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Real Happiness Comes from Within

Life isn't the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives.

And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere - "How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?" Then I pause and observed for awhile, I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called "self".

So, how does one become genuinely happy?
The first step is to love yourself. My theology professor once said that "loving means accepting". To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.

Genuine happiness also pertains to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have, truly, you know the answer to the question, "how to be genuinely happy."

When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life lit it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.

I believe that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, wining and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person's life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder us from becoming happy.

How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? I tell you, every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.

Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFLs. Every time you take a step forward, you make scoring points. Wouldn't it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself "Whew! I got a point today. I'm glad I gave it a shot.", instead of looking at it all blank and murmur "Geez, I didn't even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!" and then walk away.

Genuine happiness isn't about driving the latest Porshe car, million dollar mansion nor getting the employee of the year award, or beating the sales quota. Most of the time, the most sought after prizes in life doesn't always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or not even the best.

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Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/real-happiness-comes-from-within-554464.html  


The old saying "money can't buy happiness" has been proved wrong by researchers at The University of Nottingham. A study into lottery jackpot winners - those who have won more than £1 million - found that a resounding 97 per cent of interviewees were just as happy, if not happier, following their big win.

And it seems that money can even buy you love. Although 15 per cent of winners classed themselves as single in their previous lives, this dropped to 12 per cent post-win. Marriage is also on the cards for many winners - 68 per cent of respondents were married pre-win, jumping to 74 per cent afterwards.

Winners and non-winners completed a questionnaire designed as the ultimate happiness test, and their answers were compared. A Satisfaction with Life scale was used to determine subjective well-being; with respondents asked to rate how much they agreed or disagreed with statements such as "In most ways my life is close to ideal." Marital status, health, type of house and typical holiday destination were also noted, measuring how lifestyles changed following a big win.

The study found that though the money brought with it financial stability and security, it was not necessarily material possessions that enhanced winners' lives. 44 per cent of winners said that being able to spend more time with their family contributed to their happiness, compared to 26 per cent who said it was the ability to buy or do what they liked.

When presented with the statement "I am satisfied with my life," 59 per cent of the winners agreed, compared to 40 per cent. Reassuringly for the non-winners though, the same number responded positively to the statement "In most ways my life is close to ideal" as the winners - 48 per cent said they agreed in both groups.

Just three per cent of the winners polled said they were less happy than before they hit the jackpot, citing new pressures in their lives. None missed working, found that the money caused arguments in their households or that it led to separation from their partners.

But the huge life changes that are expected to materialise following a big win are more myth than reality. Though many winners seem to move into bigger properties - 68 per cent of winners lived in detached houses compared to just 32 per cent pre-win - they stay in the same geographical area.

And though winners do take more holidays - three a year compared to non-winners 1.5 - they're not noticeably more adventurous in their destination choice than non-winners. Holidays in the UK and Europe remained popular - 100 per cent of winners had taken a holiday in Britain since their win.

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Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/53610.php

Question
1. Let's talk about your lately happy memory.
2. What is happiness? Let’s define a term ‘Happiness’.
3. What are the factors of happiness? And what can be the principal factor?

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