Happiness is a choice

There are no easy paths through life and I believe happiness is a choice. Whether you are a kid or a working adult or a grandparent, there is always room to improve our overall life’s happiness quotient. I believe sustainable happiness is possible and is built on the 6 key life choices below:

1. Surround yourself with reality

We feed off each other’s energies

— overdose of self-help books and hyper motivational YouTube videos can take you out of your reality and ironically do more harm than good. If your reality is ugly, broke, lonely and painful, then start there. Be as present in your world as possible. Spend time around people who you aspire to be and ask them what you pragmatically need to do to improve your situation. Be socially selective. There is only one of you and who you choose to hang out with may determine your life direction-remember the saying you are the average of five people around you. Ask yourself who you are and where you are and why you think you got here. Never pretend to leave your reality baseline in the past. Keep a reminder of the low point, maybe a picture of you if you are overweight, maybe a 3–5 minute audio recording of self-talk making observations on your life, maybe a short write-up of the same. Date it and sign it. Have the credible social circle also remind you to adhere to reality checks. Live in reality and have trustworthy people keep you there — you may suffer a disappointment here and there but will avoid major shocks to the system that lead to depression and negative life spirals.

2. Reverse-engineer your 10-year vision

Define your purpose and seek it

— whatever that vision is, don’t ask questions just yet, just put pen to paper and see it staring back it you. A person with vision is already rewarded with a purpose and a meaning to his or her existence. To achieve the 10-year goal write down where you need to be in 5 years. To reach the 5-year goal write down where you need to be in 12 months from now. To reach your 1-year goal write down what needs to be accomplished every month. Now write down what needs to happen daily and weekly to get you to your 1-month goal. That daily plan is your new life. Embrace it. If the daily requirements are too much to handle either rethink the plan, find hacks or lets be honest with yourself and say that will likely not happen. Maybe it becomes a 20 year plan? So what? If it is your priority in life you won’t care if takes a bit longer. If you are genuinely obsessed with your vision coming to life, it is quite possible you will still find a way to accomplish it earlier than you think.

3. Declutter kitchen and closet

Simplicity breeds clarity

— we typically keep at least twice the things we practically need. Excess food or clothes creates unnecessary choices and decisions we shouldn't be wasting time on including the daily selection, stocking and cleaning part. Not only will decluttering save you time and money but will also give you satisfaction in valuing what you have, i.e. whatever is in front of you is there only after scrutiny and in your best interest. Your clean surroundings will resonate with you mental space and create homogeneity between the external and internal.

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