It is not difficult to be happy

We are made to believe that the ultimate goal of our life is to be happy. No doubt, there is merit in this message. Happiness is a formidable aim to have, a happy world is also a healthy word. However, the definition of happiness is different for different people. The problem is once we are convinced about the message of the pursuit of happiness, we are taught how to be happy, we are almost brainwashed to instill a definition of happiness in our media from different sources. Some common definitions of happiness include having a dream job, a big home, a loving and beautiful life partner, obedient and successful kids, social status, vacations at exotic locations, and whatever other luxuries the market has to offer us. It is hard to resist these impulses, the projected picture is very tempting, ultimately most of us get drawn into this thinking about manufactured happiness and start chasing it. Let me be clear that there is nothing wrong with chasing these things if you really want them and enjoy them. However, I see many people who chased these things and achieved most of them and still were not happy. Based on this I concluded that it's not easy to be happy, especially if you don't know what you are chasing will make you happy or if you are borrowing someone's idea of happiness rather than searching for your own desires.

The next question is, whether it is easy to realize what we really want or where our own happiness lies? The simple answer is, no, it's not. This is why it's easier to accept whatever definitions and ideas of happiness are offered to us by media or movies rather than dwelling on a difficult quest to find our own calling. Media houses and movie makers have their own commercial interests, both are very expensive enterprises to run and need a lot of cash flow to sustain their operations. Therefore, many businesses and commercial enterprises use these mediums to serve their purpose, and who are their targets? Of course, common people like you and me. We are consumers of content delivered by these platforms, in a way we need these things to fill our need for entertainment or fulfill our intellectual or social needs. In this process, we get bombarded by various messages that subtly try to tell us what it means to be happy. Most of these ideas involve chasing something grand, something valuable, simplicity is not deemed as a virtue but a sign of boredom. The end result, we live in a consumerist society. There is nothing wrong with being a consumer, actually, whether we want or not we are going to consume something. The problem is we are not being consumers but are being designed in a particular way to consume certain things. It is not easy to resist these temptations. The main reason why it is not easy to resist is that the advertisements and other messages are prepared after a lot of research about human psychology and behavior. We feed a lot of data from our side into this system to make it better and stronger day by day. 

Is there a way out or we are trapped to the point of no return? There is definitely a way out. We must be conscious of our actions, and always ask a few questions like, why I am doing this, do I really want this, is there any better way I can spend my time, am I going to be happy after doing this, if yes, how long? Questions like these won't guarantee that you won't fall for any temptations but they will minimize the chances. It is true that it's not easy to be happy, but it's also true that by taking some simple steps it's easy not to get tricked into getting trapped in a vicious cycle of chasing that ever-elusive happiness that never comes. Once we remove all the noise around us we can focus on the real signals from our mind and embrace what we really want without being influenced by what markets or society wants us to do for being perceived as happy. The choice is ours, whether we want to be actually happy or want to be perceived by others as happy. It's not difficult to be happy if we search for that happiness within ourselves rather than somewhere else.

Thank you for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Simple doesn't mean it's easy

Being a responsible citizen is simple. Minding our own business and not interfering with others' private matters is simple. Being conscious of the difference between our needs and desires is simple. Respecting each other is simple. Not discriminating against people based on their gender, race, or any other characteristic is simple. The list of such simple things is very big, but the problem is many people struggle with these things. Being simple doesn't mean it's easy. There are many things that are straightforward and we all understand them clearly still we fail to follow them even if they can be really helpful for our and our society's good. We ignore the fact that simple things also might require a lot of effort, dedication, and commitment to bring them into practice. This careless attitude is the reason for the fact that even after acknowledging the relevance and importance of many of the above-mentioned things we fail to make them a habit.

Please recognize one truth, "just because something is simple doesn't mean it's easy." Once we understand this our mind should be prepared to make all the necessary efforts with all seriousness to take all the necessary steps required to inculcate many of those "simple" habits in our day-to-day life. These things are simple because they are easy to do, you don't need any specialized degree or strenuous physical work to practice them, they are simple not because they are easy to achieve. They do require the presence of common sense, a rational and balanced mind, and sincere efforts. If we lack any one of these or take them too casually we will be left wondering why and how we failed to learn such simple habits. 

First of all, why should we bother about such simple things? The answer is also very simple because those are the things that make our lives and the lives of others around us better and happier. These simple things show we care for each other and respect despite so many differences among us. These things make happy and progressive societies where all individuals are respected and free to pursue their goals. So, the takeaway from this post is, please don't take things lightly just because they look and sound simple, and please remember that "simple doesn't mean easy," you need to work hard to learn many simple things. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.