Does buying a new Mercedes or taking a vacation in far far away lands where you spend oodles of money, make you happier? Or does faring poorly in an exam or a life experience add to your misery? 
We Human beings tend to predict the outcome of an unforeseen venture or event both qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of negativity and positivity—and in most cases they are wrong. Think about and try to reminisce on your own life experiences. How long have you really held on to the grief of the death of a loved one? Tears can’t flow forever. On getting a promotion and a bigger pay cheque, how long have you rejoiced? You cant go on and on throwing parties week after week to celebrate the event.
Yet, if we look deeper within ourself, most of us will find that we had magnified the intensity of emotions associated with these events when they were yet to occur. Forecasting an outcome before it actually happens is immature and often misleading to your self.
I’m not saying that an unpleasant event like a theft of a large sum of money won’t make us sad, but it does not mean that our devastation will last forever. Similarly, adding material pleasures may make life more exciting momentarily, but will never make everything perfect for us. Has the binge shopping or binge eating ever helped beyond a few passing moments?
In anticipating the intensity of our emotional response to future circumstances we only unnecessarily torture our self. To only later realize that the actual intensity of that event wasn’t so bad after-all. On the other hand, have you noticed, the euphoria of anticipation of a Good event, it is comparatively short lived. When infact it should be the other way around. This only proves the value of being totally-present in the here and the now, and the spiritual value of retaining Calm and inner balance under all circumstances—good or bad.
The happiest you will certainly emerge!
We have heard and most of us know in our hearts that money doesn’t buy happiness. But don’t we still believe in figures rather than feelings?
It is important to note that the factors that make people happy may vary from person to person. While personal success and self-expression maybe seen as the most important to some, to others happiness is about fulfilling the expectations of family and society. Its all a matter of perception and a true understanding of Self.
How happy are you and How satisfied are you with your life ?
To answer this very question, you need to have your very own Happiness Checklist. A Happiness checklist which states things that factor into your life to make you immensely Happy, from the heart and soul…not from the warmth of your pockets.
Today I share with you my Happiness Checklist. Hope it will become yours too 🙂
My Happiness Checklist:
– Have happy and fulfilling relationships
– Value good friendships
– Love Everyone and Everything-Good or bad
– Less Desires
– Do someone a good turn
– Keep the faith (religious or not)
– Stop comparing yourself with others
– Grow old naturally and gracefully
– Don’t worry if you’re not a genius
– Remain Positive no matter what
Now its your turn- What does your happiness checklist have? Care to add some more to my list? Please share your thoughts and lists in the comments below. I would love to expand my list further.
With Immense Love and Gratitude,
~Zeenat~
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*Positive Provocations* 
Lovely post and I really like the checklist.
I would add being the best husband and father I can be and making a contribution to others through my coaching to this list.
Cheers,
Darren
HI Darren,
You just taking that decision to Be the best husband and father shows what an amazing person you truly are. And your second addition is just perfect on your professional front. Hoping you stick to them..and keep adding more and more to your happiness checklist 🙂
Thank you fro stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Much Love~
Zeenat – I very much like your focus on impermanence. Accepting and appreciating impermanence is so profound! I would add “being in this precious moment” to the happiness checklist. You’ve mentioned it already as being so vital to happiness so it seems a natural for the list too.
Hi Sandra,
You are so right!….Being in this precious moment is the obvious addition to the happiness checklist for sure 🙂
As for impermanence….the pure understanding of that phenomenon is sheer enlightenment. I just hope more and more people realize and accept this factor.
Thank you for your lovely comment here 🙂
Much Love~
Beautiful Zeenat, I love your happiness checklist! I share many of what’s on your list and the only things I could think to add were:
1. Purposefully connect with high energy people every day.
2. Laugh until my stomach muscles ache as often as possible!
Loving you lots, beautiful friend!
Megan
HI My joyful Angel,
See I can always count on you to come up with the most joyful additions 🙂 Such awesome additions!
And those stomach muscles need their exercise right 😉 what better way than laughing and having fun…
Thank you for you superb additions.
