What happiness means to me!

Every action of an individual or anything that a human being does has one deeper need or aim behind it – the need to feel happy. We all seem to be driven somewhere in life by the inner urge to pursue happiness.  

It was rightly said by Epicurus: “Happiness is man’s greatest aim in life.”

When we look at various religious scriptures we get some very interesting interpretation of happiness. 

In Bhagvat Gita the Lord Krishna preaches Arjuna to perform duty without any fear or desire of result. True happiness lies in being completely free from all desires.  

Alfatabi philosophy which closely resemble muslim philosophy of happiness states: “Nations and citizens of cities attain earthly happiness in the first life and supreme happiness in the life beyond when four human things are met: theoretical virtues, deliberative virtues, moral virtues and practical arts.”

 Buddhism believes: “Sacrifice of all sensual and materialistic pleasures and developing a sense of consideration and compassion for all beings leads to ultimate happiness.”

A study of national cultures throws interesting viewpoints: The Chinese seek happiness in long life, riches, love of virtue, health and natural death in old age. The French find happiness in principles of equality, liberty and fraternity. For the British, happiness lies in health, wealth and wisdom and Americans in the pursuit of life, liberty, materialistic achievement.

My personal viewpoint or understanding says happy people share happy habits.  It’s as simple as that.  If you’re looking to expand your general happiness, I would like to highlight three simple habits which you can implement in your own life.

1.     Positive Reflection: It is important to mindfully reflect on the good while striving diligently to correct the bad. More often than not, we tend to focus a lot on the negative outcomes of life and completely ignore the positive successes. Simply put, to be happy, it’s imperative for you to have a positive outlook in life.

2.     Do what you believe: Get involved in work which you believe in. Happy people are the ones who are passionate about work and life. They love what they do and do what they believe. Add passion into life and be happy.

3.     Be with your loved ones: Value your personal relationships and you will value life. A happy life is a life shared with loved ones.  The stronger the personal relationships are and the higher the frequency of interaction, the happier a person will be.

Let’s always remember these words of Abraham Lincoln: “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

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 Kaushik is a Business Training and Development professional working with a well known MNC bank in India. His interests are reading, travelling, trekking, spirituality, photography, cultural and social activism. He has travelled extensively and seen all states of India and most of the Himalayas.