by Patrick Tay

Created on: September 04, 2010

Wanting to be happy is not new to anyone.  

But the ways or rather, methodology of happiness is unfathomable to many.   

What exactly constitutes the essence of happiness? Many feel that happiness is a gift or asset dedicated to the privileged few, but is it? Others feel that happiness should be natural, but is that so? If someone were to tell you that happiness is born out of life's unsatisfactoriness (which seems endless and unending), would you share the same sentiments?  

Indeed, people who laugh the most may not be the most fortunate or happiest person around. On the contrary, people who exhibit a joyful demeanour often possess a more unsatisfactory past. Look at the world's most accomplished comedians. How many of them actually live a fully fulfilled life? Thus, the reason why many are unable to find the key to happiness does not lie in their intellectual capacity. Nor does it lie in the degree of their intellectual curiosity. Rather, the determining factor lies in the direction of their perspectives, which are often misaligned with the path leading to the truth. Happiness has always been with us, lying in the path of obstacles, unhappiness and unsatisfactoriness. It cannot be searched for or found because it is a mindset, not an object to be sought or bought.  

Yes, happiness is a choice. But it is always a difficult choice to make, especially when one is overwhelmed with undesirable situations and dire circumstances.  

Happiness takes effort, indulging in self-pity and pessimism doesn't. This probably explains why there are so few optimists in the world. But then again, we should not equate happiness with optimism. Happiness here refers to a peaceful state of mind, not an overly-exaggerated version of life, which often defines optimism. To be happy is to savour life in all its flavours - the good and the not-so-good. Happiness does not condone one to be in a state of denial, refusing to recognise the negative or worse, substituting the negative with the positive. Such short term solution only serves to enhance long term suffering, surely?  

Indeed, happiness requires deliberate and measured effort to achieve results. And as in all forms of mental conditioning, one becomes happier as one's neural pathways gets rewired over time. It's easier said than done though. Our original neural pathways tends to take a more pessimistic stand

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