How To Find True Happiness
	Keys To Living A Longer, Healthier, And Happier Life <  Previous Contents Next  >

"If you want to be happy, be," said Leo Tolstoy

It is as simple as that. In addition to what we have read in the previous chapters, we just have to keep in mind the following helpful tips in order to have a continuous long, healthy, and happy life:

It has already been proven that having a positive attitude will not only lead to improvements, but it also guarantees a healthier and longer life. Two American universities have studied 1,500 people for seven long years. All 1,500 were in good health when the study started. Researchers observed how they aged by measuring their weight loss, walking speed, exhaustion, and the strength of their grip.

They discovered that people who maintained a positive attitude were significantly less likely to show signs of aging. They were less likely to become weak and more likely to be stronger and healthier than those who have negative attitude.

What else did these researchers discover?

They also found out that beliefs have a direct impact on health - because our beliefs actually alter our body’s chemical balance.

So let us start thinking positively! Change the way we think and believe. We alone have the power to improve our lives by having a positive attitude and a positive belief system. We can start by believing in the power of God/the Universe and prayer. Trust that whatever we ask of Him, He will surely give it to us knowing that we have pure intentions.

Researchers have also proven that a positive thinker is more likely to succeed in life because positive thinking boosts self-esteem and self-confidence.

Understandably, life can be boring sometimes. Our daily routine becomes very monotonous when we do the same old things every day. We can try to add new things into our lives, among these are the following:

1. Visit new and exciting places. Doing this keeps life very exciting.

2. Try to do something new - something never done before, like taking up a new sport or hobby.

3. Do enjoyable things. These will not only give us pleasure and excitement, but also keep our worries away. A worry-free life means a longer, healthier, and happier life.

4. For a change, we should try out the things we dread to do. Overcoming our fears is the only way to free ourselves from limitations. By doing this, we will gain more confidence and feel greater happiness.

Love makes the world go round. The need for love lies at the very core of our existence as human beings. Love brings us the greatest happiness because we treasure it over and above everything else. We cannot and will not survive if we are left alone by ourselves.

The foundation of human existence is love. The expression of love is the primal factor for the normal, physical, and mental growth of children. Love can be expressed in many ways like hugging, kissing, cuddling, and caressing.

If a child does not get any of these, then his or her development may be impaired. A well-loved child grows up into a confident, secure, and happy adult. In this age, many children grow up in broken and unhappy homes. Unhappiness in childhood may lead to a serious problem in later life. A child who does not receive the affection he or she needs will find it hard to love others.

Aside from children, we can extend love to sick people. Patients feel at ease when the doctor is especially friendly and displays a sincere concern for their well-being. Inevitably, the patients’ feelings and reactions will make a difference to the quality of their recovery.

This is the theory of the famous Dr. Hunter Patch Adams, who built a hospital where love and laughter are integral parts of the healing process. In this hospital, The Gesundheit Institute, doctors and patients relate to each other based on mutual trust. Patch Adam’s theory on healing is based on his belief that laughter is the best cure.

Happiness is learning to draw satisfaction and contentment from whatever available resources we may have. Consider these as our blessings!

However, there are people who find it difficult to be contented. In most cases, the problem lies in their nature. These are the kind of people who always think negatively and take life so seriously. Rather than being content and grateful for what they have, they are focused on what is wrong with their lives and on their obsessive need to fix problems.

The very act of focusing on imperfection and negatives pulls us away from our goal to be happy. The solution here is to catch ourselves when we fall into the habit of insisting that things should be other than what they are. Conditioning the mind to reject negative thoughts, which later turn to negative emotions, requires a lot of determination. There should be an inner desire to remove such thoughts. As we begin to eliminate the negative thoughts in all areas of our life, we will begin to discover the positive side of life itself.

We appreciate our blessings by:

• Maintaining an optimistic attitude

• Living our dreams

• Understanding that failure is not the end of the world

• Welcoming new challenges and experiences

• Working on important goals

• Thinking about our past successes and not failures

• Trying to find goodness in everything and every person

A long, healthy and happy life is what we all aspire for. However, there is no single absolute way to arrive at this kind of life. We can consider tips and guidelines to hasten our journey and to make it smoother. Put these into action and be pleasantly surprised by their inherent power of life transformation!