Happiness, I definitely believe, is the holy grail for everyone. The problem is, we equate it to money, most of the time. I always keep this in mind: money can buy you a bed but never sleep. The best things in life—and those that will bring utter joy—are the ones with no price tag.
I need happiness in life, so do you, so do all of us.
It doesn’t come all the time, I can’t really say I’m a content, peaceful man. I have my share of sorrow and down moments. Repeating the apt repeated phrase, this blog is my way to learn things and get ahead in life. Likewise this post is to remind you as well as myself that happiness can be found if we stretch your hand at right direction, even with little money.
Related Post: Enjoy life’s free resources and get enriched in your life.
I will live probably another 40 -50 years. Out of which I’ll sleep one third of it. I will indulge in money earning activities for another one third of it. That leaves me with only 15 – 20 years to worry about being happy. This will be the time when I’ll be worried about life and calculating what I achieved, couldn’t achieve and could have achieved.
There are two ways of tackling emptiness of life
- Scale down expectation and be happy with whatever life brings on.
- Scale up efforts to achieve goals, that bring happiness and satisfaction. Goals that are tangible, intangible and sometimes impossible.
The problem with second option is, there’s no end or dearth of goals in one’s life. There’s no end of needs and wants. At the same time, the problem with first option is, one may feel defeated and left out from life’s better offerings. See, I am confused!
I only know I must find a balance between these two points. I need to work towards some goals that can give me maximum happiness. I can’t achieve all the happiness in the world. Going up in the corporate ladder can satisfy my ego and give me power but, that won’t make my near ones love me more. Giving them my company and time would perhaps do that. But then, unless I spend extra hours doing my work I am not going to go up in career.
The best thing is, know what gives you more satisfaction, then work at those. And, to do that I am learning below points, I am hopeful that these can be of great help to you as well if you adjust them as per your priorities and wishes.
Value loved ones over everything else
I’d rather get stressed out with work than with personal relationship issues. The latter just hits you right where you’re going to hurt a lot: in your heart. That’s why I always try my best to take care of my loved ones, including my friends. I try to help in whatever way I can and find time to be with them, especially with my kids, even it’s just for a few hours a day.
Don’t sweat the small stuff
When you’re pressured with a lot of things, you can’t help but simply do that. You whine, complain, and notice just about everything. But then, I realized we only have 24 hours a day; and from the rate things are going, they go by so fast. I don’t want to spend even a few minutes worrying about or being angry at something I don’t have full control.
Keep yourself healthy
As much as possible, I keep my stress level to a minimum. Many people think that stress per se is bad for your health. It isn’t. In fact, there’s good stress, the one that gets you all pumped up and motivated to accomplish something. It becomes dangerous when it is at its all-time high. It causes hormone imbalances, lowers your immune system, makes you prone to infections, and skyrocket your blood pressure. It also slows down your metabolism. Thus, too much stress puts you in a terrible shape.
I also eat food which includes fruits, as well as exercise regularly. You don’t have to go to the gym to do just that. You can buy a yoga mat, ball, or even use whatever items you have in your home, such as benches or chairs. You can have fun by dancing Zumba.
Related Post: Stay healthy to become rich.
I cultivate my spirituality
I believe that every person is composed of body, mind, and spirit. If one of these is weak or imbalanced, the other two aren’t in perfect condition either. I find time to listen to my inner body and spirit by doing meditations for at least 15 minutes a day.
Give back
There’s a karmic law that says whatever you do to others, there’s an equivalent similar consequence. So if you do good, you can expect goodness in your life. I try to keep this in mind, but it isn’t really my main motivation why I pay it forward. Generosity always gives you the feeling of completeness and lightheartedness. There’s no other way of saying it but it makes you feel really good about yourself. It empowers you, making you believe you can definitely do something for others and you can change other people’s lives even in your own little way.
Related Post: What is karma in personal finance.
I learned to accept certain truths in life
Forgiveness is definitely more powerful than hate. Indifference is the mother of all evil. You only have one life to live so you have to make the most out of it. You’re dying from the moment you’re born. All these things made me value my life more than whatever money I’ll probably get in my lifetime.
I look at the other side of the coin
Whenever I’m on the verge of complaining, I simply think about its other side. A couple of weeks ago, I was bombarded with a lot of work I thought I could not breathe anymore. When I noticed, I was already beginning to complain, I immediately made myself realized how lucky I am to still have a lot of work to do. Every day, I try to feel my life with gratitude so I can look at myself as half full.
Caution: Don’t always say ‘yes’ just to feel wanted, say ‘No’ sometimes to be happy at work.
I relish the simple pleasures in life
I love waking up in the morning and allowing the sun’s rays to touch my face. I like it when I get to spend some time alone with my wife, even when we’re just watching television. I prefer an early sleep over a bottle of ice-cold beer or wine.
I don’t pretend I don’t need any more money. What I’m trying to say is it takes more than just loads of cash in the bank account to make me happy. Life should be filled with compassion, love, generosity, and gratitude.
This is a touching post that rings true to a lot of us. Thank you for sharing. I hope you live a long and happy life.
Thanks Jai, much appreciate it
Seeing the other side of the coin is important – and difficult – for me. I am the type of person who gets angry when someone cuts me off on the road… but I’ve been trying to retrain myself to think, “maybe that person has somewhere very important to go – like to see a dying relative – and they have much bigger fish to fry than putting on their blinker.” Thinking like that – whether it’s true or not – helps me calm down and put others ahead of myself.
Everybody dreams of a happy life. Personally, I believe that when you think positive thoughts, it invites positive energy and thus, gives us happy spirit that is one of the important factors for a healthy and happy life.
only thing that matters is your homelife. happy wife, happy life
Everyone knows a lot of these things, but its nice to see them all in one list. I like this very insightful post, and although a lot of us do get blinded by material things, or stressing about the small stuff, sometimes it takes just one reminder that this is how we should live, to bring us back to reality. Of course we all want to be better people, but sometimes that means becoming more content with ourselves, rather than trying to change. One of our major flaws as people is that we always think the grass is greener on the other side. I think the biggest obstacle in life, is learning to be happy with what you have rather than wanting more to make ourselves happy. Its a life-long struggle, I envy those who truly live contently each day.
I’m so glad I saw this today. The mindset I’m in really allowed it to resonate with me. Thanks so much for sharing these valuable insights.
This was beautiful and awesome! Thank you!