What the F#ck is Happiness, Anyway?
If you ask most people what their purpose in life is, they might say something like "I just want to be happy." Excuse me for being rude, but, what the fuck does that mean?
The idea of happiness eluded me for a long time. It's interesting how we choose such an abstract term to base our lives around. Happiness could mean money, love, travel, friendship, health, spiritual growth, creativity, success or any combination of these things. And unless we're doing some serious ongoing personal development work, we don't have a clear vision of what happiness actually looks like to us.
If you've ever set a goal, you know that you've got to break it down to smaller parts. For example, the three qualities I look for in an effective goal is for it to be specific, measurable and manageable. Meaning, if you can't describe the goal in such thorough detail that you can touch it, see it, taste it, smell it and feel it, you're probably never going to achieve it.
The same goes for happiness. If you can't describe what it means to you, how the hell do you know what you're striving for? For happiness to take shape, we need visualize it, embody it and vibrate on its level.
Here are some ideas to help you get up close and personal with your own beliefs about happiness.
1. Write. Whip out a notebook or note app and take five minutes this week to freestyle journal about happiness. What does happiness mean to you, on a philosophical level?
2. Visualize. Close your eyes. Visualize yourself at your best. You're beaming, glowing and radiating life. You're in your element, surrounded by everything that makes you happy. What do you see?
3. List. Make a list of all the little things that make you happy, from your favorite house plant to your daily rituals to the people you love to activities that make your heart thump.
4. Feel. What are some feelings that help you feel in alignment with your best life? Let’s focus on this year, as extending too far into the future may detach us from staying present in the now. Whether you aim for joy, love, abundance, playfulness or exhilaration, list some ways you can invite more of these feelings into your life.
For example,
Joy. Hit up more beach sunsets.Self Love. Meditate, journal and practice yoga.Creativity. Write new blog posts.
Happiness doesn’t have to be a mysterious, mythical beast (by the way, I’m totally picturing hide and seek with a unicorn or a leprechaun for this visual). Happiness can be real life, present moment feelings and experiences you can hold in the palm of your hand.
Together, we can demystify happiness, and make our lives the goddamn masterpieces they were meant to be.
Let’s get to it!