Warning: Don't Postpone Happiness!

“Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through one's head.” ~Mark Twain

Is happiness something that you believe will come attached to some future event, or some special person? Are you postponing happiness until you have the ideal job, live in your dream home, find the perfect mate, retire, or some other future situation?  If you find yourself caught up in these thoughts you will always be waiting for happiness to arrive, which it never will, because those types of events will bring only temporary fulfillment.  

Don’t fall in the trap of delayed happiness! By repeating these type of thoughts, you convince yourself that some outside circumstance or future event will bring happiness. This is one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves. Be happy NOW, because that's really all we ever experience; the present moment.  The root of happiness is not connected to the circumstances in our life. Benjamin Franklin described it like this, “Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”  If your not happy now, then you won’t be happy no matter what happens in the future unless you change yourself.  You hold the key to your own happiness. 

The only constant in life is change.  Instinctively we know this, so it is only natural to dream of a future aligned with our deepest desires.  There will be hopes and dreams along the path of your life, each one eagerly anticipated as you walk through life. Focusing on these dreams and goals is a healthier mind set than focusing on the past, yet do not forget to also stay present as much as possible. Enjoy today.  These are the good ol’ times that you will talk about someday. Life is what’s happening while your waiting for the future.  Experience the journey with joy and awareness, because in the end, most destinations are just stepping stones to bigger dreams.

Not only are life situations not connected to happiness, but neither are people. Other people can’t make you happy, any more than we can make other people happy.  Happiness isn’t something that can be given to someone.  Happiness is something that we can only give to ourselves.

 There are many seeds of happiness, but none of them are attached to future events or people.  

Exercise:

Is there something that you’ve been waiting for before you’ll allow yourself to be happy?  Contemplate what those thoughts do to you.  Thoughts like that convince yourself that you can’t be happy until something happens.  Begin to believe that you can be happy regardless of what the future holds. Begin to believe that you have the power be happy now.  Begin to believe that you hold the key to your own happiness.

many blessings~

Laura Barrette Shannon