Chris Koney column: Choosing Happiness!

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Everyone seeks happiness. Frankly speaking, almost every action, activity and goal is motivated by the desire to find happiness. We buy nice things, go to beautiful places and love to travel. We also seek love and possessions, all for the purpose of enjoying more happiness. Happy people must live in the present and forget the past, be incredibly grateful for all they have and focus their lives on the important and essential things life brings.

Happiness is like the sun, it is always shinning inside you, but most of the time it is hidden beneath our thoughts and worries just as the sun is hidden beyond the clouds. To be happy, one must scatter and dissolve the negative thoughts and worries so you can experience happiness. Happiness is of your essence, but is just hidden as said earlier, beneath your thoughts, fears and worries. Happiness is so important because it’s vital to our own goals in life and can help us achieve many other cherished goals and personal ambitions.

When we are happy people around us are also happy just as when we smile, it becomes contagious for others to smile too. When we get the satisfaction of bringing joy to others, their positive energy will come back to us. Happiness is as simple as gratitude. Life is good! Let’s enjoy it, live in modesty and be happy!

Below are some seven (7) factors we could consider to help us choose happiness.

  1. Count your blessings daily and be grateful for what you have: happy people choose to focus on the positive aspects of life rather than the negative. They appreciate things in their lives and always realise that there is something to be grateful for.
  2. Set your own standards for success: don’t try to please anyone or society because you might be disappointed and this will ruin your happiness. No two human beings are the same so work towards your own goals. Avoid competing and comparing with others to be able to achieve your own goals in life.
  3. Commit fully to things that make you happy: if you enjoy reading, writing, watching movies, going out, swimming, football etc, try to do more of these things often to make you feel relaxed and happy always. You need to make time in your schedule for these activities that make you feel happy.
  4. Do something to challenge yourself: growth is very important in making one happy. You need to challenge yourself to grow. Happy people need to step out of their comfort zone to learn or achieve something new. If you are not growing, you are slowly dying or decaying.
  5. Prioritise important things in your life: many people wake up at night or early in the morning reading text messages, mails or on social media, thereby putting their lives on the reactive mode rather than proactive mode. There are important things in your life including spending time with those you love, exercising your body, setting goals etc. Most happy and successful people in the world spend most of their time on the important things in their lives.
  6. Chasing the best of opportunities: life is full of good and great opportunities but not all will be in one’s interest. Sometimes one needs to say no to even the amazing opportunities which will enable you sacrifice your freedom for security. People who want to be happy will not get derailed by distractions even sexy and attractive distractions. Very few things in life are best so know where you want your life to go and determine the best for yourself.
  7. Keeping a calm mind: within a calm mind, happiness can emerge. You experience more happiness when you attain a relaxed and calm mood devoid of fears, worries and anxious thoughts.

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