It is very important for every individual to know how to be happy with himself/herself. There certainly are many reasons to be sad, but, to balance it out, one needs to know how to focus on positive aspects and be happy.
In today's competitive world, one can never be good enough, right? Wrong! Every one is as good as they can get. The more they believe in it, the better they'll keep getting. However, you can't be happy with yourself if you keep wondering if you're good enough.
That does not mean that all of us should stop working towards improvement. It just means that the attitude needs to be changed a little. You need to make yourself happy by being happy yourself. Here's how.
Measure of Happiness
John, a simple man, had a family he dearly loved and worked at a bank as an investment advisor. He was happy with his job. However, he was stuck in the same position for the past decade and worked on quite a measly salary.
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His best friend James was a cashier at the same bank. James had been promoted a couple of times in the past 10 years and his salary had seen quite an increase as well. However, due to the job and it's time requirements, James never had the time to fall in love and get married.
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Both were happy with themselves despite all the imperfections. This story tells us how each person has a different idea of happiness. John was happy with himself because he loved what he did.
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He was content and wanted to see personal growth by making sure he had a great family life. He had a wife he loved and kids who adored him. He saw happiness in this.
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James, on the other hand, was an ambitious man. He cared about his professional growth. He wanted a great salary and a very good post. For that, he did not mind not having a family, for what made him happy was his ambition. He saw happiness in his goal, and was happy with himself.
Fixing Priorities
Terra and Thelma were highschool adolescents. But both had very different lives. Terra, the head cheerleader was popular and pretty. Most of her friends were cheerleaders. It was expected that she mingled with the popular kids.
However, Terra had her very own little secret. Her best friend was Thelma.A straight A student and below the school’s social radar. She loved studying and had no interest in being popular. She was fit but having the perfect figure was never her goal.
They were happy with their lives. The cherry on the top was their secret friendship. They discussed everything with each other. Thelma helped Terra with studies and Terra told her all the school gossip. They saw joy in being with each other.
This story shows how two people from completely different social strata can be friends, without any over the top expectations. Terra was very happy being the Queen Bee. She loved cheer leading and was a good leader to her team.
She also saw happiness in the fact that she could maintain her friendship with Thelma without putting her through the burden of popularity, which she never liked in the first place. Thelma, on the other hand, was an intellectual.
She had her friends in school and preferred being known for her mind rather than her look. She was happy with the fact that she could help her friend Terra in her studies without having to join the popular crowd.
Working Relationships
Reynold was single since the past 2 years. He had a very long term relationship. Raine was his high school sweetheart and college girlfriend. They dated for about 7 years before they started growing apart.
He was a finance columnist and she was an editor for a local magazine. They both loved their jobs but it required a lot of time and energy. It came to a point that the time they spent together was filled with disagreements and fights. They decided to end it on a better note and remain friends.
They are happy even though neither of them are in a relationship. Their jobs taught them how to be happy single. They both excel at their work, spend time with friends and have vibrant lives.
This story tells us one need not necessarily have a partner to enjoy life.
If you are doing what you love, are optimistic, have a good equation with everyone, and find happiness in the attachments of life; you can be happy being single as well. As the saying goes, "Life is full of attachments, so being single is a state of inadvertent denial".
Happiness isn't something the world provides us for free. However, it is much easier when you focus on what you love to do. Strive to be happy and strength, love, success, and friendship will follow. Love yourself and the world will love you. Stay happy!!