How To Be Happy and Successful

Two things that we believe are integral to life. But what exactly does this mean? What does it mean to be happy or successful? Is that meaning the same for everyone?

In a world of low wages, high prices, slow upward mobility and a massive income gap larger than any of us are willing to admit, how do we achieve happiness and success? Particularly in a society that equates both to money and status that is quickly becoming less and less accessible?

The reality is, happiness and success may take similar forms, but their deeper meaning is wholly different for each and every individual. One person's nightmare is another's fantasy, and vice-versa. Happiness comes after base needs like food, shelter, water, and social contact, are all met. It is only then that we have enough energy to realize our own passions; however, one must get to know themselves in order to materialize their interests.

This is your best chance at finding what happiness and success mean to you.
A big inhibitor is lack of ego control. Without this ability, even the (perceived) healthiest person becomes a slave to negative thoughts and patterns of their psyche. The things we say to ourselves in our head are often more horrible than anything we could ever say to anyone in real life. This the beginning of finding mental clarity: If I wouldn't treat others the way I treat myself, then why do I treat myself that way? Translation: Don't be so hard on yourself. Seriously. We're all WAY too hard on ourselves.

What if I told you that even our concept of happiness and success is fundamentally flawed? Even if we attain all of our loftiest dreams and goals, will we actually experience "happiness" or "success?" We see this all the time. Those perceived by our cultural standards as being happy and successful aren't always truly so. That hollow feeling after we do achieve a goal represents that fundamental flaw in our understanding of these concepts; suddenly, there's nothing left to focus on after carving your very life around these material goals...mid-life crisis anyone?

We are hyper-focused on the future. Most of our mental energy is spent fixating at a point in time and space that has not happened, or may not happen at all. A symptom of being stuck in this mindset is being a "workaholic." In fact, the remedy is so stupidly simple it becomes infuriating that we lost this immensely important coping mechanism:

Living in the moment, or becoming aware of the present moment.

"Aware of the present moment, the hell?" You know how time flies when you have fun? Well, you can't really experience "fun" if you're not in the moment. Even if you have the thought, "Wow, I'm having fun right now," you are reflecting on an experience you had the moment before, because you're thinking about how much fun you're having and not actually having the fun, savvy?

Ever space out? BAM: Same thing. That's meditation.

Here is an easy way to practice finding momentary awareness quickly: listen to your body. This means focusing your attention to your physical sensations. As soon as you start listening, your mind is already clear. This isn't a state that is forced; it just happens, only we aren't normally aware of it. This is why hiking in nature is so beneficial; it literally pulls us into "the now."

This is the secret to being happy and successful: tuning your awareness to the now. Sure, prepare logically for your future needs, but by practicing living in the now, you can turn off your thoughts when they don't feel useful anymore and just enjoy the bliss of simply existing.

This is wonderful news as a state of mind we're literally wired access is rather easy to achieve compared to some mind-projected point in time full of lofty goals. We have the power to be happy within us each and every moment. We just were never told we had the choice.

If you'd like to learn more about accessing the present moment, pick up a copy of The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle, where much of this information was gathered from.