One interesting thing about life is that many of us keep waiting for happiness to show up, only to watch it come and go in small bursts. We spend more time stressing or overthinking our past and future instead of enjoying our present. I, for one, tend to do that a lot. In fact, I have always been a person who has leaned towards being uncertain about happiness. I have often found myself moving through life without much excitement. It’s not that things are always bad, but even in good moments, I have caught myself worrying about what all could go wrong. Today, when I look back, I struggle to remember a long period of happiness or two in my life. This makes me wonder if happiness has always been a brief phenomenon. Or perhaps, we have been looking for happiness at the wrong places. Maybe it’s not about chasing perfect moments but more about learning how to notice and hold on to everyday joys.
This beautiful idea is at the heart of a book titled Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Harvard professor Arthur C Brooks and the legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Their message is simple, that happiness is not a final destination, it’s a habit that we must cultivate. Constantly looking for shortcuts or distractions can take us away from true contentment. It is something we build step by step, through small choices, mindset shifts and daily habits. So, join us as we learn how to build habits that make happiness a part of our daily life and not some dream to achieve.
For many, happiness is associated with goals. They believe that they will be happy once they reach a goal—once they buy a house, once they find a perfect life partner or once they start a business. However, happiness isn’t a permanent destination. Life keeps changing and so do our emotions. In the book Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, Professor Arthur C Brooks and Oprah Winfrey explain that happiness is not a magical endpoint.
Instead of waiting to be happy someday or through some achievement, we must start enjoying the little moments that we get each day. It is the process of building positive habits that in turn, support our wellbeing.
In life, we frequently tend to want things. Sometimes necessary and at other times, completely unrequired. But the heart keeps asking for things big and small from time to time. As children, our parents tried their best to instill certain values in us—that made us understand what qualifies as necessities and what are luxuries. And yet, we often falter, becoming unhappy as a result. The best way to tame this scattered sense of desire is to have gratitude.
In fact, one of the most effective ways to be happier in life is to practice gratitude. When we take time to appreciate the good things in our lives, it shifts our focus away from what’s missing. By focussing on abundance in our lives, we open the door to feeling happier and content on a daily basis.
A lot of us believe that happiness is temporary, but it is not. The best way to be happy in life is by practicing gratitude, building meaningful relationships and being mindful of ourselves and our surroundings.
Practicing gratitude helps shift our focus from what’s lacking to what’s good in our life and this leads to happiness. Temporary happiness can be turned to permanent happiness by making gratitude a habit.
Mindfulness helps you stay focussed on the present moment, allowing you to appreciate life more deeply.
Strong relationships add joy and security to one’s life, which are essential factors for happiness.
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