We’ve all heard it. “The best things in life are free.” What a true and beautiful statement that is. Most of us accept it and readily believe it, and if we do, we profit greatly from it. If we don’t, it’s likely because we haven’t been able to receive or enjoy these free things, and therefore have no knowledge of how accurate this statement can be. We have become convinced that there’s always a catch—that the “free” in this sentence must have an asterisk at the end of it, with some undisclosed fine print explaining what we must first give in return for our “free gift.”
This could not be further from the truth. In fact, they very best thing in life is as free as could be. It is that feeling we all long for, the sum of all desires, the goal and focus of every determined individual, whether they realize it or not. Peace, content, comfort, satisfaction, a love for life, all of these boil down to that one ideal word: happiness. We all crave it, we all need it, and so many of us seem completely lost as to how we might attain it in any large quantity. The simple fact is we already have it. Let me say it again: we already own happiness, and more of it than we could ever know what to do with. The problem is that we DON’T do anything with it. We throw it aside like a childhood toy and fall headlong into everything that is not only the enemy of happiness, but the conqueror, tyrant, and enslaver of it.
So why is it that so many of us are depressed, bored, discontent, and stressed out to our limit almost every day of our life? A large part of it is that we have allowed ourselves or others to set very strict conditions for our happiness. That is, we do not allow ourselves to be happy unless a certain amount of far-fetched requirements are met. These requirements are usually pretty common as far as majority goes, and even when they are met we often experience only a very temporary happiness before we again excuse our happiness in favor of greater wants and needs.
The most common misconceptions about gaining happiness are as follows: I need money to be happy. I need material possessions to be happy. I need to look more beautiful/handsome to be happy. I need to accomplish my goals to be happy. I need people to love me to be happy.
While all of these will give you a temporary sense of pleasure and accomplishment they will never establish in you the secret of permanent and personal happiness. In fact, once you have unlocked the secret of happiness you will find that meeting these other requirements not only becomes easier but will begin to come naturally to you.
When you discover how to unleash the unconditional happiness within yourself you will begin to reap many other inclusive benefits. You will be more creative and constructive in your thoughts and efforts. You will feel more inspired and energetic, therefore able to meet your goals with much greater ease. You will become more likeable and attractive to other people and they will suddenly want to be around you much more. You will start to feel braver and more confident with your words and actions. Your attitude will change from pessimism to optimism and negative influences will begin to lose their sway over you. And this is only a few of the many other advantages to being truly happy.
Do not be mistaken. No one finds happiness right off the bat. This is something you have to learn, and just like all other things worth learning it will take time, effort, and practice. But do not be discouraged, it is not as hard as you might think; in fact the hardest part will be in overcoming your overall discouragement with life and yourself. Learning to do this is going to be your very first lesson in the quest for free happiness. After making the initial commitment to you pursuit of happiness the hardest part is over.
