Your Happiness is in You

“It’s good to have a job you like. But let not your happiness depend on your job or anything else.”

The words that changed the way I look at everything!

We so naively think that achieving a certain “something” in life will make us happy. Getting a dream job, buying a fancy car, having the perfect wedding, living in a sprawling manor…those are the things, we imagine, would bring us happiness. But do they indeed?

Think about it. You get a job you had always wished to have. This makes you happy. You start working. It’s exciting and you are eager to do your best. What then? As time passes, the excitement slowly starts to wane. It becomes a routine, and now you need something else to break your routine. So off you go on a vacation to recharge yourself and to have a fresh look at things. You come back, and get back to your work. What then? The routine starts all over again. Where exactly is your happiness then?

You dreamt of having that fiery red Ferrari ever since it first caught your attention in one those big budget Hollywood movies. You labour your way through to have one for yourselves. The first drive, the little spin you give it, the “Cool car, dude!” remark from your friends…it’s all so exciting and exhilarating. You are finally holding the steering you always wanted to hold. What then? Is your happiness assured for eternity? Does it always remain this way? No. The excitement slowly wanes out. It becomes a routine. You realize that it doesn’t really add much value to your life. A fancy red car would carry you from one place to another in the same way as any other car would. Where exactly is the happiness then?

We associate our happiness with the things that we own and the people we have in our lives. What happens when it becomes a routine or when they go away? Do we stop being happy? Or do we start looking for another muse? Is there ever an end to it? Is there a point where we stop looking for things that can make us happy, and, instead, start feeling completely and perfectly happy with what we have? If so, where is that point?

Your happiness is in you and you alone are responsible for your happiness.  Not the people in your life, not your job, not the things you have. It’s about finding that happy spot right within you, in the bottom of your soul. People may change, relationships may loose their charm, jobs may fail you. But no worldly power can make you unhappy if your happiness is hidden deep within you.

Love yourselves, celebrate the person you are, smile your way through life, and be happy, no matter what. Life is not meant to be perfect. Nothing really is ever meant to be perfect. Take life as it comes, live it to the fullest and be happy, always.

Cheers to life!! J J