Have you ever been hit by a sudden wave of happiness that you can't even explain where it comes from? That was the state I was in earlier today and the weird part is that it was in the morning. I just woke up feeling happy as if I had something big planned for the day but in actuality, it was just a regular boring day. I am not usually a morning person and most of the time I wake up out of energy, especially when I think about the tasks that are lined up for the day.
But today was different, I was in a very happy state and that actually made me start my tasks early. This got me wondering; can we actually trick our brain into a state of happiness or does happiness come from other factors outside our control? What does happiness mean? I have a habit of connecting songs to whatever I'm thinking about and in that moment, one song came to mind; Happy by Pharrell Williams. I believe many of you are familiar with this song, it was very popular back in 2014/2015.
I read somewhere a few years ago that one of the factors that influences happiness is genetics. Yes, some people are naturally aligned to happiness and I guess that's why we have people who are optimists; always giving off positive emotions which includes happiness, then on the other hand we have pessimists, I guess they weren't born with the happiness gene, right? I don't think so, and that's because aside from genetics, environmental factors such as life circumstances, activities and habits also influence our happiness.
An example of this can be seen in the video I dropped above. Whenever I watch that video, I cannot help but smile because of the positive energy that is shown by the people in it. Everyone is just dancing like they have no worries which might make you wonder if they were genuinely happy or they were just putting up an act to make the video look good but then again; can that type of happiness be acted out? You can be in a sour mood but after watching that video, your mood will lighten up.
One thing I have realized over the years is that happiness is contagious, just like laughter or a yawn. Seeing people genuinely happy can also trigger the same feeling for you, even though it's just for a fleeting moment. This is why I mentioned earlier that our environment also has a role to play in our happiness but there's also one type of happiness I haven't talked about; the happiness that comes from a deeper sense of well-being and life satisfaction.
This to me is the true happiness which everyone is after but some people don't even realize it. In one way or the other, we want to attain a level of satisfaction that will leave us with no regrets when we are on our deathbeds. All these other forms of happiness are just fleeting moments of joy; only existing in a short period. It can be the thrill of achieving a goal or the satisfaction of a delicious meal but we all know this sort of happiness only lasts for a short time.
Many people make the mistake of taking it as true happiness and end up in the rabbit hole of achieving goals all because they want that short burst of euphoria. It's also the reason why people do drugs and then get addicted. But like I said earlier, true happiness comes from life satisfaction; having a sense of purpose and living a life that aligns with your values. In the end, you're responsible for your own happiness and even though a lot of the things that happen every day are not within our control, you can still decide to maintain a positive energy.
Thanks for reading
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