What is your definition for a happy life?

Have you given this question any thought?  Some will say in order to be happy, I must have lots and lots of money.  Others want only good health for themselves and their children and still others might say, all I want is to be married! 

Research has shown that we all have a different take on what will make our lives happy.  There is no one universal answer or measuring stick because it is personal.  What is personal to me might not be personal to someone else which only further opens the question up for debate because we cannot all fit into the same mold.   

To get started, I believe for me it is important to gain clarity on what it is that will actually allow me to understand what I value and what would enable me to experience joy and inner peace on a regular basis.  Each one of us has the power to change our brain functions.  I do it all the time.  If something takes me out and I feel down and maybe even a little upset, I have learned to re-focus my energy on something else that will help me not only stay busy and occupied but that action or activity also keeps my roving mind engaged.  I am consciously changing my mood from tense or being upset to calm and satisfied by refocusing my attention.  When I am able to shift gears and change my mood, I am through the Law of Cause and Effect allowing contentment and even feeling good to flow in, through and around me and my energy field.  In other words, it is the by-product of the shift.

  


I find myself asking the question: “What is it that I really want out of life?”  I believe that each one of us needs to be more honest with ourselves first before we can truly experience our wants, our needs and what will satisfy our craving in life.  It is in identifying the truth of who we are, our authentic self and what we are seeking that will give each one of us the clarity on what is actually important and therefore, what will allow joy to filter into our daily experiences, thus creating a happy life.  I am smart enough to realize that I am the one who is going to make me happy so if I do not feel very happy today, I am the one who needs to make the change.  That change must come from my improved attitude, a shift in my behavior and definitely improving my environment.  An example of improved environment can be as simple as listening to soothing music that nurtures and refreshes your energy. 

When we in life can identify clearly and with sincerity in all areas of our lives what brings us joy, then we will experience greater inner peace and happiness.  It is as simple as that. 

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with us in our minds wherever we go. --Martha Washington

  


 Joan Marie Ambrose

Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker