Happiness is defined as “a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” Sounds great, doesn’t it? So what makes happiness so hard to attain?
For many, happiness is defined by what has been achieved, what has been accomplished, or material things we have obtained.
While these things can contribute to the feeling of being happy, do they really bring us true happiness?
There’s an old saying: What you see is what you get.
When we see and experience the same old day after day, we reside in the limbic system of the brain stuck in old patterns and thoughts. We literally go on auto-pilot, going through the motions of our life.
When we activate our prefrontal cortex by experiencing something new, we can literally create a new story and a new life experience—not to mention, a new mood, like happiness!
However, if there’s one thing that can be said about happiness, it’s that it’s wholly and utterly subjective. What makes one person happy, may make another person decidedly unhappy.
“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ” is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. When he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson avoided defining happiness, choosing to leave it to the individual to determine his or her own meaning of the word.
We all want to feel happy, and each of us will have different ways of getting there. Understanding what works best for you is the first step in your pursuit of happiness!