Happiness
Happiness. What is happiness? Well, in its most basic form happiness is simply experiencing more positive thoughts and emotions than negative thoughts and emotions. If we accept this as truth, we can then begin to understand that happiness is something within us, and not an external goal to chase. Happiness is, in fact, a choice. It is a choice because minute-to-minute we can choose what thoughts and emotions we harbor and which we decide to let go of. It is possible for us to choose to dispel our spiraling thoughts of negativity that cause us to be enveloped in emotions of fear, anxiety, anger, despair, etc., and instead engage with the positive neural pathways in our brains, our Sage, that allow us to engage with a situation from a place of opportunity. And, this, will make us feel happier.
In theory, this may sound very simple and easy, but in practice, it is anything but. Our brains have deeply ingrained patterns of thought and reactions, that if left unchecked, will never allow us to find happiness. Why? Well, these patterns exist for our survival. They have been part of the human brain since the beginning of time and, thus, are well-developed, strong, and automatic. These neural pathways are not necessarily bad.
They serve the purpose of alerting us to pay extra attention to what is happening. It is similar to pain alerting us that there might be something going on with our bodies that needs attention. The problem, however, is that these negative neural pathways essentially interpret anything that makes us slightly uncomfortable as a threat to our well being, to our self image, to our peace, to our way of living, to our existence, etc. When triggered they immediately take us to a place of “fight, flight, or freeze” and begin to create loops of negative thoughts and emotions. These loops create a vortex of negativity where we get stuck in thoughts and feelings that take us into memories of past difficult moments or into the uncertainty of the future. They completely derail us from the present, not allowing us to witness that in this moment our thoughts are not our reality.
It is here, in this instant, where we can choose. We can choose to remain entangled in the web of the past and/or the future created by our thoughts, or we can choose to shift to the present-to what is here in the NOW. We can make a deliberate choice to engage the sage perspective: that every circumstance can be turned into a gift or opportunity. When we do this we are unshackled from our thoughts, and suddenly our brain is free to activate its powers of empathy, creativity, curiosity, clarity, and focus. We shift our brains to a mode that will serve us versus sabotage us, and this is where we can experience happiness.
In order to be adept at accomplishing any of this, however, we need to train our brains. It is not sufficient for us to recognize that we want to experience more happiness and that we have a choice in what thoughts we harbor. This awareness is certainly good and necessary, but changing our habits and transforming our brains requires practice. This practice is called Mental Fitness, and like physical fitness, it requires commitment and consistency. It is a life-long journey. The more you train, the more proficient you become at shifting your brain to using the positive neural pathways that serve you, regardless of how “heavy” the challenges you may be facing are.
To learn more about Mental Fitness and how you can experience more happiness, read some of my prior posts, read the book Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine, and/or visit my website, www.marpejourney.com.
