One of my movies at the moment is “Hector and the search for happiness” and I have taken my life motto directly from the film ‘Happiness is not a destination. It’s a state of being.’
I believe that happiness comes from your outlook on life and it is constantly changing but it is naive to believe that you can be happy 100% of the time and I think this is why so many people struggle with the concept of being happy. I am a happy person but I make sure I take in and experience all the emotions that life has to offer, because life isn’t a highway it’s a rollercoaster of emotions and sometimes that roller coaster seems too much but I can guarantee that when you get to the end you will want to do it all over again.
If you had to eat chocolate cake every single day for breakfast, lunch and dinner do you think the chocolate cake would be that special or that you would appreciate it if someone bought you a chocolate cake on your birthday? Yeah probably not, what’s the point of eating chocolate cake if I have nothing to compare it to or contrast that sickly sweet with deliciously salty?
It’s the same with happiness, if we were happy all the time it would lose its touch, along with the fact that being happy 24/7 is near impossible… I can promise you that when I stub my toe or crash my car happiness is not the first emotion that overwhelms me.
So if that’s the case then what is the key?
A positive mindset. This is the ability to find the good in every situation, even if it doesn’t make you happy. When my grandfather passed away last year he had been in a lot of pain and was struggling more than he would ever let on, while it was an awful time and I still miss that beautiful, kind hearted man more than words can describe I was grateful and happy that he was no longer suffering.
When I was told about my surgery it took about a day for me to see through the emotional fog and focus on the positives;
- I have actually been given a chance to fight for my life, unlike so many young people who die in car crashes or are murdered.
- I am going to own this by having the most fabulous eyepatch collection the world has ever seen because when life gives you lemons you need to throw them back at life’s face.
For me it’s easy, I naturally find the positives in all situations because I have been focused on it for so long. But if every person started by just listing 1 thing that they are grateful for or 1 thing that made them smile every day you can very quickly change your tune. You will start to see everything in a new and far more positive light and it’s exciting and beautiful.
Positivity is a powerful mindset with a side effect of happiness. Trying to be happy isn’t going to make you happier you need to delve down deeper to the cause and change your attitude and your outlook before you can find that happiness that you are desperately searching for.
Love Jess xo