The Meaning of Happiness

What is happiness?

Every day you hear people say they are happy, but when you look at them you can see and feel a vibe coming from that tells you that they may not be as happy as they say. Happiness is not something that is easy to achieve. One of the big reasons is because we are all too busy trying to find it. We try so hard to find what makes us happy and by trying so hard, it really just makes you sad or angry. Now this may not be the case for everyone. Rather than trying so hard to find happiness, you need to look at in from a different angle. You need create it. Happiness needs to be created by you and you alone. By taking matters into your own hands, you can mold your surroundings into what it is that makes you feel happy. This does not man it is easy but if you commit your mind to looking at every day in a positive manner and task yourself with doing things that makes you happy, you can do it.

From my education, a major aspect of being happy is creating a sense of place, sense of belonging, and participating in recreation and leisure. They are connected and at the epicentre is happiness. If you live day to day constantly filling every moment with busy tasks that are meaningless and have no value, you will not feel accomplished. If you do tasks that help you move forward, as well as creating downtime for leisure activities, you will feel ten times better! Your leisure activities can be just reading a book or it can be a sport, it does not matter how much physical energy you use. What matters is that the activity you choose is something you do because it is enjoyable, has no stress involved, and you do not feel pressure from the surrounding environment.

For me I find my joy in reading a book, or going on a hike. Being in the natural environment wakens a part of me that makes me feel so much more alive than in an urban area. I am an outdoor recreationalist, which means I enjoy backpacking, or canoeing in the backcountry/wilderness for extended periods of time. I prefer to do these things on my own or with one or two other individuals, but it is something that provides me a relief from the stress of being in an urban area; it makes me happy. It is where I feel a sense of belonging, a sense of place, and most importantly it is my leisure.

If you put your mind to it, you will notice changes in your lifestyle and in your thoughts. It is an active process which makes it necessary to constantly be aware of what you’re thinking and feeling. You have control of the choices you make. If you choose to let yourself think negatively or react in anger towards something, you have let yourself do that. You can choose to ignore something and react in a positive manner. It helps in remaining happy even when a situation arises that you would expect yourself to be unhappy. Happiness is what you make it, so have fun with it, it is your life! Be happy. It may not be easy or simple, but create your happiness and rejoice in it. Live every day and appreciate the small things. Tomorrow is not here, so live today because tomorrow is not certain. It is also okay to not be okay all the time. We all have bad days, it is healthy and normal, do not despair if you have a bad day or even a few. Just be aware of when it may be too much and that it may be time to make an effort to get yourself out of it; with posivity!

Yours truly,

ThinkoutsidetheboxLife (aka Shelby)