Finding Happiness

It’s no lie that I am obsessed with Instagram.  I have always loved pictures and I adore scrolling through quotes, vacation pictures, and even drooling over some delicious looking meals.  However, like any social media platform, it comes at a cost.  If I’m not careful, I can easily get caught up in the “grass is greener” mindset.  How does my life compare to my cohorts or other bloggers or celebrities?  Why do I no longer feel satisfied with my life?  No longer accomplished or feel athletic?

Every social media platform enables us to perfectly cultivate a profile that only reveals the best and brightest of our daily lives.  The trips, the outfits, the awesome abs (ok, you won’t actually see that on my profile as they are nonexistent), etc.  We are all searching for happiness and within that, we are often searching for validation – validation that we are normal, we are loved, and we are lucky.  However, we have to realize that everyone’s views of happiness are different. Everyone’s life and trials and triumphs are different.  We lead different lives and that’s ok.

I stumbled upon this post from Chakabars (then reposted by The Good Quote) and it resonated so much with me that it deserves to be shared once more.

 

“As you read this, remember you have a warm bed and a cooked meal at home.  Everyone wants to be happy, so pay attention.

Acknowledge that happiness is not quantified by materialism.

I know many people who are reading this right now aren’t happy with their lives. I used to think that when I have a nice car and a lot of money I would be happy.  Yet on my journey I have met hundreds of people with all of these things, yet none of the happiness.  If your bank balance outweighs your sense of purpose, or your only sense of purpose is working to achieve a greater bank balance, you will struggle to find happiness.

Some guidelines for happiness I wrote down:

• Appreciate what you have, gaining more wont’ make you happy if you aren’t happy with what you already have.

• Live in the moment, don’t video everything you see, take it in whilst it is happening, then relive the memories forever. You were there but looking at a phone screen…?

• Give more than you receive, be it your time, money, gifts, love, and laughs. When you give someone your best, the best comes out of you.

• Stop worrying about your future! Your future is going to happen, it is your to happen to. If you want something then work towards I, but make sure you are happy on the way there.

• We are all going to die. Concentrate on living.

• Don’t practice escapism because you are unhappy with your reality, be real, keep level headed and make sense of your life. Being high or drunk all the time is a problem, nobody wants to be ill or crazy or both!

• Life is a journey not a destination, you never want to get too comfortable, comfort is where you put on weight, get slow, become bored.

• I’m not saying throw yourself out of a plane, but you should try to do something that scares you now and again.

• Don’t worry too much what people are doing, they are on their own journeys, enjoy yours and try not to compare your behind the scenes life to someone else’s highlight reel.

• Bling from the inside out, not the outside in, as it doesn’t work the other way round.

• What’s in your heart and head shines brighter than on what’s on your wrist and neck.

• Love your work, this will be a big part of your life.”

Enjoy.