Happiness—How to Stop Looking for Happiness

The current times have a lot of people feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. Even though the news media continues to tell us we are coming out of a recession here in the United States of America, the reality is many people are still without jobs and struggling to make ends meet. One of the greatest causes of unhappiness is financial problems. When you don’t have enough money to pay the bills and you’re wondering how in the world you will scrape together enough money for groceries for your family, it can be downright difficult to feel happy.

Maybe you find yourself in such a situation and because of such, you have found yourself on a search for happiness. Are you trying different things, in hopes of finding some relief and a glimmer of hope and happiness? The biggest problem with this is far too often, many turn to things that don’t bring happiness, but only a few moments of mental blackout so they won’t think about their problems (alcohol, drugs, sex).

Are you on that elusive search for happiness? Have you found what you are looking for? Or do you find yourself only seeming to spin in circles, running from one thing to another and still feeling sad?

You might have heard this thousands of times, but it bears repeating. Happiness lies within yourself. You will never find true happiness anywhere else, no matter how hard you try. You have to stop yourself from this hyper-elusive search. Stop and breathe. Rediscover the beauty within yourself. Learn how to refine that inner beauty. More importantly, re-train yourself to practice a more positive thought process, and even better, speaking more positively when you talk to others.

Look for the good.

Staying positive in the midst of hard times is ultimately imperative. Even though you don’t feel happy, you can choose to be happy. I know this might sound crazy but it is possible. What happens when you are having a down day? You most likely start out with a negative thought like, ‘I’ll never get out of this financial rut.’ That single thought can lead to a surmounting snowball effect of more negative thoughts that will leave you breathless and anxiety-ridden.

Stop that! Start looking for the good in your life. So you are unhappy? So what! Even though there might be a lot of bad things happening in your life, there must be at least one good thing that you can pick up and focus your thoughts and energy on. More than that, start talking positive thoughts to yourself. Reaffirm to yourself that better days are on the horizon and there are lots of possibilities out there waiting for you ahead.

Learn to be happy anyway.

Even if things are bad in your life right now, you can still be happy. A simple, tiny step you can start taking this very minute is to SMILE. Yes, smile, even though you don’t feel like it. Smile, even though you feel like your world is falling apart. Smile, even though you aren’t sure where your next paycheck is coming from.

It’s already been said once, but it bears repeating again: You can choose to be happy. Have you ever been around someone, who you know is struggling with something major in their life, yet they always seem to be happy? I knew a lady years ago who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She knew she only had a very short time to live, but every time I saw her, she had a smile on her face and a song in her heart. I don’t recall ever seeing her sit around and cry because she was going to die. She made the most of every single minute she had left on this earth.

Is your situation that bad? Worse? Follow this grandmother’s example. Be happy anyway! Why waste a single more moment feeling hopeless or unhappy? The best way to stop looking for happiness is to just determine that you will be happy, despite it all.