“If the aim of every human being is happiness, then we must make clear what sort of happiness is meant. The true one – is the spiritual happiness of the heart” Shaykh Riad Salut
The aim of every human being is happiness. We live our lives in pursuit of happiness. Happiness is relative. It is variegated and actualized differently from one person to another. But let me share some general advises that help me every day and maybe will be useful to you.
Every time something wrong is going on in my life I always ask myself three simple questions “You alive? – Yes. You can move? – Yes. Have somewhere to sleep tonight? – Yes?” Then everything is good mate. Be grateful for what you have and appreciate every day as it is a miracle itself, to live, to feel the gust of wind with your hair, the warm kisses of the sun or the fresh drops of the rain touching your skin!
Happiness often comes from within. Here are some tricks that help me to fight the negative thoughts and approach every day with optimism.
PRACTICE OPTIMISM
Being an optimistic person by nature and I always see the bright side of things, but if you are not, don’t worry, as optimism is part genetic, part learned. Even if you were born as a pessimist, you can still learn how to be positive and find your inner ray of sunshine. Optimism doesn’t mean ignoring the reality of a dire situation. After a job loss, for instance, many people may feel defeated and think, “I’ll never recover from this.” An optimist would acknowledge the challenge in a more hopeful way, saying, “This is going to be difficult, but it’s a chance to rethink my life goals and find work that truly makes me happy.” And soon you will see that you will attract optimistic people in your life!
Thinking positive thoughts and surrounding yourself with positive people really does help. Optimism, like pessimism, can be infectious. So make a point to hang out with optimistic people.
GET MOVING
You can get such a dose of endorphins from a light walking or just a short run that it will immediately improve your mood and will keep you going through the rest of the day. When people get up and move, even a little, they tend to be happier than when they are still. A study that tracked movements and moods of cellphone users found that people reported the most happiness if they had been moving in the past 15 minutes than when they had been sitting or lying down. Of course, we don’t know if moving makes you happy or if happy people just move more, but we do know that more activity goes hand-in-hand with better health and greater happiness.
BENEFITS OF NATURE
Spending time in the nature can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. For example, doing things like growing food or flowers, exercising outdoors or being around trees or animals can have lots of positive effects. It can improve your mood, clear your mind, reduce feelings of stress, improve your physical health and make you feel lighter. There is something about the quiet calm of nature that is so nurturing. Don’t believe me? Just try yourself.
MEDITATION & CONTROLLED BREATHING
Science is just beginning to provide evidence that the benefits of this ancient practice are real. Studies have found, for example, that breathing practices can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and attention deficit disorder. For centuries yogis have used breath control, or pranayama, to promote concentration and improve vitality. Buddha advocated breath-meditation as a way to reach enlightenment.
CONQUER NEGATIVE THINKING
All humans have a tendency to concentrate attention more on bad experiences than positive ones. It’s an evolutionary adaptation — over-learning from the dangerous or hurtful situations we encounter through life, experience helps us avoid them in the future and react quickly in a crisis.
But that doesn’t mean you need to close yourself down from the world and stuck in the negative thinking.
Don’t try to stop negative thoughts, just acknowledge it! Telling yourself “I have to stop thinking about this,” only makes you think about it more. Instead, own your worries. When you are in a negative cycle, acknowledge it. “I’m worrying about money.” “I’m obsessing about problems at work.”
Challenge your negative thoughts. Socratic questioning is the process of challenging and changing irrational thoughts. Studies show that this method can reduce depression symptoms. The goal is to get you from a negative mindset (“I’m a failure.”) to a more positive one (“I’ve had a lot of success in my career. This is just one setback that doesn’t reflect on me. I can learn from it and be better.”) Here are some examples of questions you can ask yourself to challenge negative thinking.
First, write down your negative thought, such as “I’m having problems at work and am questioning my abilities.”
Then ask yourself:
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- “What is the evidence for this thought?”
- “Am I basing this on facts? Or feelings?”
- “Could I be misinterpreting the situation?”
- “How might other people view the situation differently?
- “How might I view this situation if it happened to someone else?”
Negative thinking happens to all of us, but if we recognize it and challenge that thinking, we are taking a big step toward a happier life.
Enjoy the moment here and now!
Stop worrying about yesterday and tomorrow, live in the present and think positive!
With love,
Cassandra
