Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Another thing that helps keep me happy is to look at things that are cute and to laugh a LOT. I believe that laughter and humility is one of the best ways to keep a positive and energetic outlook on life. This is something that I've noticed is hard for a lot of people to do. I've noticed that a lot of people almost look for things to get mad at or to hold a grudge on. They play the victim of any situation and end up making themselves feel oppressed just to be able to feel mad. It's a way to pin their anger or sadness on someone else, and I'm here to say that it needs to stop. Not only is blame, resentment, and hate toxic for your spirit and overall well being, it causes a negative energy towards others and it's not okay. My biggest advice for those people is to let go. I know it's hard to do that sometimes. There are a lot of rude people out in the world and it's easy to become offended or upset because of what they say or do. But in order to keep your happiness, you need to let it go. The less you care, the happier you are. I'm not saying to completely disregard anything that makes you unhappy,(that would just be childish) but to find less things that upset you. Pick your battles, and stop playing the victim card. It is so unbelievably easy to ignore something that is bothering you, and I can promise you that. Stop getting offended. As I said, the world is filled with rude people, and they will speak their mind. But it's the way you react that keeps those people going. They're looking for a reaction, and if you act on what they say or do without logically thinking it through, you're giving them what they want. And I understand that it's human nature to be unsatisfied, as I said in my last blog post, but your happiness depends on your actions, not everybody else's. That's why I'm a big fan of humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. And if somebody actually does cross the line, I let them know; not with anger or yelling, but logically explaining to them where they crossed the line. If the situation doesn't resolve, I walk away from it. But in the mean time, I keep life happy and light. I joke around, and I find the light in situations. I avoid confrontation and I avoid being rude. i surround myself with people that lift my energy and spirits up, not people who weigh me down. I can promise you that just by picking your battles and letting more things go, by not letting your emotions get in the way of everything and thinking through every situation logically, you will be a happier person, and you will want others to be happy. Life is too short to be angry at everybody. Laugh a little. 
There are several things that have changed the way I perceive life and the way I attain happiness. One thing is a blog someone had me read called "12 Things Happy People Do Differently".  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-sokol-/things-happy-people-do_b_3869793.html

After reading this list of 12 things, I began to realize how easy it is to be happy. This blog provides a brief explanation of each of the steps, and it has a logical understanding that goes along with each of them. I began sharing this blog with other people when I found myself in a discussion where they felt lost or unsure on how to reach happiness. As someone who likes to help others as much as I can, I tell them about this blog. I was so set on how useful it is, I even wrote all of them down and I have them hanging in my vanity mirror just to make sure to know them every day. 

Another thing that helped me a lot was a song. There are SO many songs that help me stay happy (including the one I'm listening to right now called Sing A Song by Earth Wind and Fire). But this song didn't necessarily make me happy, it just made me realize that I need to appreciate every moment I have. This song is Time by Pink Floyd. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL3AgkwbYgo

The lyrics of this song are basically saying that we wait too long to start living our lives or to be happy, while we end up wasting all that time. There's a line "And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking, racing around to come up behind you again", which I interpret as saying that we always look for something to make us happy. We tell ourselves "oh, when it's my birthday I'll be happy", or "when I have a car is when I'll be happy". We're constantly placing happiness somewhere in front of us, but when we finally reach that moment when we tell ourselves we will be happy, we once again look for something else. It's kind of an endless cycle, but I think it's human nature to never be satisfied. So listening to this song, and truly understanding its lyrics made me realize that I need to start being happy now. I can't waste my life away wishing for something else to happen. Each moment is passing us by and if we don't take advantage of every one of those moments, we end up wasting it all. And if you waste your life away, that means that you never truly lived. My advice: live each moment for what it's worth, and stop waiting to be happy. Be happy now.