Redefining Happiness

Let’s look at different reasons for people being unhappy. The possible reasons could be 1. comparing their lives with their cousins and friends 2.not meeting their high aspirations .3.worrying about things which are beyond their control. Let’s look at each of them now.

People often compare their lives with their  friends, cousins; neighbours, etc and are not happy with their life. We compare the brands of phone, watches, etc with others and  feel dissatisfied with ourselves.

To me looking at people who are below us in terms of standard of living and taking a cue from them looks like a  possible solution. Let’s see the logic now.

Only 15 percent of the Indian population  have access to mobile internet. People in rural areas don’t have access to  basic amenities such as electricity, bathrooms; forget about broadband. Still, they are surviving in spite of all these issues. I am not saying that you  live like them but by comparing your life with theirs you will feel satisfied with whatever you have. (You are lucky to have access to electricity, broadband, etc and are amongst the top 10 percent of the Indian population in many ways.)

The below quote can be followed as well “If the grass looks greener on the other side, stop comparing and complaining; start watering the grass you are standing on"

Buying a branded product just because your friend has bought it may give temporary happiness but it will lead to self deterioration in the larger scheme of things as the comparison would be never ending.

People aspire for materialistic things and feel unhappy for not meeting them. Will the materialistic aspiration ever end? iPhone 5 becomes outdated on the launch of iPhone 6 and so on. You will fall into vicious circle.How do you overcome this? Let’s differentiate between need and luxury.Smart phone is a need whereas high end phone is luxury. Its easy to enhance the standard of living at peak of your earnings but difficult to reduce it.

The other aspect is climbing up the ladder in professional life. In that you need to aspire to become the likes of dhirubhai ambani, steve jobs, etc. Here you need to aspire bigger .But one need to ensure that the feet are always on the ground irrespective of the height achieved. Such a combination (professional success with feet on ground) is a rarity and will get you more love and respect than ever. Both Sachin and Warne were two gem of cricketers but Sachin gained more respect because of his off field behavior.

Let’s look at a classic example of worrying about things beyond our control. We all are worried about salary hikes, bonus, promotions, etc.However, the things which is in our control is our performance - doing work meticulously. If at all you need to worry, get worried about these and the rest (bonus, hikes) will be taken care of.

The human life is God’s best gift to mankind and we should be happy with the precious things we have got. Even if you have other reasons to feel dissatisfied (destiny like  accident; death) remember “even the darkest night will end and sun will rise in the sky”. Smile; stay happy;none of the situation is permanent.

(It’s purely my opinion and is not meant to hurt anyone.)