Sometimes, I go through phases of feeling down and then feeling optimistic; I start to think a lot about certain things, start to doubt myself, and then somehow end back at a point where I feel optimistic and energetic again. That might sound like a quick cycle, but it isn't always. It isn't always easy, either. Isn't that what life is really like, though? There are ups and downs when you're riding the waves but eventually, somehow, you find your way to a new, better you.

It's that 'somehow' that's the tricky part.

What is a part of that 'somehow', and are there commonalities between them? Naturally what we do to make ourselves feel better may vary from time to time, but it has the same purpose and the same root every time. However, if we know that there's a pattern in those 'somehow' actions, we've hit the jackpot. Imagine this: if we know what makes us feel better when we're low, it's easier to be conscious of it and make it a more integral part of our lives.

And that may very well mean fewer low points.

So, what is the root of our 'feel-good regime', and does independence have anything to do with it?

A quote by Susan B. Anthony, a pivotal female rights activist and suffragist, reads:

"Independence is happiness."

It's short, it's sweet, but it leaves you thinking. I don't think independence means complete self-reliance, but I think it means being able to know one's self. For example, if we expect that others should know us if we don't even know ourselves, we're going to be stuck. We'll expect others to take care of us, but we'll never be happy because we don't even know how we want to be taken care of.

On the other hand, if we know exactly who we are in terms of personality and likes and dislikes, we are the ones who are able to go out and find the proper solution. Then, whether that solution is self-resourced or with help from others, it doesn't matter. It was the ability to identify a problem, establish a need for a solution, and then go and seek that solution that made us independent and confident in our own selves.

After we've done this successfully once, there's no going back. It's as if something inside has changed and we will always be programmed to seek and find the best for us.

Rely on independence.