Change attitude in pursuit of happiness
HAPPINESS IS NOT A COMMODITY, WHICH THE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO DISPENSE THROUGH THE PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. IT IS A STATE OF MIND
Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in our country to constitute the ministry of happiness. Andhra Pradesh is also contemplating to set up a department dedicated to improve the happiness quotient of people in the state. The United Kingdom now has a minister of loneliness. Writer Arundhati Roy even came out with a book, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.
Suddenly, in the past few years, happiness has become a much sought after commodity. Where has the happiness gone? Who has stolen the precious treasure from our lives? I wonder how we plan to bring it back in our lives.
One thing is for sure that happiness is not a commodity, which the government plans to dispense through the public distribution system. It is a state of mind. As Buddha said, “There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.”
Stress, tension, anxiety and aggression are byproducts of the huge progress we have made in the field of science and technology. Always running in the fast lane has already taken a toll and we don’t have time left to pause and ponder. In fact, this mad race has made us more intolerant, hateful and insensitive towards fellow human beings.
If we want to seek happiness, we will have to work from inside out. Until and unless, we become compassionate and sensitive towards the society we live in, we can’t achieve happiness.
Seeds of happiness lie within. We need to change our attitude, introspect and evolve to feel calm and joyous.
As American philosopher William James puts it, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.”
As a clinician, I happen to come across a cross-section of people who are ready to share their thoughts and views in moments of grief and joy. I have observed that people who are relatively happier and cheerful have certain basic traits. They adopt a minimalist lifestyle, which means not only owning less stuff but wanting less too in the first place; they have minimum expectations from their kith and kin, which keeps many a trouble at bay; they are prompt to share their resources and are caring and compassionate; they keep themselves busy without being over-ambitious; they yearn to be healthy and are grateful to the Almighty for His bounties.
Above all, I have observed that being of average intelligence also helps because exceptionally intelligent people are perfectionists and that begets frustration.
As scientist Albert Einstein said about his equation of happiness: A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.
This he wrote on a piece of hotel stationery in Japan in 1922 and gave it to the bell boy in lieu of the tip, which was auctioned for a whopping $1.56 million in 2017.
Money can’t buy happiness but it can surely buy the formula for happiness.