Happiness by definition is the state being happy; the state of well-being and contentment.

What does happiness mean for you? Well in order to be happy, first you have to know what it is that makes you happy. A crucial part in determining what makes you happy, which is often left out, is mindfully determining what things don’t make you happy or you don’t like; things that you want to avoid or remove from your life.

Determining the things that unhappy gives you guide to help you achieve the goal of acquiring the things that do make you happy. For instance, if you know that you don’t like chaos and drama because it makes you unhappy, you’ll have to remove or avoid those things in your life. Removing them will help you achieve peace and tranquility, which is probably the very reason you don’t like chaos and drama. Just by simply determining and removing those unhappy things, you actually are determining things that do make you happy.

I’ll give you a few more examples. If you don’t like working long days, extended hours, or weekends, then you’ll need to find a job that doesn’t have those requirements, which will allow to to achieve a goal of happiness through a good work-life balance. If you don’t like always having or worrying able your financial struggles, you’ll need to find financial opportunities that will prevent it, which will allow you to achieve a goal of happiness through financial stability. If you find that being around negative people make you unhappy, then you will have to distance yourself, or avoid contact/relationships with negative people. This will allow you to surround yourself around positive people, and achieve a goal of happiness through positivity and or positive interactions.  Get it?

Simply put, list all the things that currently make you unhappy, if you are not happy. Once you have listed those things you will soon learn the reason they make you unhappy is that they conflict with what does make you happy. Granted some things may be beyond your control, for instance chronic, terminal, or incurable illnesses. However, if these are some of the things that are making you unhappy, you may still be able to achieve a greater sense of happiness.  Determine what you can do to feel better, and reduce or alleviate symptoms associated with the illness (e.g. healthy diet, exercise, medications, psychotherapy, more rest, etc).

Here’s wishing you discovery of true happiness!