Growing up I was always looking for ultimate happiness. What was going to make me happy, how was I going to stay happy, and where did that happiness flow from continually? This thinking pattern always led me to a dead end, it always left me wanting more and never being satisfied, and I was always disappointed. I would ask myself over and over, why could I not just be happy. I would see all over social media or was told by a literal doctor that happiness is a choice, you just have to wake up each day and choose to be happy. I think there is an ounce of truth to this statement but I think it is missing the actual mark.
Happiness is not a long term sustainable state. Happiness is meant to be brief and an overall peak to a normal state, but not meant to be sustained – this is what makes it so special. In all of the years, I wasn’t actually looking for happiness, I knew how to achieve that emotion through different activities or experiences, I was actually looking for peace and acceptance.
The minute I switched my mindset from the belief system that happiness is the end-all be-all, to overall peace and acceptance, was the minute my life opened up in new ways.
I began looking for ways I could bring peace into every aspect of my life, starting small and then expanding as I could. I looked for it in my work life, my friendships, my personal time, my family time, my physical environment. I would eliminate tasks, experiences, or items that didn’t add to my overall state of peace, and if I couldn’t eliminate them, I found a way to accept those things for what they were, no longer holding strain or tension around them.
Each day isn’t about trying to be happy, I have happy moments and I definitely strive to enjoy parts of my day, but overall I work to accept and acknowledge whatever emotion that I feel and that brings me more peace and contentment than anything else.
