The secret of being Happy- part 2

His Holiness, Dalai Lama has beautifully said,

“Take care of your Thoughts because they become Words.

Take Care of your Words because they will become Actions.

Take care of your Actions because they will become Habits.

Take care of your Habits because they will form your Character.

Take care of your Character because it will form your destiny.

And your Destiny will be your Life!”

This sums up the power of thoughts. If you focus on negativity in your life, you will go into depression. Why not focus on all the positive things in your life. Is the glass half empty or half full? This is for you to figure out. Yes, we have no control over thoughts and mind just wanders. But let it wander and recall the beautiful moments that you had in your life rather than brood over what you do not have. Your life will then no longer seem hopeless. It will seem worth living.

Our mind and thoughts are given to us as very powerful tools. Use them to your advantage. With your thoughts, in one moment, you can travel to the most exotic location on this planet without spending a penny on the ticket. You can be with your loved one; you can spend millions on buying whatever you wish to buy. In a moment, you can be in some other part of the world. Thoughts are double-edged sword. They can make you creative or destructive. The choice is yours to make.

If you do not change, you become extinct. We have to work towards our growth. We have to evolve. We have to constantly become better and move with the times. There is survival of the fittest. If you do not move with times, you will be left too far behind. Yes, on one hand, I say, “Do not be part of the rat race or the herd mentality”. But on the other hand, I say change with the time.

Let me explain this giving an example of the corporate world. Two decades ago, do you remember any office that did not have a typewriter? But in the present day scenario, companies like Remington, Smith Corona, etc. have vanished. In the age of CD players, brands like Grundig and Akai sank and became obsolete.

Unfulfilled relations emerge as troublesome thoughts or dreams. They do not give us a happy feeling when we do a memory recall. Whether it was a tiff with parents, siblings, offspring, spouse or your lover. We need a closure to come to term with ourselves. Otherwise we keep brooding over the thoughts- Why me? Where did I go wrong? What could I have done?

No one likes being dropped. And we seek a reason for a break up for us to move on. To get over a relationship, try to empathize with the other person’s viewpoint. But do not find flaws in yourself.

Happiness and contentment are somethings that come from within and are not dependent on any external factor. Wealth, success, etc. do not make you happy. You become happy only if you choose to be in any given situation and circumstance.