It is a cold truth: the older we get the more complicated
our lives tend to get. We meet friends, then break away from them because we
realize they are not the best fit. We fall in love, and have to deal with
someone else’s quirks and oddities, we get dumped, we get heartbroken and we
simply find ourselves struggling to find happiness. Happiness… the one thing
that seems to elude most of us. We tend to believe that by acquiring society’s list
of ‘things that make you happy’ such as the latest car or cellphone, the most
beautiful apartment in the best location, and of course the partner, or soul
mate you ought to find by a certain age will help fill our void for happiness.
Sadly, these things sometimes do not come soon enough, so we start to sink into
the pit of unhappiness.
I have come to realize that life will not always play to our
strengths, and we need to tap into our inner reserve of natural happiness
everyday. You know how babies are hardly ever unhappy? It has nothing to do
with the fact that life is yet to hit them. It has everything to do with the
fact that we are all born with an inner reserve of happiness that we tend to
ignore/forget in our bid to meet up with society’s expectations. Here are five
tips I believe will help you tap into your inner happiness effortlessly:
·
De-clutter
your life: How many unnecessary friendships do you keep up with? How many
broken relationships are you holding on to at your detriment? How often do you listen
to the gossip train only to discover you are the topic of discussion and your
so-called friends are behind it? It is time to reduce the clutter in your life.
It is time to break the bonds that are hurting you and burn the bridges that
are taking you nowhere. Friendships where all you do is put other people down
is a clutter on its own! Hanging on to an ex who is now with someone else but
just can’t let go of you is clutter! You need to throw out the unnecessary
stuff, and ‘spring clean’ your life!
·
Worry
less: What many of us are unaware of is the fact that our lives are full of
unnecessary worries born from unnecessary desires and expectations. We spend
most of our time worrying about things that do not affect us in any way. Some
of us worry about the future when there is nothing to be scared of in the
future. Sometimes we worry about our finances, not because we are not doing
well financially but because we have an insatiable yearning for more. We
clutter our lives by allowing unimportant individuals, especially our critics
rent space in our heads and dump all their negativity there. To get rid of
clutter, make a mental note to swerve away from thoughts of worry! Trust that
God has your back, and everything will work out perfectly in the end! Most of
the things you are worried about will most likely not happen anyway.
·
Give
yourself credit: Many times, we tend to fixate on our failures, we
completely ignore how much we have grown just by failing! Failure is not a sign
of stupidity ass many may like to paint it. Failing means you have found a way
that doesn’t work, and you have learned from it. Therefore the chances of
repeating the same mistakes are a little slim to none. Therefore, you need to
give yourself credit for the things you haven’t failed at. Give yourself credit
when you achieve something, no matter how small it may seem. Congratulate
yourself! It is not conceited to do so. It is a show of self-appreciation, a
necessary requirement for tapping into your inner happiness
·
Fall in
Love… with yourself! This is the first step to attaining happiness. If
there is something about yourself that you do not like, change it! If you don’t
like where you are, move, afterall you are not a tree. If you realize something
makes you feel negative or unhappy, don’t engage in it. But by all means, love
yourself! Love yourself so much, it makes people wonder. Pamper yourself,
titivate yourself, and say positive things about yourself, not in a bragging
tone or with pride, but with the deepest sincerity and honesty. Love yourself,
I can’t stress this hard enough, for the more you love yourself, the more life
will love you.
·
Be
Grateful: The earlier you learn that you will not always have everything, that
your life will not always be perfect, the easier it will be for you to practice
gratitude for whatever little, or whatever much you have. Loving yourself ties
in very much with gratitude. Wake up every morning and thank God for anything
you can think of, even if it is something as insignificant as your smile or
your skin tone (I’m sure you can come up with better). A heart of gratitude
hardly ever experiences unhappiness. A heart filled with gratitude is a heart
void of worry because you know your gratitude will never run out.
The fact is the happier you are internally as an individual, without depending on external influences, the higher your chances of success in life!
Any more tips that help you tap into your inner happiness?
Do share! XOXO
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