Much love~
Hi Zeenat, excellent topic but not an easy one. I do believe money brings comfort and security which in turn can be peace of mind and some happiness. I really enjoy my lifestyle and I have worked so hard to build it from nothing but I know that it is not the core of my happiness – it is simply the means to enable me to pursue my happiness which is deep inside and in the freedom that I cherish, in things I do to improve myself and be a part of the lives of my family, friends and community……Thank you for making me think hard before bed though :)!! I must make sure I have my priorities straight!!!
Hi Farnoosh,
What you say makes sense on some level. When you know that your lifestyle is not the core of your happiness, thats a step in the right direction. But, think about it this way- what if you had none of these lifestyle possessions….would you still be happy? Is your happiness dependent on external enablers? That is a question you Need to answer for yourself.
I am glad my posts make you think 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts here sweetie.
Much Love~
this one was like a soothing caress. you work magic, zee
Oh Suzy, You make me blush 🙂 No magic here…just a little heart and soul..thats all 🙂 So glad you liked it 🙂
Much love~
That was wonderful. Just today I experienced myself over exaggerating a negative outcome, but when I actually faced it, it wasn’t so bad at all! Then I read your post and it made more sense. Another Quote on Present Moment Awareness I remind myself “All you ever have to deal with in Life is the Present Moment”.
Coffee is also something that makes me happy, it’s high on my checklist! 🙂
Salaams Mohammed,
I love that quote! I often think of this present moment as a PRESENT and that gets me in magic mode instantly 🙂 Life can be magical…right here right now!
And a little secret-Coffee is high up in almost all my lists too 😉 And on a hard day especially there is nothing like chocolate with coffee 🙂 I like this addition to the checklist.
Thank you fro stopping by and sharing your thoughts 🙂
Creating positivity for self and others is the need of the day.
Wonderful post in today’s time.
Hi Vyankatesh,
I’m so glad to see you here.Welcome!
And this whole blog is based on positivity…so I am hoping you enjoy your visit 🙂 Positivity is the one sustaining factor that can bring about immense joy and happiness.
Glad you liked this 🙂
Great post Zeenat!
Here’s a quote that speaks to my view of happiness:
“The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.” – Epictetus
Strictly speaking, I think that I create my own happiness. External things occur and they have influence upon my thoughts, but ultimately it is how I respond to things that dictates how happy I am. Being in the moment, not regretting the past, nor anticipating the future.
Of course there are many things that help me to be happy, such as:
*Loving relationships
*Helping someone just for the sake of helping them
*Music
*The knowledge that something I have written has helped another along their life-journey
*Growing as a person, learning more of love, being aware of the moment
Thank you for this thought provoking post!
HI Keith,
Your happiness checklist is awesome!
I resonate with everything on your list 🙂 I might just borrow some for my list too 🙂
Thank you for sharing your beautiful souls here.
Much Love~
Zeenat, no matter what happens or is going to happen, worry, anxiety, sadness, depression, anger, or whatever is not going to change it. So you might as well enjoy the ride and “Don’t worry. Be Happy.”
Thanks!
Oh Stephen,
Thats such a simple yet profound way of putting it 🙂 Happiness is all in us…we just need to clear all that rubble of externals…right 🙂
Thank you for your awesome thoughts on this.
Much love~
Dear Z, one on my checklist is to always be aware to add value. I ask; “Is what I am doing adding value to all” and asking that question keeps me from being busy for busyness sake. Much love, Wilma
HI Wilma,
Adding value…wow now that’s something I must must add to my list too!
It sets our priorities straight….thereby giving us so much more time to do what we truly want.
Thank you for adding your wisdom to this Wilma 🙂
Much love~
Hi Zeenat
All too often indeed human beings are so controlled by their external influences when all along our being is where true happiness and power lies.
Sure there are things that can have a short term effect on us as you say, but as we learn to live in the peace of the present moment, even those can be just moments (not bad or good) that we move through.
