Many books have been written for those who look for happiness recipes. The thing with happiness is that it is not an instant result that one gets after reading a book. One cannot buy happiness. Happiness is a result of having and practicing certain points of view and ways of life. So, who are those happy people? The have?
Having enough money helps. It makes our life easier. So, we should try our best not to be poor despite the fact that being rich is not synonymous with being happy. There are many unhappy rich people out there, probably as many as happy poor people but still there is no denying that one needs a certain amount of money to keep oneself secure and free of worries.
Happy people are the ones with less worry and who feel secure enough about life in general. They have what they need – not necessarily the best there is – and quite certain that nothing unforeseen will happen to them. Being content and having positive outlooks are the common characters of happy people. Even when something bad happened they will always find something to be grateful about their mishaps. And that is why they are always happy – they always look at the bright side.
Now, how to be content and positive when there is nothing to warrant them?
Firstly, we need to realize that this very question implies we need something first (material things) in order to feel content and positive while the facts showed that many people who seem to have everything (that we coveted) are not as happy as they should be. Yes, money matters, but it is not everything.
The never ending attempts to chase and accumulate worldly things are the biggest contributor to our unhappiness. They bring lots of worries, high level of stress and anxieties and to make matter worse once we get what we want, rarely do we feel truly satisfied or happy. Most of the time the satisfaction and happiness are short lived. Our wealth will bring new worries and anxieties – we would worry we shall lose them. The more we have the bigger our worries are. The more we love them the more miserable we are. So again, wealth is not a prerequisite to happiness.
Secondly, the question suggests that we have no reason at all to feel content and positive in the first place which is completely wrong! This is exactly why most people are unhappy. They are unhappy because they can’t see what they’ve already got and be grateful for it.
Happy people are the ones who appreciate things. They cherish every little thing they got and rejoice in every little joy they found. They found happiness everywhere because of the way they look at things. They have the ability to see wonders in things which are considered as common and trivial by others.
They have a way of making things which are considered as heavy and difficult to be simple and easy. Hence, reducing the level of stress which usually relates to heavy responsibilities i.e. although happy people take their responsibilities seriously they are not obsessed with the results. If the results are not as expected it will not bother them too much as most of them do not wallow in failures or what has done. Happy people are the ones who accept failures as lessons learnt than move on.
Another common character of the happy people is that they are not a loner as they put a high value on friendship and kinship. However, although they are not a loner most of them are quite content with just themselves. They do not find it disconcerting if they have to do things alone or take an unpopular course. They feel quite secure in the knowledge that they are loved by those people around them no matter what.
Lastly, I like to argue that it is impossible to be happy if one does not know the purpose of one’s life. In order to be happy we need to know who we are. What are we here for and where are we heading off. We need to put our priorities straight and know how to apply the right attitudes for things that come our way.
Q.S 16: 18
And if you would count the Favour of Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly, Allah is Often-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Q.S 4: 39
And what loss have they if they had believed in Allah and in the Last Day, and they spend out of what Allah has given them for sustenance? And Allah is Ever All-Knower of them.
Having enough money helps. It makes our life easier. So, we should try our best not to be poor despite the fact that being rich is not synonymous with being happy. There are many unhappy rich people out there, probably as many as happy poor people but still there is no denying that one needs a certain amount of money to keep oneself secure and free of worries.
Happy people are the ones with less worry and who feel secure enough about life in general. They have what they need – not necessarily the best there is – and quite certain that nothing unforeseen will happen to them. Being content and having positive outlooks are the common characters of happy people. Even when something bad happened they will always find something to be grateful about their mishaps. And that is why they are always happy – they always look at the bright side.
Now, how to be content and positive when there is nothing to warrant them?
Firstly, we need to realize that this very question implies we need something first (material things) in order to feel content and positive while the facts showed that many people who seem to have everything (that we coveted) are not as happy as they should be. Yes, money matters, but it is not everything.
The never ending attempts to chase and accumulate worldly things are the biggest contributor to our unhappiness. They bring lots of worries, high level of stress and anxieties and to make matter worse once we get what we want, rarely do we feel truly satisfied or happy. Most of the time the satisfaction and happiness are short lived. Our wealth will bring new worries and anxieties – we would worry we shall lose them. The more we have the bigger our worries are. The more we love them the more miserable we are. So again, wealth is not a prerequisite to happiness.
Secondly, the question suggests that we have no reason at all to feel content and positive in the first place which is completely wrong! This is exactly why most people are unhappy. They are unhappy because they can’t see what they’ve already got and be grateful for it.
Happy people are the ones who appreciate things. They cherish every little thing they got and rejoice in every little joy they found. They found happiness everywhere because of the way they look at things. They have the ability to see wonders in things which are considered as common and trivial by others.
They have a way of making things which are considered as heavy and difficult to be simple and easy. Hence, reducing the level of stress which usually relates to heavy responsibilities i.e. although happy people take their responsibilities seriously they are not obsessed with the results. If the results are not as expected it will not bother them too much as most of them do not wallow in failures or what has done. Happy people are the ones who accept failures as lessons learnt than move on.
Another common character of the happy people is that they are not a loner as they put a high value on friendship and kinship. However, although they are not a loner most of them are quite content with just themselves. They do not find it disconcerting if they have to do things alone or take an unpopular course. They feel quite secure in the knowledge that they are loved by those people around them no matter what.
Lastly, I like to argue that it is impossible to be happy if one does not know the purpose of one’s life. In order to be happy we need to know who we are. What are we here for and where are we heading off. We need to put our priorities straight and know how to apply the right attitudes for things that come our way.
Q.S 16: 18
And if you would count the Favour of Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly, Allah is Often-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Q.S 4: 39
And what loss have they if they had believed in Allah and in the Last Day, and they spend out of what Allah has given them for sustenance? And Allah is Ever All-Knower of them.
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