Positive Thinking- Finding Happiness
Recently, universities and other groups conducted surveys and studies to find out “What brings happiness to people?” The following steps are a few of the answers they received.
Step #1: Doing good. There is a universal law that states that there’s absolutely no happiness in doing wrong. Individuals who do wrong, or live the untruth, feel the pain of anxiety, stress, despair, resentment, distrust, insecurity, fear and pessimism. Breaking a universal law empowers others to be in command of your life, such as a judge, jailer or warden, etc. Doing good is the primary step in being a happy person.
Step #2: Control. People report that they are happiest when they are in control of their lives. Self-control and being in command of one’s destiny brings great amounts of freedom and feelings of security. People who possess a powerful mental self and are able to control their physical self are happiest.
Step #3: Seek the positive. Those who are optimistic constantly anticipate the best. They have hope for the future and dwell on the positive things in life. They utilize the positive side of their subconscious mind by conciously thinking optimistic thoughts. Consider that your mind is like a stage and you can control the players on your stage. You choose between thinking positively or negetively; it is your choice.
Step #4: Faith in a higher power. Researchers discovered that those who have faith in a higher power are happier than those who don’t. The majority of people who recover from a serious drug or alcohol addiction feel the need of a higher power than themselves. Faith in the unknown can be a satisfying experience.
Step #5: Close relationships. The single most powerful force in life is love. To love and be loved is the highest human experience. The amount of happiness in our life depends on the amount of love we have in our life. To see how powerful love is just look at the people who don’t receive enough love- it’s terribly damaging to a person to be rejected, lonely and unloved.
Step #6: Meaningful activity. The happiest people in life have meaningful activities that they enjoy such as work, hobbies or other activities they participate in. People who don’t look forward to going to work, don’t have a job, or other meaningful activity experience unhappiness.
Step #7: Helping others. Researchers learned that one key activity common in happy people was helping others. Helping other people provided them with great happiness and deep feelings of fulfillment. Life is a mirror and those who give, get back. What is it that people receive when they help others? It’s an interesting question to consider.
Step #8: Forgiveness. Successful, happy people forgive not only others, but themselves as well. They fully grasp the fact that to err is human-that life is full of trials that help one grow. They recognize that others are human too and they treat others how they would like to be treated. Unsuccessful, unhappy people do the opposite.
The very first step that unhappy people must take to find permanent happiness is to become self-aware. Self-awareness through cognitive restructuring is effective therapy for self inflicted issues. The point is that if people aren’t happy it is their fault. Nobody can make them happy except themselves.
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About Author
Larry Lloyd is the founder of American Community Corrections Institute (ACCI), which sponsors a news blog about criminal behavior and related issues.
