What’s your definition of happiness ?

When you ask people what they want in life, or if you study their actions, they all tend to converge toward the same goal : happiness. Because who does not want to be happy ? Who consciously strive for despair, sadness or anger ? Happiness seems like a sacred grail that only some of us manage to reach.

But it is important to remember ourselves that, as cliché as it may sound, happiness is not a destination, it is a way of life. You cannot reach happiness, and stay happy for the rest of your life afterward. Life is made of up and downs, and that is what makes it enjoyable, in its own, sometimes weird way.

So, starting right now, why not act in agreement with your values ? You have the power to make your choices reflect your beliefs. Your choices mirror your intentions. So if you want to be happy, act like it, be it. But first, be sure of what happiness means to you. Because even though it is an extremely broad concept, it nonetheless remains a very personal notion too. So what does it mean to be happy for you ?

For me happiness is the ability to feel satisfied in the moment, without looking at the past with regrets or at the future with anxiety. Happiness is being mindful of my own life, being serene about what surrounds me because it is filled with love and joy, not jealousy and anger. Happiness is growing everyday toward an improved self. Happiness is having the choice to do what I want, what I really want. Happiness is knowledge. Happiness is within, but also outside, in others, in my loved ones.

Take a notebook and jolt down the first things that make you happy that come to your mind. And then, just try to realize them more often. Your mood will be uplifted and your quality of life will dramatically improved, trust me.

A few things that make me happy include :

• traveling
• the feeling of finishing a project, often an article
• watching a good movie
• working out
• starting reading a book that I know is going to be awesome
• getting a massage
• eating a healthy meal with my friends
• going to bed early and waking up early, with a bright sun, feeling energized

What about you ?