Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and the end of human existence
-Aristotle
When life’s gets challenging it is easy to find ourselves feeling isolated, depressed and unhappy.
At that time, we start pondering to ourselves that our happy days are over and our bad days have started. However, if you observe closely and carefully, this is the trend of life. One moment we may be happy and the other we may be sad.
Well, it might be easy to get caught up in this vicious cycle of happiness and sadness, but it is equally rewarding to remain equipoised in all moments of our life. Rise above the so-called happiness and despair created by external forces and remain in a state of transcendence. Then you will experience tranquillity, peace and happiness.
The ancient philosophers have suggested many ways which are obviously reflected in their words of wisdom that we find everywhere- Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and many other places on the Internet mostly in the form of quotes.
And if you want to learn how we can lead a happy life by following and learning from their ancient words of wisdom, then yes- you’re in the right place.
In this post, I am going to talk about the 5 ways of staying in a superior state of happiness and I have gathered and analysed this information from some of the well-known quotes from renowned philosophers. I believe that these quotes are in themselves telling us lot of wisdom on life by just a few words creatively arranged in a sentence. And that’s why I’ am going to use quotes to portray what those philosophers are saying.
So, let’s try to be happy?
Here are those 5 words of wisdom from some very well-known philosophers of their time.
1. The Quality of our Thoughts
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts
-Marcus Aurelius
Here’s the thing.
Our thoughts have a tremendous effect on our lives. In fact, the way you are feeling right now is because of your thoughts.
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. To have a pure mind we need purity of our thoughts. To achieve this we need to keep away from things which can cause corruption in our thoughts. It is important to keep away from things such as bad company and wicked environment which may produce impure thoughts.
Quality thoughts means being optimistic. It means enforcing positive thinking in our lives. High levels of optimism leads to higher effort and success.
Again you may ask- “Hey, what does thoughts have to do with happiness?”
The answer is pretty simple and easy to understand, if you ask me.
Our mind is a like a garden. Thoughts are like seeds, which we can sow in that garden. Good thoughts are those seeds that will grow as flowers that will spread its fragrance of positivity and good vibes. Bad thoughts are like those seeds that will grow as weeds and do no good to you or anyone else.
If you always have pessimistic approach towards any situation in life, you will get negative results. An optimistic approach produces positive results on the other hand.
It’s well known belief that negative thinking will lead to weakness and optimism will lead you to power.
Jack Canfield, an American motivational speaker says that-
It is a universal principle that you get more of what you think about, talk about, and feel strongly about.
The bottom line is that Optimistic Thoughts are Quality Thoughts.
2. Don’t worry about things beyond your control
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond our power.
-Epictetus
You should have no reason to lament about things, which you simply cannot control.
Let’s come face to face with reality. In life, there are some things we have control over and some things, which are beyond our control. Those things which are beyond our control should not be a source of misery for us.
Okay so, the weathermen says that a low pressure is predicted to affect your area over the weekend, forcing you to cancel your family picnic at the beach. Sure, everyone’s going to be sad. But if you keep on staying sad, your entire weekend will be spoiled. Instead of sulking, plan a nice family dinner with your loved ones and do something joyous like reminiscing old family memories or just watch a nice movie.
There are many factors such as social, political, international and economic which are beyond our control but have an effect on our lives. We cannot choose our external circumstances but we can surely decide how to react to them.
It’s better to let go of the thought of what can go wrong and think about what can go right. Worrying about things beyond your control takes away your inner peace. It’s empty’s your inner strength.
Worrying will never fix any of your problems.
Just remind yourself that everything’s going to be alright.
3. Living in the Moment
True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, for he that is so wants nothing.
– Seneca
The present moment is what we call living life.
Living in the moment means enjoying the present and living for today. If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed. You only have the present moment.
Seneca, Roman Stoic philosopher is right when he says that true happiness is to enjoy the present. Whatever you want to do with your life, the present moment is the perfect time. Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher also states-
The great science to live happily is to live in the present.
However, it is so often that we allow the present moment to slip away and waste time worrying about the future and regretting at the past. There are two days in your life which you cannot do nothing. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow. You have today to make the most of it. The whole future lies in uncertainty, so live immediately. You never know when your time on earth comes to end. So don’t waste it. Every moment is precious.
Perhaps, the problem is with our monkey mind, which keeps on worrying about the future and regretting the past. I agree that at times it is difficult to tame the mind to the right mode of thinking. I agree that we all are scared about our future and what’s going to happen to us and to our dreams and ambitions. Will we be able to fulfil them or will we just have to forget that we even had a dream to do something? I agree that there are things that we have done and experienced in the past, which we won’t be able to forget.
But I also know that I have the present moment to create better memories and everlasting experience. I know that to have stable future, we need to the work in the present. I know that I can’t turn back time and change the terrible incidents of the past, but I can learn from them and use it to guide myself in the present as well as the future.
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
Each moment you breathe is a gift. Embrace the joy that is here in your present moment.
4. Simplicity, Patience and Compassion is our greatest Treasure
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience and compassion. These three are your greatest treasure.
-Lao Tzu
Having noble virtues within us makes our life worthy and rewarding. It accords a sense of inner peace that is just simply lacking these days.
Lao Tzu stresses that simplicity, patience and compassion are our greatest treasure. Let find how out how they can make us happy.
In all things the supreme excellence is simplicity. We often have a habit of making our lives too complicated. Our homes are filled with tons of possession that is just unnecessarily occupying space. Our mind is filled with countless thoughts driving us crazy. Our work-life balance is just out of order. You name it. We don’t give a dime to simplicity. Here’s a simple mantra that explains everything in a nutshell:
Complexity brings problems. Simplicity brings Clarity.
With clarity, you have a life worth living. With a life worth living, you know you will be happy. Simplicity reveals the beauty of life
You cannot expect things to change overnight in your life. You have to be patient and little by little, the change that you seek will come in your life. You will get everything that you seek in its time. If you have done the work, then relax and just wait. The fruits of your labor are on their way. Patience allows you to live life at the moment and accept the present with ease. Patience teaches you that it’s okay if life unfolds differently than you had in mind.
Dalai Lama says that if you want other to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. If you are happy learn to share your happiness- Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. Generosity brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous. We experience joy in the actual act of giving something. And we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given. These are just some words of wisdom from Gautama Buddha that explains how happiness and compassion are related.
5. Just be Happy
What you think you become, what you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.
-Gautama Buddha
If you focus on just staying happy despite the circumstances of your life, then you would quite capable of driving unhappiness from your life.
I know it’s utterly painful to lose someone you have loved. But remember, you have no control over life and death. Knowing that you have made someone’s life more meaningful and also letting them to make your life meaningful can help us to come face to face with grief of losing them. Life goes on, and someday our time here will come to an end. Likewise, many life events make us sad every now and then. As I have said earlier, happiness and sadness are two parts of life. Committing to happiness doesn’t mean that we stop being sad when something awful happens, it means coming face to face with that sorrow and rising above it. There will be times, when we will feel that we can’t do nothing and just sit down and cry. It’s okay. Everyone goes through that experience. But if you have made a commitment to yourself of giving yourself the best life, then sooner or later you will get over that grief and fight back.
Pain is certain, but suffering is optional.
When you start taking care of yourself, you begin to feel better, you begin to look better and even begin to attract better. It all starts with you.
I hope what I have shared with you through these wonderful and powerful quotes helps you to make the changes in your lives to be happy.
Happy living everyone.