Happiness could be considered as the invisible blood of human race which everyone seeks to survive the life. So what is it all about? And how do we keep ourselves happy? Is it momentary or is it in fact the ultimate goal of human survival? It is a billion dollar question that was never answered in a convincing way. This is an attempt to answer it from my point of view.
Being rich or famous or smart is not a token for being happy. A person might have everything that another person would be struggling to attain, but still he/she might be in search of just one thing in life and that is happiness. It is because; one does not understand it any better. There are Pundits, psychotherapists, life coaches making money out of it and recreational places like clubs, pubs and many more making their share of money as well. But the truth is, digging deeper and perceiving our own thoughts, lets us to visualize it on our own as to what happiness is. Here, I would like to share my personal experiences on my path to realizing happiness.
A few months ago, stress and anxiety had taken control over me, which eventually led to me experiencing many health issues. When the physician said that nothing seems to be wrong with my health; it was hard-hitting my brain, pushing me to think over, where it would have gone wrong. Things started to unveil before of my eyes when I spent little time with my inner self.
Growing up in a very small town in India, I was very naive and had travelled out of my state only twice, that too just to the neighbouring states; in 26 years of my life. But my love towards NanoScience and the strong belief in chasing my dreams made me to take a tough decision of leaving my family (husband and son [4 years]), to go to another continent (for 3 years of time), to pursue my goals of earning a doctorate. My decision was criticised by almost everyone except my immediate family, but nothing stopped me from moving forward with my decision. Though I had tremendous courage before starting my PhD, being in the situation itself (separation from family, new place, climate that I was never used to) threw me into agony. Loneliness started daunting me, I found myself silently struggling to deal with colossal emotional stress. On top of it, fear of messing up with the work increased my vulnerability. Stress from all corners of life was tearing me apart, which had resulted in all the health problems.
That particular health incident induced me to find a way for relieving from stress, and also to live in the present by handling things wisely. I am still an amateur in controlling my thoughts but I am trying my hands at it in full swing and I can clearly see a change in myself. I keep myself engaged by listening to songs, writing down my daily journal, reading books, sharing things with my loved ones, doing exercise, meditation etc., and though it might look clichéd, getting good sleep tremendously has an immense positive effect on you and your work. I also talk to my inner-self whenever I feel the need for it. All of them help to control my thoughts, thereby the happiness itself.
Recognizing our thought pattern serves as a master key that controls happiness. If a person’s train of thoughts are about worrying for the worst thing that could happen for them, then there is no time for him/her to realize and to control their thoughts. Self-realisation and self-guidance are two important things required for controlling the thoughts. This has a great influence on all qualities of a person and happiness is vital among them. Let’s cherish the essence of life with a peaceful mind and spread it among others too.
It does not matter whether you win or lose in what you choose to do. Take decisions, deal with your situations cleverly, live in the present and control your thoughts. Then you will be already on your way of mastering the art of being happy!