Happiness is a State of Mind

We rarely ponder what happiness is and if we and our loved one's are actually happy. Do we know when we are at our happiest? Sometimes we may catch ourselves having a good old belly laugh with great company and look around and think why does this not happen more often. We have been conditioned to rush through our busy schedules packed with deadlines and mundane commitments that all to often we do not want to keep. Why is this? Very little time is spent just being in the moment and enjoying the pure joy of life. We chase things in the hope that they will provide us with the coveted prize of happiness, only to find that when we get to our destination, the goalposts have been moved again.

Personally I have experienced this many times. The most striking of which was when I was completing my Masters in Psychology. I love studying and learning about this amazing brain of ours, but I never truly appreciated the joy of studying at that time, as I was constantly longing to finish it. I would talk about all the things that would happen when I completed the course, only to find that nothing actually happened, apart from graduating. It took a long time after that to fully appreciate and integrate what I had learnt and achieved. Although looking back it taught me a valuable lesson about being happy in the moment and now whenever I enrol in a course I commit to enjoying the process, not just the outcome.

I recognise that happiness is actually a state of mind. It is our take on things, our beliefs about a situation. False beliefs as the quote below powerfully demonstrates are the only real cause of unhappiness. Therefore I urge you to ask yourself what makes you happy. You will be surprised to find the answers and feelings that you have associated with happiness.


"There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them."
Anthony de Mello

If you are interested in reading more about Happiness, Dr Robert Holden has written a fabulous book titled 'Happiness Now' and it is packed with tips and strategies to help you be your happiest!

Have a Happy Day!