Mandy Hale
How do I get to where I want to go?
That question is a big one. We constantly ask ourselves and ask others for the directions to that place we are seeking. We call that place happiness. We know we want it but how the heck do we get there?
Though I am no expert...just a seeker, like most of you, I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to understand happiness through the literature, listening to wise teachers, observing other people's experiences and learning from my own life choices. I have come up with some directions that I will discuss in detail over several posts. I am confident they will take me where I want to go and maybe...just maybe...you too may benefit from them in your own journey.
Those directions or steps include:
- Know where you are going by having a clear destination in mind.
- Change your trajectory: Point yourself in the right direction knowing that the direction you were in before will not take you there
- Review your thoughts, feelings and beliefs about your life. Delete those that do not lead to happiness.
- Drop your story. Stop blaming and clinging to excuses.
- Let go of the need to project your happiness into the future
- Know that you chose everything you are experiencing right now for a higher purpose
- Accept and embrace where you are right here, right now
- Be grateful
- Chose Peace
- Commit to finding the true Self
The first and most obvious step is to know where you are going.
Step One: Know Where You Are Going
What would happen if you jumped in your car right now and started driving without having a clear idea of your destination? It would be a road trip without end wouldn't it? (At least until you ran out of gas.)
The same thing applies in search of happiness...if you do not know where you are going you will go around in circles draining all your precious energy and resources without ever getting to your destination. You need to know where you are going so you will know when you have arrived.
What is This Place I Seek?
What is happiness anyway? What is this place so many of us seek?
Happiness is, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, "a state of well-being and contentment."
Okay so it is a state...a feeling experience, not a geographical location. Hmm! So that means it really cannot be found down the street, over there, or in another time and space. It is here and now...and it is inside of me. As a feeling experience then...it is something I and I alone am responsible for as well.
What about..."well-being and contentment"? Happiness is equated to wellness and "being". It is not about doing, having, attaining etc.. Hmmm!
And contentment ...What is that? What does it mean to be content. Oh...no...another definition required.
To be content, also according to the Merriam -Webster online dictionary, is simply to be satisfied.
So happiness then is the inner state of being satisfied with the here and now. That satisfaction brings the experience of wellness.
What I seek when I seek happiness then is not an external thing. It is purely internal. Therefore I know what direction my vehicle should be pointed in...not towards the things of the physical world of form that only bring temporary diversion and distraction, taking me further from my goal but towards the inner world.
If we want happiness then we head inward.
All is well in my world.
References
Happiness definition. Merriam-Webster on line dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happiness
Content definition. Meriam-Webster on line dictionary. Retrieved from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/content
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