

Genuine Happiness Comes from
Within
Life isn�t the sweetest candy.
Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find
people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts
come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere � �How did their life
become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play
around despite a busy stressful life?� Then I pause and observed for
awhile� I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called �self�.
So, how does one become genuinely
happy? Step 1 is to love you.
My theology professor once said
that �loving means accepting.� To love oneself means to accept that you
are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lay a great ounce of
courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to
recover from our mistakes.
Genuine happiness also pertains
to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look,
with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the
things you now have � truly, you know the answer to the question �how to be
genuinely happy.�
When we discover a small start
somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else,
and to something else. But if you keep questioning life lit it has never done
you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.
I believe that life is about
finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, winning and losing.
These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a
person�s life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not
hinder us from becoming happy.
How to be genuinely happy in
spite all these? I tell you� every time you exert effort to improve the quality
of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend,
taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives
you equivalent points for that.
Imagine life as a big score board
like those which are used in the NFLs. Every time you take a step forward, you
make scoring points. Wouldn�t it be nice to look at that board at the end of
each game and think to yourself �Whew? I got a point today. I�m glad I gave it
a shot.� instead of looking at it all blank and murmur �Geez, I didn�t even hit
a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!� and then
walk away.
Genuine happiness isn�t about
driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award,
earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the
most sought after prizes in life doesn�t always go to the fastest, the
strongest, and the bravest or not even the best. So, how do you become
genuinely happy? Everyone has his own definition of �happiness�.
Happiness for a writer may mean launching as much bestselling books as
possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the
year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a
business man may mean success. So, really now, how do we become genuinely
happy? Simple. You don�t have to have the best things in this world. It�s about
doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself
smiling at your own mistake and telling your self �Oh, I�ll do better next
time�, you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere that may
spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and
try � that will make you a genuinely happy person.
When you learn to accept yourself
and your own faults. You pass step 1 in the project �how to become genuinely happy�.
For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. For as
long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love ten folds back.
Again, throw me that same question
�how to become genuinely happy?� I�ll refer you to a friend of mine who
strongly quoted- �Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life�s
aches and pain. But most of us don�t know that the best kind of laughter is
laughter over self. Coz then you don�t just become happy� you become free.�
Article by: Clem C. Benton, Jr.
http://www.12path.com/cb/Clem/