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We’ve talked about how important it is to have dreams, aim high, and set definite goals. We have also talked about how to keep going even if we don’t achieve what we wanted. This time, on the other hand, we’ll talk about something even more complex. How to find “happiness”.
Thankfully, Richard Carlson has a very good lesson about that. Keep reading to learn the secret here!
A Lesson on How to Find Happiness
While most of us dream of something called “happiness”, a lot of us have the wrong idea about achieving it. We think that if we have millions in the bank, find a husband or wife, have a five-bedroom mansion and a summer villa, or have our kids graduate from prestigious college, we’ll be happy.
We think that someday, once we achieve this certain goal, we’ll find a “happily ever after”. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way.
We can achieve amazing things, we can achieve great goals, but there’s never really a happy ever after. It’s like that zen proverb, “after enlightenment, the laundry.” After achieving something, the feeling of happiness we get is only temporary. Life goes on, and we simply wake up the next morning with more work to do, bigger things to get, and more problems to overcome.
So how DO we find “happiness”?
This is one of the most valuable lessons from Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It’s All Small Stuff, and it’s something you should probably think about as well. Carlson quotes Alfred D’ Souza:
“Happiness is a journey, not a destination. For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin—real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.”
Happiness is NOT a permanent “thing” you get from achieving a certain goal. It’s a state you can try to achieve at any time. Problems never end and there’s always something bigger and better that we want, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be happy with what we have, or that we shouldn’t be happy while working on all those things.
Just imagine what it’s like to be on your deathbed realizing that all your life while you’ve been working to buy that better car or that bigger house or those nicer clothes, you never really took some time to enjoy life and be happy.
Why not change that now? Every day let’s try to find something, no matter how simple, to be happy about.
Wake up early, enjoy a nice cup of coffee, read a good book or watch a nice TV show, laugh and have a good time with friends and family, or do something else that makes you smile. Savor those moments and treasure them.
We won’t live forever, so let’s all try to find a little piece of happiness every day.