Happiness Is A State of Mind

Happiness is a state of mind, not a state of being. You can quote me on that. If you remember the movie “Cocktail” and Bobby McFerrin’s rendition of the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, then maybe you have given some thought to this whole subject. The truth is that worrying typically stifles productivity and causes undue stress. It takes its toll on physical fitness and mental health. If you begin a stressful situation in good health, it is quite possible to make yourself sick physically from stress alone. Some of the possibilities include heart attack, stroke, chronic tension headache, shortness of breath, and a bunch of related problems. Happiness is the cure. The Apostle Paul said this: “I have learned in whatever state I find myself to therein be content.” This coming from a man who had, in the course of his lifetime, been shipwrecked, bitten by poisonous vipers, stoned and left for dead, beaten with a whip on more than one occasion. Happiness is not simply contentment, it is joy. Happiness is FINDING JOY in whatever life gives you. Contentment alone implies a degree of resignation, but happiness is much more than that. Like the glass that is half empty or half full, depending on your perspective, happiness depends a lot on how you see things. You can see things in a negative way or a positive way, the choice is yours. I prefer looking for positive sides to everything. If you have ever had a sales training course, you may have learned that a buyer “objection” is an opportunity to “sell them” on the product. The word “objection” is the reason or excuse the potential buyer gives you for not wanting to spend their money. By overcoming the objection, the sales person addresses the buyer’s concern and closes the deal. To the salesman, the buyer’s objection shows “interest” in the product. The “objection” is an open door to a path that leads to a sale. It’s all a matter of perspective. Happiness is much like that. Learning to be happy starts with the realization that you can choose to be satisfied with your present situation, or have a plan of action to improve things and you are eagerly moving ahead to the promised land, so to speak. You believe in yourself and you believe that you have success coming your way. Now, go and visualize yourself being happy and content. Visualize yourself being successful in everything you do. And one more thing. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Every mistake is an opportunity to learn and grow.