One of the biggest problems in my life, pretty much at all times, is wanting to be happy. Sometimes, I'm happy -- or I least feel like I'm happy -- and other times I feel as if I’ll never be happy again. Happiness is something people are always yearning to feel during our lives; but alas, despite everyone wanting it seems improbable, if not impossible to achieve at times. With it feeling impossible, it should be clarified that its not. One of the peculiar things about happiness is that it means different things for different people. Something that makes one person happy, may not be the same thing that makes you happy. It's difficult to find happiness because it's difficult to define. We have to find what makes us happy and be willing to do what it takes to be to feel such a fleeting emotion as much as possible. Some people say happiness is a choice, I have a hard time believing that. It would be incredibly simplistic to say its just a choice; there’s no switch you can just flip on. If happiness was a choice, it would be hard to believe that everyone doesn't choose to be happy.
Happiness isn't a choice, but it is a journey. We are responsible for our own lives; and the decisions we make dictate how our lives go. Even with this responsibility though, there is a certain amount of unpredictably we face. There are moments that are simply out of our control. This unpredictably is a great thing though because it keeps us engaged. It excites us with the prosperous idea that anything can happen. One problem people who aren't happy have is clinging to the past. People often have a moment in their past that they're embarrassed or ashamed of. They let those moments take over and define them. In most cases, people will forget about your past and even if they did remember it's not important. What is important, is your own perception of it. We are always growing as people, life is in constant motion. If everyone could just believe that their past failures aren't who they are, then the possibilities of the future could be seen.
One of the keys to happiness is the having the ability at times to let yourself feel sad. Happiness and sadness are on opposite sides of the emotional spectrum, but one cannot exist without the other. When sadness feels overwhelming, it can cause people to numb themselves to life. That's not the answer, though. It's almost impossible to resist yourself from feeling one emotion without potentially resisting others. If you suppress how you are really feeling, you’ll never be able to solve your problems and become better because of them. Another issue that people is that people see their problems as mountains they need to climb. When problems arise in your life, it causes you to solve them and helps to propel you to a sense of accomplishment and contentment that helps you feel happy.
Having said all of this, it's quite obvious happiness is simply not something that is easy to achieve; regardless, it's something we should strive for. We all have things that make us happy whether it be the relationships we forge or the passions we pursue. Everyone has the ability to be happy even if they don't believe it right now.
