The easiest definition of happiness is positive emotions evoked by doing pleasurable activities in our day-to-day life that give us a sense of well-being and stability. These emotions can be hope, security, contentment, gratitude, etc. Scientifically, happiness is simply defined as an absence of negative emotions. The human brain is wired such that we are in a constant state of survival. Our fight or flight mode is always on, so our psyche is built in the way that we are constantly seeking safety and contentment. Ask any person about their inner wish, and mostly, that would be to be happy and at peace. Power, money, success; all these are just means to achieve happiness.
Since happiness is such an important emotion and also a desire that at times becomes elusive due to different circumstances in a person’s life, where harsh realities of life intervene, moreover given the capitalistic nature of our society, people associate happiness with having more money, more luxury lifestyle and any such material possessions that make people strive for and link their happiness with the next big chase or acquirement.
An individual’s lifestyle, economic circumstances, social status, psychological state, and other spatial factors play an important role in determining their idea of happiness and the means and lengths they are willing to go to achieve it. However, in recent times, social scientists have proposed that happiness cannot be achieved through material gains as it’s just a means to an end. They posit that happiness is a state of being, an emotion that needs to be attained through conscious and positive thinking.
Earlier on, the emphasis was on the pathology of the emotion, as in on the ‘why’s and ‘how’s of how not being happy affected us, rather than focusing on the power of mindfulness and manifestation to achieve a state of happiness or contentment. Primarily, positive psychology is a real discipline that emphasizes on the art of keeping a positive mindset and controlling our negative thought patterns and instead optimizing on positive experiences in life and manifesting our own reality. This leads to an empowered and enlightened state of mind, where mind starts processing even negative experiences as not being in a state of moroseness but more like a learning experience.
Furthermore, in current times, the power of manifestation, practicing gratitude and mindfulness with self-help books, social media influencers, life coaches all proposing to have a positive mindset to have achieve happiness and people, especially the youth relying heavily on social media, have in actual started practicing this and therefore an entire crop of young individuals are opting for more nontraditional forms of employment and living rather than the standard social norms, previously and they use this mindset to feel more empowered and fulfilled.
While a plethora of literature is available to enlighten oneself about practicing and understanding happiness and a positive mindset, to learn more, a great resource can be found in the form of a book from Amar Kapoor, M.D., titled, ‘Eternal Happiness: The Book of One.’ The book thoroughly explains the strategies to attain and understand happiness as well as how to achieve the state of soulfulness to achieve empowerment and feel empowered and satisfied in life.
