HAPPINESS

"Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others." Buddha

The word ‘happiness’ has many synonyms in English, which are:
Bliss
Joy
Glad
Excitement
Pleasure
Amusement
Euphoria
Jubilation
Exultation
Contentment
Cheerful
Ecstasy
Elation
Enjoyment
Delight
Exhilaration
Laughter
Merriment



The quest for happiness starts at an early age and goes onto for a life time. Everyone wants to be happy. The moment we think of happiness in our mind closing our eyes, what and how we do feel may vary from person to person. For someone, the word happiness can be synonymous with:
Achievement
Fulfilment
Success
Gain
Profit
Victory
And for some other person, happiness can be a source of:
Peace of mind
Contentment
Sound Health
Sense of Security
Wellbeing
And for another , happiness can have some other meaning like:
Spiritualism
Satisfaction
Dedication
It depends on the sources of happiness and importance of that source in a person’s life.
The word ‘happiness’ finds an important place in the spiritual teachings and discourses. Lord Buddha viewed that happiness can be achieved by overcoming desires. Aristotle propagated the ‘practice of virtue’ to achieve happiness. In Aristotle’s words, “happiness is the virtuous activity of the soul”. In most religions, happiness is considered to be an eternal reward which is the ultimate end of life and can be sensed in the presence of the Almighty. The Bhagwad Gita teaches mankind to attain ultimate happiness by making the mind calm and by appeasing the passion.
For Psychologists, happiness is a positive emotion which is the result of positive activities. Martin Seligman in his book ‘Authentic Happiness’ says that positive emotions are related to past, present and future of a person. Positive emotions related to the past include satisfaction, contentment, pride and serenity. Positive emotions related to the future include optimism, hope and trust. Positive emotions related to the present are pleasure and gratifications.
Happiness is the ultimate goal of life. In the pursuit of material happiness, everyone is working very hard. And in the process, they are taking loads of work related stress and which leads to several complications in life leading to depression and unhappiness. In such a scenario, it can be said that ‘happiness’ is a state of mind more than a result of life’s circumstances. It has been discovered that ‘happiness’ is achievable by inculcating smalls virtues in day to day life. So, happiness can be achieved by :
Making happiness a priority
Appreciating and by being grateful for everything we get in life, starting form food, clothes, house, relationships, kind acts, smiles, good behaviour etc.
Showing kindness towards fellow human beings, specially towards the less fortunates.
Forgiving enemies
Enjoying life's small pleasures to the fullest
Taking good care of one’s health
Thinking positively
Investing maximum time into family
Identifying strengths and utilising them towards achievement of goals
Appreciating and loving one’s own self
Cultivating optimistic thoughts
Gaining adequate sleep and rest
Managing time constructively
Giving more than taking.


In the words of Dalai Lama “The central method for
Achieving a happier life is to train your mind in a daily
practice that weakens negative attitudes and
strengthens positive ones.”