If you asked a hundred people, 'What is the key to happiness?', you'd probably get a hundred different answers. That's purely down to the fact that each of us is different and have different ways of being happy. Let's face it, there's not one thing in this world that will make you totally happy on its own. There are lots of little factors that combine to bring happiness, such as a sunny day or a hug or catching up with a friend. I haven't always been the most happy person at times, it used to be very hard for me to find even one positive thing in a day. But I've pulled myself out of that and today I wanted to talk about my key(s) to happiness and what I've learnt about happiness over the years.
One of my favourite mantras is "I believe the key to happiness is: someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to." Now, by no means am I saying that if you don't love anyone that you can't be happy. Although I'm sure there is someone in your life you love, be it your parents, siblings, friends or a significant other. But loving someone or something gives great joy, because when you love someone, their happiness brings you happiness. As for the "something to do, and something to look forward to" part, I know myself that if I spent a week doing absolutely nothing, with no plans in sight, I'd go a little crazy.
Another important thing that is key to being happy is to keep social media in perspective. Stop comparing your life to others, in the age of social media it's very easy to scroll through Instagram and get disheartened because someone else has a 'better' life than you. Be happy with what you have because there are definitely others who are worse off than you. No one puts the bad stuff in their lives on Instagram, so that girl with the more than 'perfect' life may not actually be that perfect, remember that.
Holding onto the past and regretting mistakes you may have made is one sure fire way to ruin happiness. We're all human, everyone makes mistakes and unless you're a genius and have invented a time machine, the past will stay in the past and there's nothing you can do to change it. Being true to yourself will also bring you happiness. Gandi once said "Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony." If you're pretending to be something you're not, or saying and doing things just to impress others, you will find yourself getting down about who you really are.
Surrounding yourself with positive people and cutting out the poisonous people is also a must if you want to be truly happy. When I did this, it felt like a weight had been lifted. No more toxic arguments or sly backhanded comments. As you grow and change in life, you may find some of your friends are not supporting you, they will want you to stay as you are with them, because they themselves cannot grow any further. Another of my favourite quotes is "Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you."
And so that concludes my rambly little post about happiness. I hope you enjoyed today's post and be sure to leave your keys to happiness in the comments below, I'd love to read them!