Love your list and on mine I would add some of the following….
– love unconditionally
– live in balance
– spend time in and connect with nature
Hi Evita,
I am gonna borrow the first two points for my checklist too 🙂 As for the third one….hmm…I might just take that in too 🙂
And may I add that Loving unconditionally somehow encompasses all! Thank you for sharing your lovely insights here.
Much Love~
🙂 reading these posts make me set my priorities right 😀 i wud add↲Less dependence on external things! Stop comparision with odrs !getting over my fear of failure..n accepting change in a positive way! thanx Z 🙂
HI swatcat,
Those are some great points for your happiness checklist! So awesome! Thank you for sharing 🙂
ps. I sent u the mail u asked me to! 🙂 do chk n temme ways improve!
Swatcat, I didnt get any email….could you please check and resend it. And let me know from which address you are sending it…so that I can make sure ti doesn’t go in the spam.
🙂
Never forget to have a strong sense of humor and especially have the ability to laugh about yourself! Humor has greatly helped me in my job as being a nurse for so long. I even just sometime sit here and just start laughing about a small thought, it doesn’t take much to get me going!
HI Shelly,
A strong sense of humor…now thats such a valuable addition to my happiness checklist too 🙂 Somehow when we can laugh it off..we can face it well too. It diffuses the intensity on the problem.
Thank you fro your lovely addition and for your beautiful comment.
Much Love~
A great idea Zeenat and this is very perfectly aligned with the article I just wrote this morning. I’ve definitely been appreciating my close friends and relationships so much recently and has been big on my happiness list! ;-D
Hi Amit,
What a wonderful addition to the the list…our close friends and relationships 🙂
And I did read your awesome post this morning…..you are so right ..its perfectly aligned 🙂 You can trackback or pingback here if you like.
You are one of those friends for me Amit…right up there in the Happiness Checklist 🙂
Much Love~
I not sure about having less desires. I think happy thoughts comes from knowing you will achieve those desires. Not caring about it too the point where you can’t function normally. It’s about feeling good all the time and all the time feeling good. If we can all do that, the world will be a better place. Why?
Because your inner world will be better. And whatever our inner world says, we are. And how our inner world feel, we feel. So feel good and be happy.
Hi Jonathan,
What a wonderful view on happiness you have! But I still say desire less 🙂
Thank you for adding your lovely thoughts here.
Much Love~
Dear Zeenat,
I found great wisdom in your post. Like Sandra I was particularly pleased with your focus on impermanence. So many people believe their happiness is contingent upon externals. They fail to recognize that happiness is a choice we can make between our ears despite our circumstances. They fail to recognize that when we dwell on the past or focus on the future we become attached to specific outcomes and adverse to other outcomes. Each day has a specific meaning and purpose, and provides opportunities for personal growth and enriching relationships only if we are open to self discovery.
I would like to share my brief list with you and yours readers:
1. Free your heart from fear.
2. Free your mind from worry.
3. Live in the present moment free of attachments and aversions to specific outcomes.
4. Live simply.
5. Give freely.
6. Expect less.
May cultivating happy and peaceful thoughts be your choices always,
TiTi
HI TiTi,
What a wonderful and loving list you have shared here. I love it! If you dont mind..I’m gonna add all your 6 points to my happiness checklist too 🙂
And self discovery is the best kind of discovering there is…full of hope, love and immense growth. It makes life so beautiful and happy.
Thank you fro sharing your gorgeous wisdom here.
Much love~
Thanks.. You made me think about my Happiness check list.. 🙂
Love for the cause of Allah..
Whatever Happens… its for your goodness only.. Allah does not want to hurt you..
Always think… Allah loves you so much…
Jazakkallah Khayr..
Salaams Mirash,
I’m glad this article made you think happy thoughts 🙂
I love your list too…and you are absolutely right…nothing happens without complete trust in The Almighty Allah! Allah Loves us more than a mothers love multiplied a million times for a her child put together….and more than that too. Can a mother ever hurt her own child??
Iltemas e dua~
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