-How to be happy with your life.

No matter how hard we try and how good we plan to be happy in life, life always throws bitter-sweet surprises at us. We fight, thrive, fall, and rise again, thinking every now and then how to be happy with our lives. It’s not easy. Scores of scholars and philosophers have burnt their midnight oil, and spent their entire lives in search of that prescription that would ensure happiness. But at the end of the day, happiness is a state of mind, and we need to know how to create that and master that technique all by ourselves. This article talks about three simple steps that would help you understand how to be happy with your life.

Do what makes you happy
Even though happiness is illusive, to be happy in our lives we need to find out what makes us happy. The source of happiness is subjective and varies widely from person to person. Someone may be happy if busy in work. Some other may find that music or painting or even cooking is the thing that makes him or her happy no matter how difficult the situation is. The list is endless. But the point is that we all know what makes us happy. Practising the same on a frequent basis will imply that we are taking small doses of “happiness”. The culminating effect of this is that we find ourselves in a happy state of mind, most of the time.

Appreciate your achievements
A poor farmer in the remotest village may be happy with his life even in the absence of modern amenities and luxuries of a city life. A rich man can also be happy even if he has all those things that the poor man doesn’t. It is not about what we have. It is all about how we feel about what we have. If we are contented then we already know how to be happy. But being satisfied with life does not mean lacking ambition or aspiration. We can definitely look forward and desire more. But, we should never stop looking at the present, and appreciating what we have already achieved.

Clear your mind
So, what to do, if even after all these we find ourselves suddenly very unhappy? Trying to be happy in a real adverse situation is the toughest of them all. There are situations when you probably do not even want to be happy. It could be a loss of a dear person, may be a life partner, or loss of entire property in a natural disaster. We feel lost and miserable in such situations. Even though the intensity of feeling recedes after sometime, we find it very difficult to be happy again. Coming to terms with your internal turmoil is the first step that you can take. Planning small tasks and executing them with all your might will help you clear your mind in a slow but sure way. Meditation also helps to keep your mind focused. A clouded mind is never a happy place to be.