The search for happiness has evolved into a billion-dollar industry.
Happiness is promised in weight loss products, new fashion wear, makeup, clothes and so the list goes on.
While attaining something that has been longed for brings momentary happiness, sadly the happiness is only short lived and soon the search resumes for something else to bring the happiness!
There is the search for happiness in sex, alcohol, drugs and while for a brief moment it transcends you from the moment of daily living, sadly this as well, is not lasting, leading to a resumption in the search for happiness.
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Happiness, I thought could be attained by a nice house, car and all the material goods that offer so much appeal through the advertising strategies portrayed in the media.
Yet over the years, while it is indeed nice to be comfortable and enjoy commodities that allow life to be simpler. The answer to happiness is still not found there.
Our society portrays what happiness should look like and I followed mindlessly until after pursuing all of this to realize that the happiness derived from this was only temporary.
In reality, happiness isn’t derived in a long lasting way from possessions, accomplishment, accolades and all the host of such related items. While these are indeed worthwhile contributions and gives a sense of accomplishing goal. The elusive happiness that we have all been pursuing is in the simple things of life we take for granted.
Quite often it is missed — well because it is simple.
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Happiness has often been portrayed to require complex approaches to achieving and so we ignore the simple joys of life — a beautiful sunset, an enjoyable evening with friends full of laughter, the joy and thrill of seeing your children challenge themselves to achieve a desired goal.
Yes, these simple things are not complex enough, and so we continue the search for happiness with the hope of having almost like a complex equation solved and then living with happiness.
The reality of what it takes to be happy is unfortunately reached on many occasions, only when one is faced with life altering experiences.
You are forced to pause and recognize that the search is not complex, since all the time it is right there before us in the simple things we take for granted.
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So now I choose to be happy, I don’t wait for something great to be happy.
I recognize every day I awake and take a breath, that of itself is happiness. Enjoying time with family and friends is happiness, ability to see, hear, breath all of this is happiness in the simplest of forms.
So the next time, you feel overwhelmed, overworked and overburdened, look for the simple things around you.
It might surprise you how much this allows you a true sense of happiness not found in the things society defines as bringing happiness.
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“I’m beginning to recognise that real happiness isn’t something large and looming on the horizon ahead but something small, numerous, and already there. The smile of someone you love. A decent breakfast. A warm sunset. Your little everyday joys all lined up in a row.” — Beau Taplin
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This post was previously published on Medium.
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