pithy insights on happiness and contentment (3/3)

Life can be hard, times can be tough. But we can bring warmth and comfort in our lives whenever we want by following the practice of hygge.
The key thing to always keep in our minds is that there’s no recipe for happiness.
In the big picture, setbacks and challenges can be beneficial for us. Recent studies reveal that people who go through some degree of trauma and adversity in their lives are actually happier than those who haven’t experienced them.
We must rewire our brains and eliminate the toxic myth that happiness, or the lack of it, depends on achieving or failing to achieve socially prescribed milestones.
True happiness can only be secured when you let go of the frustrating pursuit of things that you have no control over.
When we let go of our judgments towards external circumstances and shift our perspectives to accepting things as they are and controlling our responses towards them, we experience true freedom and happiness.
If we want to achieve meaningful and lasting happiness, then we must detach from external sources. We must look beyond money and all the shiny objects and pleasurable experiences it can buy.
We must train ourselves to not confuse pleasure with happiness. Money, events and material goods only provide fleeting, pleasurable sensations that never truly add up to a satisfying or continual state of happiness.
Happiness is everlasting and can be sustained and experienced, no matter what circumstances we go through in our lives. Unlike pleasure, it’s relatively stable as long as you let go of mental baggage, focus on the present moment, and meditate exclusively on the positive aspects.
When it comes to finding sustained happiness, the key lies in not looking outside, but within ourselves. You must stay aware of your emotional state and just embrace life as it happens.
True happiness is deep and profound, and involves cultivating a healthy state of mind unhinged from past memories and future concerns. Essentially, it’s about focusing on the here and the now — on the present. That’s why the key to living a happy and fulfilling life is letting go of all the mental baggage and being at peace with the present.
Real happiness isn’t ephemeral; it’s a long-term mental state that we all need to consciously work toward.
Our level of happiness, at the end of the day, relies heavily on our interpretation of the world around us. We can’t change people, things and events, but we can definitely change how we interpret them to live a more peaceful and joyous life.
Staying fully in the present is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only does it help you enhance your productivity and performance, but it also makes your job more pleasurable and engaging.
Studies have shown that people feel much happier when they are 100 percent focused on a task, even if the task is relatively monotonous and boring.
When you carve out a limited chunk of time to perform a task, you find yourself enjoying that task more. The more such tasks you complete, the more you boost your confidence and sense of achievement.
As you learn to detach from the thoughts floating in your mind, you become calmer and are able to pay more attention to what’s happening around you. You are more present in your personal and professional life and you start acknowledging and appreciating the little things in your life that you previously took for granted.

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The condensed timeless knowledge in these meditations will not only assist you in navigating through the complexities that come with living and working in the modern world, but also help you in your quest to live a happier life enriched with memorable and joyful experiences.

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