Three Enemies of Happiness


                                                 

To twist Shakesperare’s words from to be or not to be, that is the question? to to be happy or not to be happy is the question - and the answer to that is simple, unlike to the question that Shakespeare posed.

Being happy is in our hands. Period. We can’t pass the buck for our unhappiness to anyone else. If we wish to be happy, we can be, despite several odds, and if we don’t wish to be happy, we won’t be, despite everything being in our favour.

The number one enemy of happiness is COMPARISON with OTHERS. Till the time we keep doing that, we can never expect to be happy. Now, there are two things here. If the comparison with others is due to envy, then the green-eyed monster (to borrow Shakespeare’s phrase again) can wreak havoc on you. But if you compare yourself with others, to improve yourself, then it’s a healthy thing to do. For example, you may want to paint as well as someone or write as well as someone or earn as much as someone or look as pretty as someone or be as successful as someone, then comparing is the right way to motivate yourself to achieve something more.

The number two enemy of happiness is LIVING in the PAST. We have a habit of doing that. The past is over but we don’t get over with it. The focus should be only on THE MOMENT. That’s where life is and that’s where happiness is. What has happened has happened and if we rue over it, it won’t serve any purpose. That person spoke to me in this way or that person did not speak to me or that person did not shake hands with me or that person criticised me if we go on thinking like this, we will never be happy. Bury the past. Finish it.

The number three enemy of happiness is DESIRING MORE. We are never satisfied. We always crave for what we don’t have and, in the process, we forget to appreciate what we have. There’s so much happiness in little, little things – but we miss them because our focus is on things that we don’t have. Happiness is not in desiring more things but in having more desire for things we possess.

Stay happy always!

-          NZ

17.6.2019      

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