Do Not Seek Happiness, Live It

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” -Ghandi

You can spend your entire life searching for happiness, but you will never find it. You can search for the “right” house, car, clothing, jewelry, job, and mate but still you will not find happiness. The only path to happiness is to live a good life. When you learn to align your thoughts with your words and your words with your actions, that will lead to happiness, no searching necessary.

Think
Your mind is home to your thoughts. Your mind is the single most powerful force in your life. You alone have the power to choose, will you be happy or miserable? That thought, that choice, will drive the path of your life. Everything that happens to you will be a direct result of your choice, happiness or misery.

Many people choose happiness but they forget to live consciously. When you do not live consciously, you go into autopilot. You make conscious choices but then as you go about your days, you forget those choices. You let external factors drive your life, you forget to live your thoughts. You get sidetracked, frustrated, negative, and irrational. The perception that you have in your mind of what your life is (happiness) does not match with the reality of your life (misery). Therefore the thought, or the choice for happiness, is not enough on its own. It must be accompanied by both words and actions.

Speak
Many peoples’ perceptions of themselves are not aligned with reality. Just because they think up the life that they want to live does not mean that they actually live it. Just because you perceive yourself as being a certain kind of person, does not actually mean that you are that kind of person. If the things that you say do not match up with your thoughts, your vision is unreal.

A large part of living happiness is recognizing the difference between perception and reality. It takes practice.

People do judge you based on the things that you say, both verbally and non-verbally. If you wake up every morning and choose happiness and positivity, that is great. However, if you go into work every day and gossip with friends about other coworkers, your thoughts are clearly misaligned with your words. To choose happiness and positivity is not enough on its own. Your words must also reflect happiness and positivity. You must speak kindly of others. Every aspect of your communication should reflect your thoughts – love, smiles, kindness, compliments, wisdom.

Every time that you speak or communicate, be conscious and aware. Think before you speak. Ask yourself, will these words be aligned with my thoughts and with the vision that I have of myself?

Act
The final leg of this journey is action. Your thoughts are aligned with your words. You are thinking and speaking happiness, love, light. Now, take control of your actions. Visualize your goals, your life of happiness, your perception of you. What things does this person do? Maybe she volunteers, maybe she reaches out to loved ones often, maybe she creates beautiful art, maybe she trains her body to be its best. Visualize your happiness and make it happen. Write down your goals and then write down the steps that you must take to reach them. Make sure that everything that you do takes you one step closer to living a life of bliss. Each step that you take should be aligned with your thoughts of happiness and positivity. When you go out with friends, when you walk the dog, when you watch a movie – practice awareness. Learn from each action, sharpen yourself. Become more and more aligned each day. When you stumble and do something completely misaligned with your vision, forgive yourself.

“When running up a hill, it is alright to give up as many times as you wish – as long as your feet keep moving.” —Shoma Morita

When you falter, allow yourself to fall. And then, get back up — every single time. Believe that you can do this. Know that you have the power to accomplish anything. Know that the Universe is on your side and you can do it. Practice visualization. See yourself succeeding and then succeed.

“When you really want something to happen, the whole Universe conspires that your wish comes true.” —Paulo Coelho