Secret to Happiness

By: Asma Shums,
There have been many debates and research projects dedicated to finding out the true source of happiness? Is it money, having plenty of loved ones, friends, a wonderful job, health, or all of them? All of us know people in our lives with a pessimist approach to our life and could do with some happiness and others who seem unphased by the lows of life.
Many people can identify the happiness that each part of their life provides for them. For many of us, it’s a combination of feeling accomplished after a busy day of work, spending quality time with friends and family, winning a prize, or hitting a goal such as losing weight or levels in our hobby. These are often fleeting moments and almost no one can sustain a constant feeling of happiness. What is the secret of those people who are always happy?
Gratitude
Simply put, gratitude is feeling appreciative of the things you have and being thankful for all the people and situations that provide benefits in your life. Many of us practice gratitude already in our daily lives when we say “thank you” to someone who has given us a gift or “I appreciate all the help you have given me” when someone helps us in a difficult situation.
Science says it’s a little deeper than simply saying “thank you”, it’s a deeper appreciation for someone or something that brings longer-lasting feeling of positivity.
Some other words for gratitude are recognition, thankfulness, praise, grace, appreciativeness, and more. If you practice actions or thoughts towards persons or things with these avenues in mind, you are already practicing gratefulness. You are training your mind to look at the positives in each person or situation compared to looking at what is wrong or not meeting your expectations. It teaches you to be confident in your ability to manage a disappointing event in life or truly be happy in a situation without comparison for longer than a few minutes. It helps center our being and eventually, this practice helps us to truly be in the moment. Other physiological benefits include reduced anxiety and depression, increased energy, a better quality of sleep, and ultimately increased happiness.
Practicing Gratitude
Although practicing gratitude sounds like a magic pill, it takes consistent effort and practice to make it second nature to our emotions and state of being. There are many ways of practicing gratitude but there are some good starting points that all of us can use, regardless of age, gender, orientation, and ethnicity.
1.Waking up with gratitude – this can be practiced by thinking about five or ten things you are grateful for when you wake up in the morning. It sets the tone for the rest of your day.
2. Saying a prayer (or a general thanks to the universe)- focus on giving thanks to God or simply the universe for all the things that you have in your life that are right.
3. Keep a gratitude journal- this helps us think more deeply about the things that we can be grateful for in our daily lives. It’s also a good source to use as a prompt on the days we feel like there is nothing to be grateful for.
4. Practise medication with gratitude – concentrate and reflect on what you are grateful for in a peaceful setting.
5.Take a walk – observe and acknowledge the beauty in your surroundings as you walk.
6.Write thank you notes – it helps people know the things you are thankful and appreciate of and as a bonus makes you feel good too.
info at: asmashums@gmail.com