7 steps in the pursuit of happiness

Happiness is an emotion we all pursue. Many things around us influence the level of how happy we can be. The truth is our way of seeing the world can awaken us to a simpler, happier, more fulfilling life – a life worth loving.
 

Seven positive steps closer to happiness:  

1. Flow with life, not against it. Life may wreck your plans when your plans are about to wreck you.  For everything you’ve lost, you’ve gained something else.  You don’t have to accept it; it’s just easier if you do.  Sometimes you simply need to take a deep breath and appreciate what is.

2. Let go of self-defeating thoughts.  Let go of fear, expectation, anger, regret and frustration.  Let go of the need for approval too.  You don’t need any of it.  The world is as we are inside.  What we think, we see, and we ultimately become.  So choose your thoughts wisely.  Think how you want to live.

3. Believe in the possibilities ahead. Belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses, it is an idea that possesses the mind.  So believe in yourself.  Believe in your capacity to succeed.  Believe that there are many roads to what’s right.  Believe in your intuition, especially when you have to choose between two good paths.

4. Help yourself by helping others. The goal isn’t to live forever; the goal is to create something that will, an idea or gesture that helps others live better.  Strong people stand up for themselves; stronger people stand up for others too.

5. Leave the past behind. Don’t let the past steal your present. Your past has not defined, deterred, or defeated you.  It has only strengthened who you are today.  Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask yourself if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.

6. Break-up routines. If you want a new tomorrow, then make new choices today.  Mix it up!  Sometimes a break from your routine is the very thing you need.

7. Always give yourselves another chance. Sometimes the bad things that happen put you on a direct path to the best possible things that could ever happen to you.  You just have to give yourself another chance to get there.