Chapter 1
What is Happiness?
Happiness is an emotion – a strong feeling that makes us feel good and brings a smile on our face.
While the question is very simple, the answer is profound. Though the question is one, the answers are many. This is because happiness is different for different people. But what is Happiness?
Happiness is an emotion, a strong feeling that makes one enjoy and feel good. It is a feeling that makes one's heart dance and eyes twinkle. Happiness creates excitement and builds positive energy. It makes us smile, laugh and creates cheer.
So, while different people may define their happiness in different words, the emotion that is born in all, is the same. It is a strong feeling of joy, pleasure, contentment and fulfillment.
Different things make different people happy.
Since different things make different people happy, this cannot be generalized. I may find happiness in solitude, while you may find it in the buzzing excitement of a city. And this may change with time. So what makes me happy today may not make me happy tomorrow. So clearly, people become happy with different things and at different points of time in their life.
It is a myth that ONLY money makes people happy. Surely, money gives pleasure, but pleasure need not create everlasting joy. Not all rich people are happy and not all poor people unhappy. Though some people have a few material possessions, they are content and live a life filled with joy and fulfillment. Happiness does not depend on what you have. It depends on how you feel. You may have everything and yet be unhappy or you may have nothing and be happy. So what is Happiness then?
I am Happy today – truly Happy! I have shut down my business and live my life doing humanitarian, spiritual and inspirational work. Although I have ended my commercial life chasing millions, I have found true joy and happiness in what I do now. This is due to my current aspirations which give me joy, bliss and contentment. The happiness I derive by doing what I do now is fulfilling. It is everlasting joy! This, I discovered, is true happiness.
Happiness is not just about momentary pleasures. One may be happy eating a chocolate. But that is just momentary. The pleasure soon dies as time flies. True happiness is a feeling that lasts for a long period. If I view a pleasure as a little lake in my life, I would view true happiness as an endless ocean. There could be islands of unhappiness, but these would dissolve in the ocean of joy.
Material pleasures, of course, make us happy, but do they create unending pleasure? They can make us happy for the moment, but they fail to create fulfillment or grant us the peace of mind that takes us to the peak of the happiness mountain. Therefore, what is happiness? It is being able to do things that create joy and bliss which are not temporary. True happiness is living a life of satisfaction, contentment, joy and peace. It brings a sense of fulfillment in whatever one does.
Are you happy? Are you truly content with what you do and how you feel? Do you wake up every morning looking forward to life? Does whatever you do make your eyes twinkle? Does your work make your heart dance? Does the 'feel-good factor' last most of your day, your week, your month, your year and your life or are you struggling through life, not feeling good about what you are doing? Are you dissatisfied with your career? Are you unhappy about life? What is the state of your mind? Are you peaceful with those around you or is your life in turmoil? Reflection on these situations will indicate whether you are in a state of Happiness or Unhappiness.
Though it is possible for others to share their emotion or feeling of happiness with you, understand that only you can feel your own happiness, since it is uniquely personal and exclusively yours. Only you can decide whether you are happy or not. Yes, like any other emotion, the energy that flows out of you visibly indicates how you feel. Besides, it is not very difficult to make out whether somebody is happy or not.
Suppose you see a person smiling, dancing and cheerfully walking by, would you consider such a person to be unhappy? On the contrary, if you see a person with a frown, spiteful, agitated, irritated, angry and upset, would you consider such a person to be happy? So, happiness is a state of mind which reveals itself through one's behavior and action.
Are you truly happy? Do you too want to discover the 6 simple steps that will guarantee happiness for the rest of your life?
Remember, it's a choice unlike what most people say feel or believe. They might say that they are doomed by bad luck or that their life is meant to be full of unhappiness and misery, but I have discovered that happiness is a choice. Yes, you can choose to be happy all the time, if only you discover the 6 simple steps that will give you everlasting joy.
As you start your happiness journey, you will find pleasures, joy, bliss and fulfillment along the way. Before you encounter them, understand how each will contribute to your being happy.
Pleasures are little spurts of happiness that come from doing little things. You enjoy eating an ice cream, going for a movie or playing a game of golf. These don't last for long. They are temporary, but they make us happy. As long as these pleasures have no side effects, they are fine and must be welcomed in the happiness journey.
Joy is a little deeper and a little stronger. It is something that you aspire, dream of and then it happens. It is a wish that has come true. It is more than just a little pleasure that comes from a little treat. It lasts longer and gives you more happiness than pleasures would. You are waiting for Christmas, preparing for it, then it happens and you are so excited - that is joy. You are planning a cruise and after a month, you are finally sailing – that is joy. While these give you lot of joy, the joy is not perpetual. As time passes, the fragrance of this joy diminishes with other attractions and distractions of life.
Bliss is extreme pleasure and joy. It gives a feeling of “Wow!”. It is those pleasures that give