What is the best way to achieve happiness?

Question

I try to accept things as they are and make the most of a situation Yet I am rarely happy. I think sometimes this is because I recognise that the life is too short and that you have to do as much as you can in the time you have. When I think this way I get stressed about not doing what I want to do and I spend so much of my time planning and not doing. Any suggestions to get around this?

Answer 1

omg we just learned thissssss first safety security then love and belonging then self esteem then self actualization which is like happiness best u can be

Answer 2

One of the best ways to achieve happiness is to understand that we can change the things that we can and accept the things that we can not. We may not necessary like it, but we can accept. I too have a problem with stressing myself out by fulfilling the plans that I made for myself. I have always done this. When I was ten years old, I decided that I wanted to act in movies by the time I was 25 and publish my first book by the time I was 30. Five years past the last deadline, I had missed my goals. I was acting in movies by the time I was 27, but I haven't achieved published status yet. Then I realized I was creating my own anxiety by placing time frames and limits on myself. Another thing that I have found that causes me to be unhappy is by always expecting too much from myself. I have tried to ease that situation by doing something just for myself at least once a day. I also have tried to quit planning so much and just doing things spontaneously which I would never do.

Answer 3

Have you tried random acts of kindness, especially those that change a bad situation into a good one.

For example my friend and I were in a drive through of a fast food place. A car with 4 teens honked and yelled because they were behind us and we weren't going fast enough for them. When I got to the window, I asked how much the bill was for the car behind us. They had just ordered drinks so I paid their bill along with mine.

My friend thought I was crazy. We pulled over to a shady place to eat. The car passed and the teens held their cups out of the window and thanked us and cheered. It made me feel so happy.

I do little things like that all of the time and it makes me happy.

Answer 4

Ok - acceptance..... accept that life is short but make use of every day - the simple answer is to LIVE IN THE MOMENT - live today - stop planning so much - think about what you want and set yourself goals but dont dwell on them, TAKE ACTION - take baby steps everyday to get all the things in life that you want.

HAPPINESS IS ACCEPTING THE IMPERFECTIONS OF OURSELVES AND OUR LIVES.

Try to see the best in everyday. GO out and have some fun, hope you wont let your life slip by - remember you could be gone tomorrow (heaven forbid but its true)

Good luck and God bless X

Answer 5

I'd like to throw in that just one thing wont make you completely happy (you know who you are). Other than that try to think less about it and just DO. Want something? Get it. Want to go somewhere? Travel.

planning ruins things. When you need to relax or just go somewhere, just say you have a whole week off before going back to work, make sure theres no schedule for when your on vacation, it completely ruins everything. Scheduling is overrated unless its for business, even then it wont always be accurate.

Answer 6

Happiness is generic, and is applied to almost
every kind of enjoyment except that of the animal
appetites. It ia a state of well-being
characterized by emotions ranging from contentment
to intense joy. These include: bliss, joy, joyous,
carefree, jubilant, exultant, cheerful, playful,
amused, fun, glad, gay, gleeful, jolly, jovial,
delighted, euphoric, ecstatic, thrilled, elated,
enraptured, comfortable, harmonious, and
triumphant. Societies, religions, and individuals
have various views on the nature of happiness and
how to pursue it.

Only saint-like persons, who feel that they are no
longer interested in the external world, think
that happiness is within. For many persons,
nothing can make them happy. Our minds are as
different as our finger prints - no two are alike.
Listening to loud music makes one happy and makes
another unhappy. Hence, there can be no single
definition for happiness. It is probably
impossible to objectively define happiness as
humans know and understand it, as internal
experiences are subjective by nature. Because of
this, explaining happiness as experienced by one
individual is as pointless as trying to define the
color green such that a completely color blind
person could understand the experience of seeing
green.

If happiness were to be measured by what one has, then
people with the most possessions would be happiest, but
that is not the case. Infact those who are really
happy, possess nothing except happiness itself.
For some persons, happiness is outward, not inward.
It depends on what we do, not what we have.

http://zero-point.tripod.com/holistic/path32.html

As a state and a subject, it has been pursued and
commented on extensively throughout world history.

"Call no man happy till he is dead." - Aeschylus

"Happiness is a positive cash flow." - Fred Adler

"Many persons have a wrong idea of what
constitutes true happiness. It is not attained
through self-gratification but through fidelity to
a worthy purpose." - Joseph Addison

"True happiness arises, in the first place, from
the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from
the friendship and conversation of a few select
companions." - Joseph Addison

Happiness is often associated with the presence of
favourable circumstances such as a supportive
family life, a loving marriage, and economic
stability. Kali Yuga, the age of darkness, is the
time when these favourables are difficult to find.

Unfavorable circumstances - such as abusive
relationships, accidents, loss of employment, and
conflicts - diminish the amount of happiness a
person experiences. In all nations, factors such
as hunger, disease, crime, corruption, and warfare
can decrease happiness. However, according to
several ancient and modern thinkers, happiness is
influenced by the attitude and perspective taken
on such circumstances.

From the observation that fish must become happy
by swimming, and birds must become happy by
flying. Aristotle points to the unique abilities
of man as the route to happiness. Of all the
animals only man can sit and contemplate reality.
Of all the animals only man can develop social
relations to the political level. Thus the
contemplative life of a monk or professor, or the
political life of a military commander or
politician will be the happiest according to their
own psyche.

The following is the self-reported positive affect
(i.e. positive emotion) during the day by 909
employed women in USA:

Activities and their positive effect index:

Intimate relations 5.10
Socializing 4.59
Relaxing 4.42
Pray/Worship/Meditate 4.35
Eating 4.34
Exercising 4.31
Watching TV 4.19
Shopping 3.95
Preparing food 3.93
On the phone 3.92
Napping 3.87
Taking care of
my children 3.86
Computer/Email/
Internet 3.81
Housework 3.73
Working 3.62
Commuting 3.45

Interaction with partners:

w/ friends 4.36
w/ relatives 4.17
w/ spouse/Significant
other 4.11
w/ children 4.04
w/ clients/customers 3.79
w/ co-workers 3.76
w/ boss 3.52
alone 3.41

Further, happiness is not entirely psychological
in nature - it has got a biological basis too. The
neurotransmitter dopamine is involved in desire
and seems often related to pleasure. Pleasure can
be induced artificially with drugs. Use of drugs
is not some thing new, it has been used by many
including Sanyasis since millenia.

Answer 7

I've actually been asking myself that same question. And basically, it's having the same things that others have. But the thing is, is that once you get everything you want, you will still want more.....so really, we're really never happy.

Answer 8

'happiness isn't about being perfect, its about deciding to look beyond imperfections.'

we all have positive and negative aspects to our lives. to be happy, we need to focus on the happy thoughts, and there fore remain positive. whenever you're feeling unhappy, remind yourself that no matter how much life's putting you through, there's ALWAYS something good you've got going -- always!

three steps to happiness: accept your sorrows, embrace your blessing, and then just love and laugh and stay positive :)

Answer 9

"Fill what's empty, empty what's full, and scratch where it itches."
- the Duchess of Windsor, when asked what is the secret of a long and happy life

Answer 10

I achieved happiness when I found God.