The path to attaining stable happiness by overcoming the shackles of deprivation.
Each and every one of us has had moments of sadness and misery due to being deprived of what we desire. When you are in want or need of something material, tangible or otherwise, attaching our happiness to the item /thing which you desire is a human habit which is universal and common. Hence, if one can develop their minds to a level where they do not depend on external items/things and rely on internal resources to achieve happiness and peace of mind, such human beings will represent the enviable minority who enjoy lasting happiness through successful living.
If you browse through the pages of history, you will come across many a story of how the globally acclaimed human beings have beaten all odds to reach the pinnacle of success. It is common knowledge that some kids who grow up in poverty ,sometimes being deprived even of the basic necessities in life, have reached incredible heights in their careers and lives. Let us look at some examples to understand this phenomenon.
If you analyze carefully, most of the things we crave for and cling to, are not needs. They are merely wants which are fueled by the society we live in. For instance, a car is not an absolute necessity(NEED) to a person who lives close to a bus station, but he/she will crave for it to gain social acceptance. People buy clothes not only to satisfy the basic need to cover their bodies but to satiate the mere WANT to maintain standards of fashion. Therefore, the first principle is, one should know to draw a fine line between needs and wants. The best things ( needs) in life such as clean fresh air, love, contentment, kindness are free and within everyone’s reach.
If you are CEO of an organization, you may have all the necessary finances to purchase many material things you dream of. However, You will be under heavy stress to run the company efficiently. Remember the old adage “uneasy is the head that wears the crown”. In another instance you might feel disheartened when your colleague gets a promotion and a salary increment which you think you deserve more than he does. In such a situation you should remember that alongside the promotion and the increment, more duties will be bestowed on him, causing more stress and fatigue. This is the second principle. Remember that there are no free lunches. The benefit might come now but the cost later.
If you take a glass container and fill it to the brim with small rock stones or gravel, you will say it is full. However, you will also see empty spaces between the stones or gravel. Next, pour some sand on to it to cover the spaces. Still you can say that the container is full. The rock stones or gravel are the vital things in life such as food ,clothing, housing etc and the sand can be paralleled to the trivial things in life such as ornaments, accessories to clothing etc worn merely for the sake of fashion. Therefore, the 4 th principle is you can still have a “full” life if you have the vital few yet without the trivial many.
Subscribe to our news letter and be the first to get notified on our articles empowering yout happiness!