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“Just smile.”
If we’re friends in high school, I guarantee you’d recognize me carrying this slogan. It was my tagline and my little advocacy. Everyone saw me as the reserved, smiley little girl promoting positivity.
A-huh, I nailed that part.
But you see, my private life tells quite the opposite, even for someone who loves embracing life’s good sides. My teenage life was difficult, filled with financial and family problems, along with my rampant performance anxieties.
Truth is, I wasn’t as happy as I proclaim to be.
My kind of happiness back then doesn’t last long but is a mask I must wear to hide from people’s judging eyes.
Looking back, I can now say I didn’t truly understand true happiness.
But thankfully, years have passed by, and now I’m grasping a good gist of what true joy is.
What is true happiness?
Is it money? I’m not rich, but I’ve experienced having enough to travel and buy items I love. However, it turns out that material wealth wasn’t as fulfilling as I thought it would, especially when we can easily get used to its glossy allure.
Friends? I have many who are awesome, but I also experienced betrayal which wasn’t joyful at all.
Education? I revered my studies so much, but looks like my degree and titles aren’t the ultimate end goal of life either.
So what is true happiness, for goodness sake?
I was looking everywhere else, but the answer is pretty simple.
True happiness is being someone who fulfills their purpose.
True happiness is finding your purpose and being effective in that part. It’s utilizing our God-given strengths, cultivating them, and prospering as you help yourself and other people.
To help you finding that, here are 5 tips so you can be a happier and purpose-driven person:
5 Important Life Tips To Become A Happier Person
1. First of all, value health.
We may never realize how valuable health is, until we feel immobility, pain, and sickness.
When I started falling into a sedentary life and struggled with bad knees and asthma, I just know how much I’ve lost, and it’s a hard-learned lesson for me.
It hit me hard.
I lacked exercise ever since I worked from home. Truly, work-from-home jobs are convenient, but on a grander scale, without habit and discipline, technology can easily take us away from the most basic human needs.
So let’s go back to the basics.
- Do you exercise or have you fallen into a sedentary way of life?
- Are you eating a balanced diet, or are you consuming ultra-processed foods?
- Are you close to nature, or always in front of your screens?
- Do you even engage with people, or have you isolated yourself from others?
- Have you meditated about life, or are you caught up in the ever-changing social media trends?
Everything we do today greatly affects not only our physical health but also our mental and emotional well-being.
If we want to be happier, look closer at how we care for our body. To accomplish more in life, our health must come first.
2. Always have movement in your life.
I’m pretty much an intuitive, so I’ve always seen myself as creative and a project starter. But there’s this thing I’m also prone to doing. Truth be told, I fear when this happens: it’s the doom of stagnation.
When I stagnate, every bad scenario, self-loathing, and doubts linger on my head rent-free. It feels paralyzing, and for a while, I’d be depressed and feel stuck.
As human beings, movement is a need.
It doesn’t have to be monumental achievements and recognitions. Just a simple act of gardening, caring for your kids, or going out with friends can make you happy. It already gives at sense of fulfillment.
Working on your big dreams? That’s a great move, too!
Remember: man is not made for jobs, but jobs are made for man, to feel the fulfillment.
On the other hand, stagnation and inaction causes you to fear.
As Dale Carnegie said:
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
3. More than positive thinking, have faith.
It was about 3 AM. My friends and I were on vacation and stayed at an Airbnb. As usual, we share our stories and could go in-depth into our personal lives. However, the cheesy relationship discussions were cut short as one of my friends opened up about her current situation.
Looks like she was enticed by something I said, touching a personal subject she had kept hidden.
I’m not gonna mention about her issue, but she was both grateful for what she heard but also quite embarrassed. My friend left the room for a while to cry, and I followed her to give some comfort.
She sobbed, “I always tried to think positively, you know. I tell myself to look at the brighter side, but sometimes, it’s just so hard to smile.”
I could feel the pain in those full teardrops. We were alike. I also practiced the same “just smile” mantra back then.
We had a deep one-on-one conversation until sunrise.
On the next days, our conversation made me ponder about the rising problem of positive thinking.
What if… What if you no longer see a bright side to the situation? What happens, then?
Unfortunately, when we neglect the bad sides long enough, that ball of anguish becomes a ticking bomb, waiting for our fuel – the positive things – to run out.
Boom, when all good things are gone in our sight, we’ll fall into the pit of restlessness and anxiety, our problems swallowing us whole.
We explode.
Now that I’ve grown older, I found a better, stronger alternative. Do you know what it is?
Faith.
Contrary to what people say, faith is not about “believing in what you don’t see.” That’s blind faith, obviously, and that’s not wise.
Rather, true faith is firmly knowing you will get through these problems in your life. It’s a confident claim that’s evident in your life. A full trust, making you armored against whatever life throws at you.
I don’t just “believe.”
With true faith, I know I will get through it. I know it. I know it. Stand firm because these things shall come to pass.
But most importantly, when we have faith, it means we’re putting our confidence in something or someone. I put my faith in God. True enough, He never failed me.
You can do your search, too. Find the subject of your faith – family, friends, wealth, a principle, a mentor – that you could trust when everything goes haywire. Those things or people would be the bedrock of your confidence.
Because when you “know” you can overcome an obstacle in life with their help, it makes you untouchable, and find peace despite the storm.
That confidence is far better, especially when positive thinking no longer works for us.
4. Cultivate your strengths and be fruitful.
“Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.”
And one of the greatest love we can share with the world? It’s wholeheartedly offering our service, our talents, and our abilities to better other people.
To be ultimately happy in life, you must take the adventure of discovering your strengths.
- What are the skills people say you’re good at?
- What topic do you endlessly do or talk about even without recognition or income?
- Do you remember the hobby where people scolded you because you spent too much time on it?
These are some clues to find your core strengths and talents.
If we want to be happy, find that skill and bear fruits.
Humans feel a deep-seated satisfaction when they help others. That said, let’s serve people with what we have, which will surely leave a long-lasting joy and impact, leading to a sense of purpose.
5. Be present in the moment.
Are you a daydreamy person? Or do you feel nostalgic for the past and rewind them as if it just happened yesterday? Such a vivid mind is so wonderful. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
But while happy memories are amazing to look back to, let’s be wary of how we can be stuck in the past and fail to fully appreciate what’s happening in our present.
Sometimes, we look way far back and miss the person we were. Not realizing how much we have learned today and how strong we have improved in our present.
Living in the past takes away the opportunities of our present. And fearing the future can cause a paralyzing overthinking.
That said, let’s remember the list above.
When you’re in the present, you must:
- care for your health
- prioritize movement
- have faith, do not fear
- and recognize your strengths that lead you to your purpose
Conclusion
These are things I’ve learned that made me worry less and be happier in life. Not only does it make me happy, but also help me become more courageous in facing the challenges of life!
That’s it. Thanks for reading!
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