Never sacrifice happiness for the future
The future is always unclear and with no guarantees. It is a risk-taking journey. The thing is no one has ever been in the future except in our imaginations. There is no report back from the future if things will work out as planned. However, planning, preparations and having room for any worst case scenario is of high importance to consider. The hardest thing is to hope for a day that it will be perfectly sunshine to be happy. It is like committing suicide to postpone happiness for an unclear day. Happiness ought to be expressed at the present moment. It is a good thing to see the future bright and beautiful, that alone should determine your present happiness. No one can be excited about your vision no matter how you try to convince the rest except you. When you are being interviewed about your aspiration the last person to be dull with lack of enthusiasm is you. I am not a fan of Joel Osteen, but I love and read his book: “Your Best Life Now”. The best of you ought to shine now and choose that attitude. Money makes us look happy and it is the only medium of exchange.
We do get happy when we are about to get paid for the services we’ve rendered. When what you’ve put all your energy into it pays we become so happy. Spending time with your loved ones brings health to your bones. Everyone I believe will agree on that statement. Making other’s life makes us happy too. There are so many ways we become happy. That all needs no schedule to be followed. We don’t need to rehearse to be happy. One preacher said, “be happy now”.
There is no guarantee in what’s ever that there will be time to do everything you want. Preparations though is wisdom. Prepare for the good and the bad. Even if you play lotto every day hoping to win someday, happiness shouldn’t be driven only by that hope. Life happens now. I used to like one of the Hallmarks at one company I once worked for: “Choose your attitude”. I loved that only because I was left with a choice of either choosing to be happy or unhappy irrespective of the circumstances. The second favourite hallmark was “make their day”. When you have chosen how your day will be you are certain to add value in others too. Yes, hopes bring an energy that things will not always be as bad as they are at the present moment. With that kind of hope in mind, you decide to be happy. Of course, there is nothing to be happy about if you are facing poverty, jobless and after a break up with your partner. There is nothing to celebrate let alone putting a smiley face as others will suggest. If your partner or pet dies, there is absolutely nothing to be happy about when you go through such a time of your life. The best question to ask ourselves when all that happens is “what’s next”. “Am I going to cry the whole week and rest of the year including Christmas day or move on once I get relieved?”
This doesn’t mean you have to spend all your earnings because you want to be happy now. Impulse spending is nothing more than a sabotaging even your unknown future. There will be a rainy day as long as you are still alive. Doing things just to look happy in the eyes of others will not bring happiness. There is also no guarantee if you seek for approval you will ever get it. You create that happy atmosphere for yourself. Everyone else will be interested in what keeps you alive and happy.
I fully agree with one statement by one of the writers, “Humans are not only designed to be happy but to survive”. In as much as happiness at some point is replaced by sadness and fear of loss. Enjoy life while you can now. Never to wait until you win the jackpot, lottery, get married or when you meet someone new. There is no guarantee these will bring total happiness. Let the future find you happy instead of trying to keep it for later. Happiness is indeed temporary. It’s a lie to say one is always happy. We are surviving and once we cross that bridge of hardship and sadness we are subject to choose our attitudes.
