or what you have, the world can be a rough place. This isn’t to say that happy people don’t experience “negative” emotions. They are not immune to feelings of anger, frustration, distress or sadness. The difference is in their response to these type of emotions.

A happy person approaches unfortunate events and emotions with optimism. A positive outlook that things will get better, be better and that the experience is only temporary.

The practice of optimism becomes a profound and necessary element to happiness.

Happiness involves a combination of pleasure, meaning and engagement. Without the three qualities working together, happiness is elusive.

At any given moment, we can feel pleasure. This is the easy part of the equation. Finding the time to feel pleasure, to laugh at something funny, to participate in hobbies we love and have a general sense of well-being is an important part of happiness and something we need to make a daily practice. However, without being combined with a greater sense of meaning in life and involvement with community, happiness becomes momentary. Too many people focus on just the feel good part of the equation of happiness without doing the work to find their meaning in life and practice positive engagement with their community.

When we lack meaning, purpose and engagement, people have a tendency to create drama as a means to fill the voids missing in their lives.

Always seek purpose.

Strive for lasting happiness.

Questions for you to ponder this week…

Are you finding time to make pleasure a daily practice?
What are you doing with your life that the world needs from you?
Are you surrounding yourself with a community of people who are positive, productive, and bring meaning to your life and amplify your vibe?