To be happy, is something that alot of us strive for in life. Being happy (at least to me) is more than just an emotion, its a feeling too. I feel like as people, we chase happiness in almost everything we can find. Relationships, material items and experiences. When true happiness can only really be felt within. Did you know that 3 out of the 4 main emotions we feel as humans are negative, and only one is positive? Happy, sad, afraid and angry. So it’s no wonder we find it hard to be happy all of the time.
In todays post, I want to explore happiness and being happy. And I really want to hear about your experience of happiness. Does it come and go? Are you happy all of the time? I can imagine we will all have very different thoughts on this topic!
IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE HAPPY ALL OF THE TIME
There seems to be this pressure to be happy with what we have, or happy with our current circumstances. All because whatever it is we are going through, isn’t as bad as the next person. Having this mindset can be so damaging to people. Just because your circumstance isn’t as ‘bad’ as someone else’s doesn’t mean you don’t get to feel upset about it or not happy.
We literally have everything going against us when it comes to happiness. Three of our 4 main emotions are negative. So it’s no wonder people find it hard to be happy all of the time. Don’t ever feel bad for not being happy as much as you think you should.
You Might Also Like: 6 Things That Made Me Happy This Week
HAPPINESS IS A TEMPORARY EMOTION FOR ME
Happiness to me, isn’t always a smile on my face. It comes with other emotions for me, and often those emotions don’t last very long. Feeling content, calm and having joy in my current circumstance is alot more important for me. It’s also important to mention here that I don’t feel happy all the time. But that doesn’t mean I am sad or upset. I think alot of the time we don’t have any emotions besides feeling fine. Then circumstances change, things happen and that affects our emotions.
For me happiness is a temporary emotion. I feel happy when I am around certain people, or doing certain things. But it’s not constant. And I don’t think thats a bad thing. How would I appreciate the good times if the good times are always there? There is nobody on this earth that can say they are happy 100% of the time. All of the other emotions we feel are normal, and valid too.
You Might Also Like: Finding Joy In Everyday
WHAT BRINGS ME HAPPINESS
Happiness can come in so many different forms. Here are a few things that bring me happiness:
- My family – I really love spending time with my family. They are really the most important people to me.
- Animals – I am such an animal lover. Being around loving, sweet animals can make me happy on the hardest of days.
- Being in nature – Being surrounded by woods, grass and all of the elements really is the best feeling.
- Friends – I have some of the best friends in the world. Being around them and in their presence really is such a blessing.
You Might Also Like: These 3 Things Helped Me To Be Happier
What brings you happiness? Share some of your thoughts with us in the comments!
Olivia x
Instagram • Twitter • Pinterest
💜 To Be “Happy” is a State of Being EveryOne; ergo Some Peoples Names mean Be “Happy” when Sad, Be “Happy” when Bad, Be “Happy” when Mad (Be it Raging or InSane (InSide Sanity) or Totally Rad and Crazy As) so, Just Be
…💛💚💙…
Great advice!
I think my overall mood is happy, but I’ve dealt with depression so I’ve been the opposite before. I do feel more acute joy when around animals, exercising, doing the activities I love, etc.
We are so alike in that sense 😊 exercise has really helped me too
Yes… happiness is one among the many emotions a human experiences everyday. What matters is for how long any individual allows any emotion to persist by choice..Happiness is being contended. One can be satisfied for many reason and stay happy.
Stay blessed always
🙏🌹🙏
Agreed! 🙂
🙏
I am generally happy although, like most people, I have moments when I’m not. I would agree with the 4 things that make you happy. I’d also add music to the list.
Music for sure! I have to listen to it everyday!
It’s a nice post! Good to see the way you find happiness around you and how you define or feel it! For me, happiness is everywhere, since my standpoint is quite weird or different, I can find happiness in breathing, eating, waking up, nature, so many things I can list down! They all brings a joy to my life by different means and they have their own vibes to make me happy! Hence it’s after all up to us how and where we look at the moments or things around us and what we take out from that! Such a lovely post, thank you so much for sharing this!
Thanks for reading Biren!
Great point, we can’t be happy all the time. These days it also seems like people tell you to focus on the good things only when you’re feeling down. I agree to a certain extent. You can’t solve negative feelings if you just ignore them; they have to be addressed still. Satisfaction might be a better thing to strive for 🙂
It’s okay to not be happy, or not want to be happy. Life isn’t always sunshine and roses is it? And thats okay!
I’m generally happy and learning to deal with the things that make me unhappy. I love music, reading, nature, family and pets for happiness.
I love this!
This post is amazing and so true!! I feel happiness when I am calm, content and not feeling anxious so I can really relate to this! I feel like happiness is a short emotion. Thank you for sharing! Alicia
I agree, I think it is too. And thats nothing wrong with that!
It’s a lot of work for me to maintain my happy. Depression is a tricky beast and I have to stay on my game if I’m going to manage well. It can be dangerous to strive for happiness all the time. Toxic positivity is real and can easy to fall into with social media and rampant FOMO. Great post!
I’m so sorry that you suffer with depression, I know it can be really hard to deal with. I agree with what you say. Toxic positivity is really real, and it can lead to people feeling inferior.
Hi Olivia… I really like what you said-
‘Just because your circumstance isn’t as ‘bad’ as someone else’s doesn’t mean you don’t get to feel upset about it or not happy.’
I can relate to it , sometimes I get upset for small reasons… 😊!
But I also find happiness in small things and I am all okay in no time ..
Nature makes me happy too. It has become my routine to spend some evening time in my balcony with my son watching birds, squirrels and butterflies… there are a few trees flowering in the front too. It is so relaxing and calms my mind.
Nature is the best medicine for me. It can always turn things around 🙂
Love your list! Same for me…and I would add sunshine ☀️
Sunshine is the best!
Aw, this is lovely! I express gratitude for my life and everything involved everyday so there’s no way that I can’t be happy with what I have! Its a mindset I’ve spent years building and feel so great. Gratitude and happiness go hand in hand together for me. Thanks for sharing you thoughts xx
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
I agree Olivia, particularly on the view that we should be happier because other people have it worse. How can we use someone else’s misfortune as a gauge to how happy we should be? I’ve often thought the same as you say, that it shouldn’t be a reason not to seek help ourselves when we need it.
Great post.
Thanks so much for reading Paul!
I completely agree. Happiness is more a state of mind type thing. It’s kind of a journey not necessarily the destination. We have to find what makes us happy or brings us joy then we surround ourselves with that or those things and in the bad times, those things can help lift our spirits. Sometimes the bad help us appreciate the good too.
Completely agree happiness is a temporary emotion, alongside, sadness, anger, contentment. I’m generally happy but I don’t ignore my other emotions, I think we’re encouraged to be eternally happy which isn’t exactly healthy.
You’re right. We can’t always be the happy emotion!
Really appreciate it