Discovering Self.. Rediscovering Happiness!!

I talk lot, about every thing. And introspect a lot too. Now a days most of the conversations I have with friends in my age group, yeah we all are closer to the  BIG 30 - plus/minus a couple of years, revolve around the same thing. It's like everyone is facing a mid life crisis.

Done with studies, settled in a job with decent salary, most of them married with kids. In other words, everyone has reached the society's defined successful stage where you earn a decent salary, married to a lovely spouse and parent of a charming kid. So that means we are supposed to feel blessed and happy.

But no, most of them I know are not are not really happy. They seem to miss something in life though on the outside it looks like they have everything.

Do you know what it's that you are missing? It's YOU. The real YOU. It's only INSIDE YOU that you can find happiness.

We all have been taught that happiness is something that we get when we achieve something. And we have been running all this while to chase that something. First it was a good score in school, then a decent placement in college, then promotions and hikes in office, and ofcourse the biggest thing - to get married and have kids. But then we still don't feel that elated. And this confuses us. Makes us think that something is wrong with us. We feel depressed for some months or years, then start accepting that as our destiny and continue living with it. But somewhere deep inside us, we'll still crave for that unknown happiness.

This is because we have been taught wrong. You don't get happiness because you achieve something. Infact happiness is not something you get from outside. Happiness is within you. Within all of us. HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE, NOT A RESULT.  NOTHING WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY UNLESS YOU CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.

You need to find out what makes you happy from within. Don't base your happiness on a future event, like you'll be happy if you get this promotion, or you'll be happy if you buy that dream house/car, or any such thing. Think beyond  the superficial things. Think of the little things that will give you real joy. Like learning that new skill which you wanted to from so many years, reading that book that you have been postponing for a long time, joining that dance class you have been looking at for many months now, setting up that home garden which you have been procrastinating because of your busy schedule, talking to or meeting with your best friend which who have been planning from the day you moved to a different place, etc, etc. Real happiness lies in little things that you need to do on a regular basis. Happiness is daily thing, it's a journey not a destination. No amount of success in your professional or personal life can you give this joy which you get from these little things.

Start discovering yourself. And rediscover your lost happiness!!