Of course it sounds like a ridiculous question! How could anyone possibly not know what the word 'happiness' means?! The fact of the matter, though, is that many people have never really thought about it-- and, if you are reading this book, you and your spouse may not even know if you both have the same definitions!
Who do you choose to be most of the time - someone who is grateful a lot or someone who complains a lot? Which one you choose determines how happy or unhappy you feel. The really great thing is that, given that we are beings of free will, we get to choose to who we want to be, each and every moment!
Do you believe that getting what you want is what will make you happy? Discover how this false belief keeps you stuck in suffering, and what really brings happiness, self worth, and inner peace. There is nothing wrong with wanting - wanting more time, more money, a wonderful relationship, a family, a successful career, a new car, a bigger house, and so on. It is not actually the wanting that causes us problems. Problems occur when we ATTACH our happiness, worth, and inner peace to getting what we want.
What is your value? Surprisingly, many of us place a low value on ourselves, and that devalues everything we do. That is called low self-esteem. And when we value ourselves lowly, others will value us lowly too - reinforcing our own low opinion of ourselves.
The standard definition of selfish goes something like thi ... Limited to or caring only about yourself and your own needs or lacking regard for the rights or feelings of others; "shockingly inconsiderate behavior". Yet, we observe the world through our eyes, ears, tastes, emotions and personal experiences. How can we not be selfish?
You may think the pursuit of happiness, as our forefathers mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, is that of a selfish search. However, quite to the contrary, it is one of the most selfless quests an individual can undertake.
I would like to preface this article by stating that I am referring to people and occurrences that can be forgiven. There are some atrocities in our world that are simply too horrible to forgive. That said, even the most painful of experiences can be let go for the purpose of allowing happiness into our lives.
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