Happiness During the Pandemic

Affirm Your Happiness:

Happiness is not an elusive concept, although it seems to be during these trying pandemic times. Happiness is inside us in our minds. Do you believe in the power of the mind? Do you believe that being happy can help ourselves to heal faster?

If we think or believe we are happy in any given moment for whatever reason, we are. Just by thinking and using the power of the mind, we can make ourselves happy or unhappy. Being positive, optimistic, and seeing the brighter side of life are ways you will always be happy, just by thinking positive and happy thoughts. Have you heard of the expression “attitude is the one thing that can make the biggest difference?”

Our mind can make us believe in “mind over matter.” Our brains are muscles that can be exercised and stretched to believe and to become stronger just like the rest of our body, although even more powerfully. Just by thinking of good thoughts, we can make good things happen to us and continue to make us happy. This is optimism about one’s life and looking forward to good things in your life. “I can do this!” Affirmations are ways that you can give yourself self talk to think positively and improve our focus on being happy. Here are some resources to try and make this happen for yourself!

Choosing Happiness:

Have you wondered about how some people are able to be happy despite their struggles? Maybe these people are practicing and embodying the notion that they can “see the rose, not the thorns.” They can “see the light, not the shadows.” They can “see the glass half-full, not half-empty.” These are ways of thinking that positive people embody and much like a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” despite their adversities in life, these positive people are choosing to see the good things that make their life more fulfilling, and focusing their attention away from aspects of their life that will bring them down. In the end, it becomes a matter of choice. You can choose to be happy or sad to concur with or despite the situation, you may find yourself in, the “silver lining” if you so choose.

An example of this is having a picnic on a sunny day. You can choose to nitpick that there are insects crawling all over your food on the picnic blanket and the weather could be warmer. Or your thinking could be that you are embracing a nice sunny day with an activity you can’t do all the time and enjoying nature and the company of a loved one that is so overdue. Notice the difference in thinking about the same situation? This is where mindfulness and meditation are great tools to use to get you on your way to becoming a positive person, having a great outlook on life, and being happy. Here are some free resources to help you on this journey into happiness.

The Power of the Mind:

Though a person could be infinitely happy by just enjoying life, there are many people who are unhappy or choose to not be happy. Some people have ventured to less developed countries and noticed that despite the adversities that many poor people face in their everyday living circumstances, many of these people appear to be happy. Yet, in developed countries despite the modern conveniences and higher standards of living most of us enjoy, there are still many people who appear to be unhappy or are unhappy based on some surveys and studies. It seems perplexing for those in developing countries, where for millions there is a real scarcity of even basic needs, people seem to be happy. It is definitely a conversation piece and something to be thoughtful or mindful of when we discuss the concept of happiness, as it seems the mere availability and abundance of things is not enough. There is something else: it is our mind that must have the right attitude to allow for our capacity to be happy.

Examples of how mind can influence our body:

• By utilizing self-talk, our motivation and positive attitudes can make us feel happy and successful.

• Through meditation, one can maintain a healthy body and be more cognizant of sensory abilities.

Conclusion:

Our mind is an extra-ordinary muscle and possesses infinite powers. As far as happiness is concerned, your mind has the ultimate power, to choose to be happy. With a positive attitude towards life, and shifting our concentration away from bad things in life and toxic people, we can concentrate on redeeming features in them. We should not dwell on thinking about past failures and bad experiences but be encouraged and motivated by our past successes and positive experiences. Anxiety about the future can be mitigated by planning and working hard for the future.

In whatever circumstances you feel you are in, mindfulness makes you realize you can never have a total lack of nature-given and human-made happiness. You are not completely devoid of nature and all man-made things or people. Even if everything is taken away from you, one’s family and friends are there to fill this void. One’s precious and miraculous functioning physical body is also there to help you experience happiness, like taking a mindful walk etc. Even if your physical body may not be functioning optimally, you are still free to be happy in your own mind! The mind is its own powerhouse that can help you be truly happy.

Feel free to comment below and get this important conversation going.

Disclaimer
Please note that the content provided is for informational purposes only. This information is not advice and should not be treated as professional advice. You must not rely on the information in this blog as an alternative to advice from your medical professional or healthcare provider.

Disclaimer
Please note that the content provided is for informational purposes only.