by Karen Lynch

Created on: June 25, 2007

We all want to be happy. It seems to be one of the constants in the human condition; we all strive to be happy.

Many of us look outside of ourselves for happiness. We look for someone else to make us happy in that magical and elusive relationship. We look for our work to make us happy as we chase the dream of career success. Some of us are waiting to be happy, waiting until we lose weight, waiting for that promotion, waiting until our ship comes in.

We spend our days in the relentless pursuit of happiness when we all have the keys now to being happy and we have always held the keys.

Happiness does not come from outside of ourselves. Happiness is an inside job. Just as
Abe Lincoln said back those many years ago, most people really are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. But there are some tools that we can use to increase our happiness and help us to find it inside of ourselves where it has been all along.

The first tool is the emotion of Gratitude. Begin to realize and reflect upon the things that you have in your life to be grateful for. Every one has things to be grateful for. It doesn't have to be a huge thing; sometimes the small things are the most rewarding. The clothes on your back, your senses that help you experience the world, the joy in a child's laughter, the random act of kindness performed by a stranger, all of these things are things to be grateful for. Reflect upon these wonderful things that you have in your life and feel the Gratitude. Really feel it, feel that wonderful joy of gratitude and reflect upon how lucky you are to be you.

The second tool is the emotion of Love. All of us love somebody. Friends, family, significant others, even pets, we all love somebody. So remember that person that you love and find a way to love them more, love them stronger, and love them bigger. What can you do today to make their life easier, more fun, and more enjoyable? What can you do for them? Don't ask what they can do to make you feel more loved or what they can do to make your life more enjoyable; that will not bring you lasting happiness. It may be wonderful and you may feel happy for a moment but that feeling will be fleeting compared to the happiness you feel when you open up your heart and do something just for them.

The third tool is the emotion of Awe. We live in an incredible Universe. There are a million things to feel Awe about. The absolute beauty of nature, the enormous advances we have made as a human race in the fields of medicine, technology and more. The fact that there is such abundance in the Universe that each and every one of us can be, do or have just about anything we want. The only true limitations are the limitations in our own minds. The freedom that can never be taken from us is the freedom of thought; nobody can determine what we think but ourselves. If we can think it, we can achieve it, we can dream it and we can enjoy those dreams, in our minds and in our lives.

So if you want to be happy, truly, truly happy, focus on these three emotions. Gratitude, Love and Awe, keep your mind on these and happiness will be yours.

Learn more about this author, Karen Lynch.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.