Finding Happiness
By Rachel Devine author of, The Third Road & Lessons from the Needle in a Haystack
5 Secrets to Happiness
Finding happiness is the key to a successful life. Finding joy in the journey is rewarding. Most people want to be happy and live a fulfilling life. Happiness is really an inside job. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” What a great way to view life, knowing that you have the ability to be happy by changing your mind. One can be in the midst of an external war and still make up their mind to be happy. It’s comforting to know, that we do have control over our thoughts and our thoughts do navigate what direction our life will go in. If one has a lot of negative thoughts, their life will go in a negative direction. On the other hand, if you resonate with positive thoughts, your life will go in a positive direction. That is the law of attraction. Our thoughts are powerful and what we put out into the universe, with thoughts and deeds, comes back to us. That old adage, “what goes around comes around,” is not just empty words of wisdom. It is the foundation of the law of attraction.
Let’s get started. These are my 5 Secrets to happiness:
Money
Faith/Spirituality
Relationships
Good Health
Having a Purpose
Secret #1 - Money
Studies show that having enough money for basic living expenses, and some extra money for vacation and other pursuits, was on the list as one of the secrets to happiness. Financial stress is a major issue and causes a lot of unhappiness. And let’s face it there isn’t any fun in struggling financially. On the other hand, studies show that those who win the lottery do not achieve happiness either. In fact, they achieve quite the opposite. Studies show that lottery winners typically wind up squandering their money. Furthermore, some have had marriages fall apart and became estranged from family members who wanted to get a piece of the lottery winnings. Once their money is squandered they are back to their old way of life, which usually is not one of great prosperity. Having had a real taste of being financially well-off and then the money running out could be quite devastating. Therefore, it is important to know that winning the lottery is not going to make you happy in the long-term scheme of life.
One way to increase your income would be to do daily affirmations. Affirmations are an incredible way of letting the universe know that you want to increase your income. This falls under the law of attraction practice.
Here are three of my favorites:
· My Income is constantly increasing
· I am a magnet for money
· I deserve all the prosperity coming my way
Say these affirmations often every day. Add some of your own. I love Louise Hay’s audio book, “You Can Do It.” She has tons of positive affirmations that truly work
Secret #2 - Faith/Spirituality
Studies reveal that having faith or spirituality in some capacity made people happy. Whether it is a religious faith or a spiritual faith it is a proponent to happiness. Being able to rely on a power greater than yourself is one of the keys to happiness. There is a comfort in knowing that you are not alone on your journey and there is a higher power that is always within you to guide you through life. That guide comes as a whisper from our intuition and a myriad of other ways. The vast universe has an intelligent force that creates mountains, brings about miracles and helps us in life. That power is within you. If you want to learn more about this power within, my book, The Third Road, is a great guide to connect you with that incredible power.
Prayer and meditation are positive ways to feel joy. It also reduces stress and has a ton of health benefits. Getting on a daily routine of meditation will help you feel peace and happiness.
A firm connection to your higher power is crucial to having a fulfilling and happy life. Typically, what goes hand in hand with faith is fellowship, either in a 12-step program, a church, a prayer group, synagogue or other groups. Being in a fellowship with like-minded people is important, especially in this day of age of uncertainties. It’s important to be around people that you can communicate with and to have as a support system in adverse times and good times. A good community of people who are faithful is amazing.
Secret #3 – Relationships
Family is an integral part of being happy. And I do realize most families are dysfunctional in one way or another and family gatherings are not always happy. There are degrees of dysfunction in all of us, some are less dysfunctional than others. And some family members are just extremely difficult to be around. However, being in a family unit helps people feel less isolated, alone or like an outcast. Setting boundaries is key if there are dysfunctional issues you might have with a family member. In the best of families, family helps us get through the most disastrous times and is there for us in the best of times. Family can be a source of comfort when there is a death in the family and can help each other through the grieving process. Family is important because they can offer support and security coupled with unconditional love. Family traditions around the holidays, birthdays and other life-changing events are a sure way to socialize. Furthermore, these traditions are a way to keep us connected so we are not isolated and alone. Friends are crucial to being happy. Surround yourself with positive friends who lift you up. Friends that complain and are negative will bring you down.
