Want to be happier? Say "thank you"
Happiness seems like an ever-fleeting notion, virtually synonymous with the gold at the end of the rainbow, that is, non-existent. Sure, there’s momentary joy, but what I’m referring to is genuine happiness, a mindset and life outlook. The kind of happiness that pervades your very being and manifests itself through you seamlessly and abundantly. While I can’t give you a specially-tailored formula to find your everlasting bliss, I can equip you with a prompt that will shift your perspective and hopefully pave the way toward that state that we all seek.
The key to unlocking the door to happiness is gratitude. Express gratitude at all times for everything. I know how absurd this might sound at first; after all, why would we ever express gratitude for a loved one dying? We can be thankful for the time spent with them in life. How can we be thankful when we deal with a difficult person? By recognizing that we can exercise our higher faculties and cultivate patience, maturity, and understanding. It’s all just a matter of shifting our perspective because when we look clearly enough, there is always something to be grateful for.
In virtually all circumstances we find ourselves in, we can also find the opportunity to emerge as stronger individuals by using them as fuel for our growth. This idea has been around for thousands of years. Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and famous Stoic philosopher, wrote, “The blazing fire makes flames and brightness out of everything thrown into it.” (Meditations, 4.1). Another philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche of 19th century Germany, echoed this same sentiment in the form of amor fati- “love of fate”. “That one,” he said, “wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it…but love it.”
Loving an adverse circumstance may be a bit daunting, and I do not necessarily advocate it, but I do agree with the general sentiment. Confront, accept, and invite adversity and use gratitude to push through. I repeat, there is always something to be gained from every situation whether you realize it or not at that moment. Saying “thank you” in any way opens our eyes to what can we can receive instead of what we can lose.
So you want to be happier? Adopt an attitude of gratitude. Start by simply saying “thank you”. Thank you to the baristas making you your coffee, thank you to your pet for greeting you after getting home from work, thank you to life for giving you the opportunities that make you grow stronger, even if they’re not the most pleasant or desirable.
Thanks for reading,
Alan
Additional Resources
GRATITUDE IS A MUST, a podcast episode by Hindzsight, a creative who I’ve been listening to a lot lately.
Try keeping a gratitude journal. I’ve done this myself and have seen a big resurgence in the idea lately. The idea is that writing down your sentiments helps to relieve your brain, and it’s quite effective.
Visit my book list for suggestions on some of my favorite titles, including Meditations, which was mentioned earlier.
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