The Perfect Way of Life
Few times in my blog I have asked the question “Is there such thing as Perfect?” I truly believe that in order to live a fulfilled and happy life we each have to find our niche, and what makes us (as individuals or couples) “perfectly” happy. Finding out what do we need to become happy can become a problem on many occasions, especially in relationships. That is due to the fact that something that can make one person happy can make the opposite effect on the other person.
When I will try to do in this post is to share with you my way of finding the way to being happy. Keep in mind, that if you are a chronic worrier, or you tend to be a pessimist you will probably have a tougher journey than others. The first step in finding happiness actually relates to the thought of believing and visualizing yourself being happy. The second thing to remember is that what makes us happy has plasticity, meaning it changes over time. If you asked me 15 years ago what will make me really happy, I would say “backpacking in South America.” If you ask me today, I would say “Being with my family, buying a home and developing my private practice.” I found this funny test online that I actually thought was pretty much on point when describing me. You can try it out here.
If you find yourself looking for happiness through materialistic things you will likely find yourself unhappy. Materialistically, we can always have more, especially as life goes on and we have more responsibilities to take care of. Being happy includes materialistic things, but it is more about our inner feelings. What comes to my mind when I think of this is the suicide of Robin Williams. Someone who appeared to be one of the happiest people that can be. He definitely had anything you can think of materialistically, but he was so unhappy that he ended his life. Mind you, state of mental health is definitely a variable to consider. Taking care of mental health issues is a very important aspect of happiness, that is why counseling is so important!
Few other things that science claims will make you happy are: having meaningful goals in life, getting out and exercising, giving back, taking initiatives at work or life, making friends and treasuring family, savoring the everyday, devaluing money, saying thank you like you mean it, avoiding comparisons, and smiling (even when you do not feel like it). You can read more about it here. I want to spend a moment about the last two things I mentioned. Avoiding comparisons – you know the phrase “the grass is always greener on the other side”? Well, it will normally appear so, but you really cannot know what happens in the back yard of anyone. Trying to compare yourself to someone else without having all the variables is like planning a trip without knowing where you are going. It is dreadful, pointless and without any value to you. The last thing is SMILING. As I said before, it is the best makeup a woman can wear, and basically one of the things that can brighten someone else’s day without us even meaning to do so. It doesn’t cost us anything, and it releases endorphins in the brain that can actually help us feel better. So try doing it more, if you do not do that already!!