Random Short Glimpses Into My Mind

The Key to Happiness?

Dear Diary,

Today I walked across the street and saw a man sitting on a trash can by the street corner. He looked like he was homeless, although it would be unfair to assume something like that just by looks alone. He did however, wear clothes that were dirty, much too big, and shoes that did not match one another.

I walked up to the guy and asked him how he was doing. To my surprise, he leapt up from where he was seated and told me that he was the best he had been in years. I, of course, felt absolutely flabbergasted by such a proclamation. How can a man with so little be so happy?

This question of course left me to ponder for days, months, even years. How could this man with so little have so much joy in his heart? He wasn't really a religious person and he obviously wasn't winning any lotteries, so how?

I was made to confront my own joy and happiness with life after speaking with such a radiant man. How can I have so much, yet feel so little? Am I just as ungrateful as people believe, or is there more to the problem than that? Am I really just broken or do I need a change in my perspective?

Asking these questions of yourself is never an easy feat. Digging deep and searching your soul can be painful at times. You bring up the repressed aspects of your personality and face them all head on. You see the you that you never really wanted to meet. You are forced to finally acknowledge the flaws that you tucked away just under the surface for your entire life.

Upon digging deep and reflecting on me, my life as a whole, I realized something that absolutely turned my life around......

You cannot rely on your happiness to come from anybody else.

That may seem cheesy or obvious, but it's much deeper than just being happy with yourself. It's about being happy with who you were, who you are now, but also who you're becoming in the future.

I also learned another lesson from this man....

You have to learn to forgive yourself for all your own shortcomings.

Did you miss that promotion because you missed too much work? Did you miss your opportunity to be in a musical because you didn't want to commit your time? These are all human things that we do on a daily basis.

Happiness begins when you leave the blame game behind and focus on making yourself better from that point. Instead of saying "I'm so stupid" or "I can't believe I fucked that up," start by saying "I made a mistake, and I'm willing to learn from it and make a difference the next time." This is another piece of advice that seems so incredibly simple, but it can really make an improvement to one's mental state and ability to cope with any type of failure.

Doing these simple things has taught me that happiness is not as hard to achieve as I once believed. Although happiness cannot be bought, it can be procured without any need to steal or borrow from anybody else.