In The Pursuit Of Happiness

{Image by Alan Cleaver_2000}

I am in the pursuit of something… Something money cannot buy and fame cannot bring. I am in the pursuit of happiness!

Can you believe it, i heard that on the X factor a couple of weeks ago! :-) . Its amazing where you can find inspiration! :-)

It’s so apt right now, especially when the media - TV, Magazines, or the Internet - continuously bombard us with airbrushed images of an exaggerated version of a perfect life. The message they are giving is that if you are an air brushed beauty and/or are financially wealthy, then that is the measure of success and happiness. Yet whilst these things can bring you happiness, it will be superficial and short lived. Why? Because your happiness will be controlled by external factors. If you were to lose your physical attractiveness and financial wealth tomorrow, then that would be it for most, as these factors are what would have defined you and thereby would be the reason for your happiness.

However if you are truly content and happy on the inside without the external trappings, then anything else that you posses in life, will just be an extension of your happiness.

Don't compare your life to others

When your feeling down and insecure, its easy to start feeling sorry for yourself and wondering why you haven't been blessed with all the wealth, fame or a rich lifestyle like those portrayed in the media.

But its pointless comparing your life to that of others as you really don't know what their life is all about. Behind closed doors the reality could be very different.

Each of us have been put on earth for a purpose and the reason we are here, is to find this purpose, and at the heart of it, lies our Happiness. Each of us have our own life’s lessons to learn depending on the choices we make. Our lives are about learning and evolving, teaching and inspiring. Life is not meant to be a struggle, but until we learn what life is really about and that we create our own happiness, we have to go through certain challenges in life, until the light bulb moment happens. When this happens is when we start really living OUR lives, immersed in our own happiness and wondering why we never figured it out before!

This AHA! moment can happen very early on in our lives, or after a period of hardship and strife, when our higher, enlightened self knows the timing is right, to understand what being truly happy is all about.

Don't live your life through versions of happiness that are displayed in the glossy lifestyle magazines. Yes, Look, Be Entertained and Seek Inspiration, but don't put your life on hold, waiting for the day until, YOU win the lottery, YOU get the size zero figure, YOU get the next big promotion etc etc etc

Be careful what you wish for! For most of us, we believe its money that will make us happy. And of course, whilst it will most definitely improve your circumstances financially, it wont necessarily bring you inner happiness.

“ Anybody who thinks money will make you happy, hasn't got money “ – David Geffen

True, everlasting happiness, lies within. That's where you need to go to find your wealth and joy. I read somewhere that “your innermost is always happy. so be happy”

Living in the Moment

Life is about living in the moment, not waiting until you have that new dress or lost 2 stone or fall in love, to be happy. Its never enough, because as you have reached one milestone, you will discover, you now, wont be happy until you reach the next one. And on and on it goes. So take a deep sigh, and become aware of where you are at in life. Wake up and realize that life is all about the moment you are in. Feel it, experience it, learn from it and more importatnly enjoy it, because life is about the journey and not the destination. Life is made up of a sequence of moments and once THIS moment you are presently in, has gone, its gone forever and the opportunity has passed. So each new moment is a new experience and new adventure, and it would be a waste of precious moments of your life, if you are focusing on wishing, wanting and comparing your life to what someone else has.

“ A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future ” – Albert Einstein

Its your life , live it to the fullest now. Think positive and happy thoughts only. Live YOUR life and don't compare it to what others have, otherwise you will be living their life, not yours. We are not all meant to win the X Factor or win the lottery blah blah blah. What a crazy world that would be if it was filled with X factor winners!!

You need to follow your own bliss, and don't let anyone allow you to doubt yourself. Yes material wealth can buy you things, and ease your financial worries, but it wont bring you emotional happiness. You can sit there, with a pot of gold, but what's the point if your friends are fake and you have no loved ones to share it with.

The world is filled with examples of wealthy but unhappy people!! You need to be happy on the inside first. External happiness is temporary, but internal happiness is infinite.

Invite happiness into your life by being happy within yourself first. Put your own stamp on life and live it by your instincts. Life is an adventure, and each day should be lived with a sense curiosity and pocketful of excitement and adventure.

So don’t compare. Live YOUR life, not someone else’s dream..