Throughout history, everyone has asked the same question time and time again: how do you find real happiness? Here is how: you change, and it comes to you.
Everybody wants happiness, and everybody believes finding it is the epitome of a fulfilled life. Once found, they can be better, they can do better, and they can feel better. For some people, making other people happy is their chief goal in life-their own happiness be forgotten so long as it makes someone else happy. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, in a video for Prager University, said that, “You can’t change other people if you can’t change yourself.” You cannot help another find happiness if you cannot find happiness for your own sake. It will not be authentic, and it certainly will not be long-lasting-for either party. Dr. Peterson follows up by saying, “You can fix yourself, and you’ll do no one any harm in doing so.”
The ancient poet and scholar, Rumi, said, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” That being said, how are you going to make this world a different place, a better place, if you cannot do those things to yourself? You can’t make meaningful impacts on the world if you cannot meaningful impacts on yourself.
Similarly, an anonymous author noted that, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” This person was right. Change is scary. Change is difficult. Change is uncomfortable. But, if you’re stuck in a rut, or seem to be doing the same thing every day and you’re simply unhappy, happiness will not magically appear on the horizon. You are not going to get what you want out of the world suddenly because you want it. You need to work on it, fix mistakes, change your attitude, and stick to your newfound course to happiness even when it’s scary, difficult, or uncomfortable on the way there.
So, do you want to be happy? First, fix yourself. Happiness is out there if you do what it takes to find it.
Cover photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.