7 years ago I decided to be happy. I was going to get out of debt, lose weight, find a better job, get in shape, be productive. And I actually accomplished all of this, even more.
About 7 years ago, when I decided to make my life happy, I had several ideas on how I could do it.
I was going to get out of debt, lose weight, find a better job, clean up my house, get in shape, be productive, and write a book.
And I actually accomplished all of this, even more. It was a wonderful experience that changed my life and today I am very happy.
However, those things did not make my life happy.
In fact, I learned that I already had everything I needed to be happy, but I was buried under my problems, dissatisfaction, disgust for my body and myself. I already had everything I needed for happiness, but it was hidden behind something else.
You already have everything to be happy. To do this, you do not need to change anything in you or your life. You just need to see what you already have.
Changing your life
When I decided to be happy, I wanted to change my life. I had a blueprint for an ideal life that I wanted to create. And I thought that if I create such a life, I will become happy.
However, it was just a fantasy. We all love to fantasize. We constantly imagine an ideal partner, ideal children, an ideal job, a house, a car, a computer, things, travel, furniture, TV, and, of course, our body. If we possess all of this fantasy, then we will be happy. It is so?
Not really. Because our fantasy will never come true. We may even believe that we have embodied our fantasy, but reality will never completely coincide with it.
I learned about this when I was ridding my house of trash and turning it into a minimalist dwelling. Although it did not give me an instant sense of satisfaction, I experienced it later.
By getting rid of the junk, I learned a lot. I realized that I was holding onto certain things out of fear, and I realized that this fear was unfounded. I learned that I did not need a false sense of stability and comfort, and that I was already strong enough to live without many unnecessary things.
I still recommend simplifying your life, but not in order to get closer to your imaginary fantasy, but because of the things and lessons that you will discover.
When I lost weight, I still didn't feel happy looking at my body. It still wasn't perfect. And let's be honest: it never gets perfect when compared to the male bodies on the covers of sports magazines.
But after losing weight, I learned to enjoy healthy food and exercise. I learned that it is not as scary as I thought, and that food is not needed to drown out stress, fears, loneliness, boredom, etc.
And so it was with any of my fantasies. I learned that chasing fantasy never worked. I realized that I would never get to the ideal, and even if I get close to it, it will not make me happy. But, following this path, I realized that I already had everything I needed for my happiness.
What you need to be happy
So what makes you happy? What do you need to be happy?
You can chase the happiness that is reflected in the outside world: your home, work, car, food, clothes. But they won't make you happy, at least not for long. And when you stop getting happiness from all these things, you will chase even more of them, and your happiness will always be determined by the thirst for material values.
Or you can find happiness that is reflected in the inner world. You can find out that your inner world has wonderful and wonderful things. And that they are actually amazing, the main thing is to learn to accept them for who they are, and stop constantly comparing them with the ideal fantasy. And since your happiness is within you, then you will not lose it due to the bad mood of people, or due to other external factors.
To do this, you need to get rid of fantasies. You need to look inside yourself and learn to accept you for who you are.
You will not be able to complete this process in one evening, but you will be helped by the wonderful and wonderful things that are within you. And also around you.
The main thing is to get out of your fantasies and see them.
