Thoughts on Happiness

"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get." - Dale Carnegie

So what's the deal with this quest for happiness of mine?

I don't know how this came about, exactly. But 2012 has been such a year of revelations for me, and I suppose happiness came as a result of that. Let's examine the events that took place which contributed to my happiness cause.

• Work - definitely a major contributor. Due to a slew of factors, I found myself in a new job in August of this year. But the previous year and the first half of this year had been a major challenge for me. I was under a lot of stress at work, and it really took its toll on me, health-wise. I am in a much better shape now; but I realized, it was hard for me to say goodbye to my previous company. I have been there for almost six and a half years, after all. Anyway, I am now in a whole new environment. After over three months, I am still adjusting to a lot of things: my role, my colleagues, my current work setup, etc. But if I examine all the good things going on, I just feel fortunate. I constantly remind myself to be grateful (as in even setting up a daily task of doing so), and to seize every opportunity to learn.
• Finding out what I want - purpose is "that little flame that lights a fire under your ass," says Princeton (one of the main characters in Avenue Q). In 2011, I attended the 7 Habits workshop, and I was blown away. I loved how Stephen Covey "packaged" the 7 Habits - having taken up psychology, most of what he wrote were not exactly new; but the way it was presented was absolutely brilliant. Anyway, there was a part there where we have to examine and discover what it is we really want. This is Habit 2: "Begin With The End In Mind." We were tasked to write down our personal mission statements. In the course of doing so, I realized that what I really want is to make a difference in people's lives through teaching and training. I always knew I will be teaching at some point in my life (perhaps at my university), but it was only then that I truly became self-aware. After the 7 Habits workshop, I got occupied with other things. Then, these past couple of months, I found myself realizing that I need to start working towards my goal. I am hoping and praying that an opportunity will present itself at the right time here with my present employer. Who knows, a couple of months down the line I will be blogging about my new role. Pray for me, folks.
• Yoga - I fell in love with yoga. I keep on reading articles about it. I keep on thinking about it while at work. I feel peaceful whenever I am on my mat (although whenever I am doing a difficult pose, well that's another story). I realized, yoga helped me appreciate what I have. Yoga helps me take deep breaths whenever I feel like I am about to blow my lid. Yoga helps remind me that everything will be all right. Yoga is happiness!
• Running and my fitness journey - "Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you happy!" That's Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. And it's true. I have been physically active since I was in high school - volleyball, swimming, ping pong, to name a few. Sports gives you such a rush, it's amazing. Whenever I run, I feel accomplished. Does that make any sense? I guess there's something inside my body that's telling me I am doing the right thing.

Making the decision to be happy. I have to admit, this is something I have to do on a daily basis. There are days when I feel that I just want to stay in my room, lie down in my bed and wallow. Trust me, it isn't easy for me. I have been so used to holding someone/something responsible for my current state, that taking ownership suddenly seems daunting. I had been negligent with my physical, emotional and mental well-being. Now that I am on the road to repairing that, I feel good about myself again. I realize, it's not too late for me. I can still accomplish what it is I was set out to do. I know now that happiness and positivity is one of the things I have to do - I have to share it. I have to teach it to others.