by Nigel Percy

Created on: August 06, 2009

There may be many competing ideas and values for the best life philosophy, but it is doubtful that any of them could be as profound as happiness.

Despite the seeming simplicity of the idea of happiness, there is enough complexity in it to make it a worthwhile goal for everyone. Take this simple test and see for yourself. Spend the next couple of moments feeling happy. It can be a memory of something, it can be something happening for you right now. Whatever it is, just feel the happiness associated with it.

Now, there were some seriously good and important things happening right then which, together, make up the reason why happiness should be the life philosophy of everyone. For a start, being happy, thinking happy thoughts is a relaxant. You simply cannot maintain stress when you are happy. Your face relaxes and softens and you just feel good (because of good things happening in your brain).

But there's another benefit to being happy. There is no way at all of being happy and thinking negative thoughts. Imagine! Just by being happy you stop yourself from sliding down a slippery slope of negative, unhelpful thoughts. To be happy means that you know what makes you happy and there is no room for anything which makes you unhappy. You cannot be both unhappy and happy at the same time.

But what, really, is this thing, 'happiness'? After all, if it is good for you, shouldn't it be easy to be happy? Well, the answer to that is all around us. There are some few people who go around with a smile on their faces, but the vast majority are far from happy. It's obvious from their actions and from their words as well from their body language.

The answer to this is the best reason for all for making happiness your life philosophy!

To be truly happy, you need to be totally 'in the moment'. Not fearing what might happen tomorrow. Not wondering if you ever did the right thing yesterday. It means that you are happy as you are, right now. And that focus on the present moment automatically blocks out fears and judgments. It stops the mind from worrying at a problem which really has no solution. Being in the state of 'happiness' keeps you always just in yourself. Not trying to get revenge on others, not planning and plotting. Happiness keeps you inside yourself and gives you the best reward ever for being there; relaxation, contentment, no stress.

Best of all, you're great company for others! Are lonely people happy? Or, instead, can you be happy and be lonely? Of course not! Being happy means that you are not relying on others to amuse you. Happiness comes from within, from what is inside you.

Nobody can give you happiness if it is not already waiting to come out. Money can't buy it. Love can help it (but love comes in a variety of styles and not all of them are labeled 'happy'). Friendship can contribute to it. But unless you are willing to dig and find it in yourself, you are without it.

And that's why happiness should be the life philosophy for all, because it forces you to rely on yourself, not on what you have or on your surroundings. It forces you to look for and find those moments, often fleeting, which you can save within you for recall later. It makes you look with a more compassionate eye on others' failings and attitudes. It prevents you from falling into despair.

Aren't those the things we all want in life? To enjoy life? To be happy? What a wonderful goal. If you start now, today, with something simple like finding amusement in the world around you or stopping yourself from thinking nasty thoughts about the driver in front of you, you could end up the happiest person on earth!

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