Happiness Is a Process

“Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values.” – Ayn Rand

Success is not a destination. It’s a journey. If you think that you’ll be happy when you attain certain goals or succeed at certain things, you’ll be constantly chasing after happiness. Happiness will come and go in intervals as you attain and then seek out the next goal. Happiness is found in the doing; it is in the process. You can feel joy on a constant basis and not have to continually chase after it. You have the choice to be happy or not.

If at times you don’t feel as happy as you’d like to, fake it! Don’t be untrue to yourself or your emotions, but a simple smile can do wonders to help you remember that you have the choice to be happy. Live in the moment. It does wonders for cultivating a life filled with ongoing happiness. Taking the time to be grateful for your accomplishments also has an enormous capacity to lift your mood. Take breaks during your day to reflect upon the happy memories of your life and make it a point to build new ones as well.

There will be times when you feel down. People will do things to hurt and disappoint you. Your heart will be broken, and you’ll have to deal with all sorts of loss. Life is not all smiles. Acknowledge that some days will be filled with sadness, but it will do you no good to spend much time dwelling on it. You will only give power to things that you have no control over. Instead, remind yourself that you have the power to choose happiness. Moving from sorrow to happiness can be challenging. Sometimes you’ll feel as though you are fighting an uphill battle. At other times it may seem that the dark clouds will never pass. In those moments, remind yourself that even in the midst of chaos, you can still choose happiness.

Practice choosing happiness by doing the things that make you smile and bring joy to others. Share kindness—it always finds its way back to you!