A Universal need: To love and to be loved.
Being in a healthy, loving relationship is like having gold in the bank. It can be an amazing experience and bring much happiness.
However, I want to point out that single people can be happy just like those who are married. It really is all about how you view it. Of course, if you are single and long for a happy relationship, then there will always feel like something is missing. Some people prefer to be single and are very happy with that lifestyle and find romantic love in dating or other ways.
If you are not in a loving relationship, look at the people around you in your life. What are you doing with their love? One cannot wait for a soulmate to come into their life to be loved. The people around you, your children, parents, co-workers and friends are here in the present moment, which is all we really have; give your love to them. People are starving for love and remember in giving we receive. What are we doing with their love? Let’s focus on what we have rather than what we want and remember those people around us want love as much as you do.
Secret #4 – Good health
It’s so important to live a healthy life-style in order to keep us in a happy state. That old adage, “if you have your health you have everything,” is so true. And think about it you can have all of the above-mentioned secrets for happiness and if you don’t have good health the rest seems a little trivial.
A few suggestions to improve health:
Eat healthy – get rid of sugar
Add more fruits & vegetables
Exercise daily
Give up any foods with preservatives
Moderation with alcohol
Reduce red meat & fatty fried foods
Stay completely away from fast-food
Stop smoking
And it’s so important to wake up each day and be thankful for your health. The more we are grateful for anything in our life, the more that will continue to be in our life. So being grateful for your health is a great idea. It’s never too late to start changing our health habits to one of positive and wholesome ways.
Secret #5 – Having a Purpose
Having a reason to get up in the morning is so crucial to our happiness. Having a purpose in life is one of the great secrets to happiness. Discovering your purpose is essential to happiness. Sad to say, most people will live their whole life without ever knowing what their purpose is. Those who know at a young age are blessed. Look at the artists, musicians, & athletes who are all living their best-life on purpose.
Now anyone can discover their purpose at any age. Louise Hay did not start forming Hay House, her publishing company, until she was in her late 50’s. So please do not think that you are too old to discover your purpose. You can find your purpose at any age.
Rabbi Harold Kushner said, “Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it”
I just love that quote.
The following are three ways to connect with your purpose. Ask yourself these three questions:
· What do you love doing?
· What brings you happiness & passion in your life?
· Will this help humanity in some capacity?
Take time to contemplate these questions. If you want to do some journaling that usually helps bring out inner desires. Or meditate on these questions. Do not ask someone else to help you. Your purpose is a deep and personal thing to ponder and will arise from your inner-self. Write down your answers.
Your purpose is whatever you love doing, and whatever brings you passion and gives you a reason to wake up in the morning. It also has to help humanity in some way.
And please do not let self-doubt cloud your thinking. Whatever you love doing, that brings you passion, and helps humanity is what your purpose in life is, so go for it. Gravitate towards your purpose and live the life you deserve.
Your purpose might be coaching little league, or writing a book, or starting a youth program, or cooking meals for the poor or taking up art, or volunteering at a hospice, or a slew of other things.
Follow your bliss and take a few moments to think about what you love doing. And once you decide then do some research in that area to see how you can bring this to fruition. Go on-line and see how other people are doing it. Start a meetup group to network your passion. Join a club that is related to your passion. There are so many ways to get started. The best advice is to go within yourself and sit and listen to what you feel is the best direction to go in. No one can tell you this direction, it is navigating from your inner-self. Finally, whatever you love doing can be turned into a way to make money. Making money from your purpose in life can be financially rewarding and could very well help with having extra money for vacations, etc.
In conclusion, I want to reiterate the importance of gratitude. Studies have told us that gratitude is essential to being happy. Try to write a gratitude list daily of at least 5 things you are grateful for.
So, there you have it, my 5 secrets to happiness. If you enjoyed this blog, please pass it along to someone who can use some happiness in their life.
My website has resources to help you find more happiness on your journey in life. I have several seminars, events, retreats and online courses and my books, The Third Road & Lessons from the Needle in a Haystack are available on Amazon. I am also available for coaching.