Shortcuts to Happiness: Part vii

Due to my own lack of clarity, my egotistical attitude and my dependence on self-reliance, for many years I missed the sign posts to happiness. I know now that I didn’t have to walk that road but for many years I wallowed in the denial of my addictions not knowing that I needed help.

For those of us who are just wallowing in egotism, pride, anger and other defective behavior we can make a choice to empower our pursuit of happiness and access shortcuts by making simple decisions and implementing them into our daily lives.

Such decisions empower us with an attitudinal change in every situation…everyday of our lives. It’s not a magical process so we can make happiness an achievable option if we can realize that we all as human beings ‘deserve to be happy.’ Perhaps the missing ingredient for me had been the unwillingness to establish a clear intention to make happiness a priority, the priority. Many of us make the mistake of searching for happiness everywhere except the place where happiness lies, inside of ourselves.

How many times have we heard people say that “we are going to India, Australia or Timbuktoo in search of ourselves,” well why go to such faraway places? Sometimes to experience new places or be placed in different situations, we can learn much about ourselves, but this is only knowledge. Unless we know how to implement our knowledge what’s the use of more knowledge.

We can begin by recognizing that we already had practice in creating personal happiness. We do it all the time, in small, yet meaningful ways. How many times have we raided the freezer for ice cream? Or come home after a grueling day and put on a favorite piece of music, kicked off our shoes, sank into our favorite chair and listened. Almost immediately there is a transformation by creating a personal happiness and used the vehicle of music to do it. For many people to start their day without their, hairdo and makeup would be a disaster.

Unfortunately many of us turn to, drugs or alcohol and we experience the illusion of happiness for a while until the effects wear off and for many, just one or two drinks is not enough, tolerance builds up and trouble starts. (In the near future there will be articles exclusive to addiction)

The myth underlying such well intended activities would be that music, ice cream, good hair days and makeup, bring happiness. Not so! We give ourselves that feeling also whilst anticipating, indulging in or recalling the experience. What we generate and feel has nothing directly to do with the stimulus outside and has everything to do with the ‘happiness option’ we trigger inside. What we discovered is that we can access that mechanism within as a choice or completely self generated decision without requiring any outside support. We can be happy without a reason…………because happiness is reason enough in itself.