You can’t be infinitely happy. It’s just impossible. Despite appreciating things like nature, love, family and all the other human-made things (like jewellery, high heels and designer clothes), there are still millions of people who are unhappy. But is happiness a matter of mind?
The developed world
If you live in the developed world, then you’re in the very fortunate situation of having both natural and man-made things. Still majority of people there are unhappy. It’s quite tricky to pinpoint a single cause of unhappiness, but if you are feeling low, it may be worth trying to boost your mental health.
But in the developing countries, where for millions there is a real scarcity of even basic needs, people seem to be happy. There are also people who live in in warfare and are incarcerated in prisons, but they are still happy.
This seems to prove that the availability and abundance of things is not enough. There is something else which needs to be right to be happy. Of course, it is our mind we must have right attitude to feel happy.
Happiness and the mind
There are loads of examples of how the mind can influence the body. Here’s a selection:
- Pavlov’s dog, salivating at the sound of the bell without any food in sight
- If we are tense we often get headache, or backache
- Heart attacks are directly linked to worry and tension
- By self-talk, motivation, and a positive attitude, we can become happy and successful
- Through hypnosis we can have command over another person’s mind and body
- Through meditation we can have a healthy body and extra sensory abilities
It’s also important that you find tools that will help you to feel happy. Some people choose mindfulness, others pick crystals. Find your thing and run with it.
Power of the mind
The mind has extraordinary powers and as far as happiness is concerned, it has the ultimate power. We should, therefore have a positive attitude towards life.
Instead of concentrating on bad things in life and people, we should try to concentrate on their redeeming features. We should not keep on thinking about past failures and bad experiences, but instead, be encouraged by our past success and good experiences. Similarly, we should not be unduly anxious about the future, as our anxiety is not going to have a positive effect. Instead, we should plan and work hard for the future.
Whatever your circumstances, you can never have total lack of happiness. You cannot completely take away nature from somebody; you cannot take away all man-made things from somebody. And even if everything is taken, your family and friends are there. Your body is there.
As Abraham Lincoln famously said: “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
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