how can we achieve happiness?

Answer 1

To answer this question, I need to ask myself many more questions. 'Achieving' means that I can do something to get to the state of 'happiness'? What can I do? Can 'happiness' be a goal? I don't think so. Yes, people all want to be happy, mostly by striving to fulfill their wishes and desires of all kind. But are they 'happy' when finally they could fulfill their dreams? One will be content, but to be happy it needs something more or something different, what is this?
Happiness as a state of being does not depend on outside situations and conditions, it is an inside condition. So then what is causing this condition and what is it exactly? Is it the feeling of being fulfilled or whole? A state when one is completely content with what there is? Then this is obviously the result of something. What has caused this? Might it be that this is the result of a life long striving for happiness or the result of finally giving up all intentions and coming to a state of just ‘being’?
Is the striving for happiness the intention to feel ones existence in a specific way and following a concept of happiness? We can observe that this doesn’t work and is causing a lot of frustration and disappointment with the follow up of depressions and a break down. So striving for happiness is not possible or can one see ‘happiness’ as a carrot that makes the donkey moving? But he never can reach it? Or might it be that during this ‘moving’ what also could be called ‘life’, something is growing and makes one understanding that the goal is not the important. It is the relating to what shows up on ones way one is walking. Relating and responding to what shows up, one can feel oneself and one can experience ones existence in the most present state and then this might be real happiness? But it seems that there is no way to talk about it, there is no way to get out of the conceptual thinking, one has to live ‘this moment’ and then will know what ‘happiness’ really is.
Resume: Is it possible to do something to achieve happiness? No, the concept ‘happiness’ can’t be realized. So what can we do? We can live in a responsible way, being conscious that we are here to grow and that whatever shows up in our daily life, is the best and most effective in our growing process if we are relating to what shows up and then responding to it the best way we are capable, being aware of our reactions, observing ourselves and our surrounding. Then there will come the moment when we will enjoy ourselves and what is there, without wanting to be it in a certain way, then out of this enjoying there might come something we might recognize as happiness…
BeiYin

Answer 2

Drop the idea of 'happiness'.

It is only a symbol for the state of permanent pleasure. You know as well as I do that this is not a possibility. How would your body survive a state of constant pleasure? That level of excitement requires bodily resources, hormones and energy. It would wear out. Look at it plainly.

If you are looking for a 'state' in which to live in, you will be searching for it the rest of your time in that body. You will go through belief system after belief system to find it and all will fall short in the end. You might have some 'happy experiences' but that is an experience and has nothing to do with what you think you are looking for.

What you are looking for is already there. You are life. You don't need anything but what is necessary to continue that condition here. You are already equipped with the tools to deal with daily situations.

The rest is thinking.

Answer 3

Every one has a unique concept of happiness. The situation in which one may find himself as happy may be a not so very happy situation for other person. You have to evolve a clear concept of 'happiness' for you. Some learned people describe the state of happiness, bliss is where a person is not affected by sorrow or good happenings in life.When one is living in "present". Unmind full of past and unchanted by the outcome of future. Living from moment to moment. Working without worring about the outcome of result. They have devised several methods to live in the state of eternal happiness but personally, I do not know of this state of being. One has to find this position in life by his/her experience and means to achieve this state of being. I thing the idea to "achieve" something is the root cause of unhappiness. Because if something is achieved then after that what? This is the unhappiness. Now what? I feel if you separate your self from the idea of achieving something you can find happiness for your self.

Answer 4

No need to achieve happiness, it is already there deep within us. We miss out on that thinking that happiness is to be obtained by gaining object of our desire.Experience yourself without any thoughts and emotions (calm, quiet, alone) even for few seconds,joy starts trickling without any cause. Try it now.make a habit to get it every day,now and then!

Answer 5

I like Horus's answer. It has to do with controlling your desires.

I think I have found true happiness when I find that moment in time where I am completely content and truly appreciate all that I already have. I try to hold onto those moments... as long as possible. But unfortunately reality always seems to creep it's way back in... and the cycle continues until the next epiphany!

Answer 6

Happiness is a state of mind. As per Hinduism or Buddhism, the more you have, the more you want. There is no end to human desire. So the sages advise us to learn to restrict our wants and gain happiness. The more you help others, the more happy you become. The act of giving, and renunciation are thought to be paths to happiness-NIRVANA or eternal bliss.

Answer 7

i don't think of happiness is something to be finished and then possessed. the closest component to happiness is consistent with danger an physique of suggestions in direction of existence -- enjoying the solid you have, eschewing damaging thoughts, being open to new reports. additionally, i'm uncertain which you will actually communicate yet another guy or woman into being happy. Your happiness --your physique of suggestions in direction of existence-- might rub off on them, in spite of the shown fact that it would desire to be any opposite direction around besides.

Answer 8

I know that happiness and sadness are momentary states, just like the wave in the water. It's sort of like times of increase and times of decrease, or times of activity and times of rest. Knowing states are momentary I don't cling to them, yet I recognize when they pop up inside me.

I don't live my life and make decisions about what to do because I have the goal to be happy. If I have any goal then it's the one to reinvent myself, to challenge myself and then feeling that if I change myself in a true way, then it will have
the side-effect to change other people. I feel I'm home, no longer seeking for anything, yet there still remains the practical challenge of learning how to adapt myself to changing reality.

It's like I get an idea from what I observe in my life, and then make a decision from that for my next action. Then I do it and
observe again to see the 'reaction' or the result. If it seems a 'new reaction' came back, then there is this feeling of happiness and if it seems the 'old reaction' repeated, then I feel disappointed. So it's understandable for me why I have these reactions, because I know I have a physical goal. To be without any kind of goal, is not something I'm ready to consider, but it might come to that eventually...

@$%%$@ wrote above at the end of his comment
that: 'the rest is thinking'.

I see that 'thinking' is what I use to evaluate the reaction received from my action. It was thinking that allowed me to draw the conclusion of new or old. My need to see 'new' or 'old', came from my expectation to make a change, thus why I felt it necessary to make a 'judgement'. Basically it boils down to thinking I need to know if my last effort was a success or a failure. Then getting the assessment, I feel this gives me information back to possibly modify my
'ways' or not.

For me, 'the rest is thinking' seems to be the root of the problem. So to put another question back out there, I would ask how does one make a decision regarding your next action without making a judgment? Or how does one determine 'what just happened' without making an interpretation of reality? Well, i know the answer to this: it should be inspired and not of the mind, but in practical daily life I notice so far that this is mostly an ideal. Sometimes its' like this, and sometimes not.

These days, I am relaxed in a way, because I'm not seeking to find 'myself', I've found myself, I'm happy quite often and feel very content with my whole life. Joy is the emotion that
gets expressed the most. I don't see that I'm looking for anything, more it's like trying to solve puzzles that are popping up. It feels more like I'm testing out the waters to find
out what works and what doesn't. I find the whole thing super fascinating at this time, and insights are coming quite often, for me it is a time of growth.

I know I have all the tools I need and they are pretty basic, but the thinking part seems to cause more problems than it's worth.

Betsy

Answer 9

Perhaps the only way to achieve true happiness is in achieving universal indifference.

Just something to think about.

Answer 10

By picking our fights.

Don't become just a molecule of water passively flowing along with the rest of the stream -- that isn't happiness, its inertia.

Likewise, don't fight the stream and decide that you'll personally redirect it. That isn't happiness. Its insanity and exhaustion.

Flow with the stream when you can, conserve your energies, and pick a spot once in awhile, carefully. Pick your spot, make a stand, and create a landmark there. Something lasting -- something that will survive the flow around it.

That's happiness.