Perfect Happiness?
So you want to create a better life that you love but what is realistic in terms of happiness?
Primo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish writer, who spent a year as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp. He experienced some of the toughest times imaginable. In his book "If this is a Man" he shared his view of happiness:-
"Sooner or later in life, everyone discovers that perfect happiness is unrealisable, but there are few who stop to consider the antithesis; that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable".
Makes you think doesn't it? Humans can demonstrate incredible strength and resilience, and find some happiness in the most appalling situations.
Perfect happiness is not then a realistic target but imagine if your life was ideal and every day full of "sunshine and joy". It sounds wonderful but would you appreciate it? Sometimes it's only when you go through bad times or have bad days, that you then value the good ones so you need some balance in your life.
And what should we be satisfied with? What should we be content with? As part of his "Motivation Theory", Abraham Maslow described man as a wanting animal who is rarely satisfied for any length of time. He said that once one desire is satisfied, another one will pop up to take its place so that throughout our lives, we will always want something else.
We therefore need to be aware that what we want and what makes us happy will depend on where we are in life and which needs are currently being met.
To help you improve your chances of finding happiness, think about who you spend your time with - and how they make you feel. What would they say if they knew you wanted to change your life? Would they be supportive or dismissive of your desire to change your life?
If you are part of a group who are very down and anti-everything, it's easy to get pulled along on their wave of negative energy. You listen to what they say and you are influenced by their messages. Conversely, if you mix with people who are optimistic and positive, you are far more likely to be positive yourself. The group will see the good in any situation and will maintain a positive stance despite issues that they may face. They are also more likely to support you in any changes you wish to make - rather than to hold you back or to belittle your attempts at self improvement.
Now I'm not saying that you should "dump" your negative friends. Just become more aware of the impact they have on you and learn to manage the impact they have.Take time to consider the people you spend time with and how you feel when you leave them. If its negative, do think about how you can change that and when you want to see those people. If it's positive, then just let it rub off and enjoy it!
Take some time to think about what makes you happy and see if you can come up with three simple changes you could make to increase your contentment. And do it now - because you only get one life!
Makes you think doesn't it? Humans can demonstrate incredible strength and resilience, and find some happiness in the most appalling situations.
Perfect happiness is not then a realistic target but imagine if your life was ideal and every day full of "sunshine and joy". It sounds wonderful but would you appreciate it? Sometimes it's only when you go through bad times or have bad days, that you then value the good ones so you need some balance in your life.
And what should we be satisfied with? What should we be content with? As part of his "Motivation Theory", Abraham Maslow described man as a wanting animal who is rarely satisfied for any length of time. He said that once one desire is satisfied, another one will pop up to take its place so that throughout our lives, we will always want something else.
We therefore need to be aware that what we want and what makes us happy will depend on where we are in life and which needs are currently being met.
To help you improve your chances of finding happiness, think about who you spend your time with - and how they make you feel. What would they say if they knew you wanted to change your life? Would they be supportive or dismissive of your desire to change your life?
If you are part of a group who are very down and anti-everything, it's easy to get pulled along on their wave of negative energy. You listen to what they say and you are influenced by their messages. Conversely, if you mix with people who are optimistic and positive, you are far more likely to be positive yourself. The group will see the good in any situation and will maintain a positive stance despite issues that they may face. They are also more likely to support you in any changes you wish to make - rather than to hold you back or to belittle your attempts at self improvement.
Now I'm not saying that you should "dump" your negative friends. Just become more aware of the impact they have on you and learn to manage the impact they have.Take time to consider the people you spend time with and how you feel when you leave them. If its negative, do think about how you can change that and when you want to see those people. If it's positive, then just let it rub off and enjoy it!
Take some time to think about what makes you happy and see if you can come up with three simple changes you could make to increase your contentment. And do it now - because you only get one life!
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