Happiness: What determines our happiness, and how can we influence it?

It is human nature to strive for happiness. The age-old question is: how do we achieve this? We may think that the source of happiness is prosperity, social status, money, or talents. However, all these are only external manifestations. Our primary focus should be on our inner state! If a person does not have vital energy, all these benefits will not be significant.

There is one important secret: a happy person inwardly can be happy on the outside. What does this look like in real life? When there is no feeling of joy and happiness in the soul, external prosperity becomes the main goal, and a person begins to depend on it. When this is the case, the slightest changes begin to be seen as a problem, a serious problem, or even a real disaster.

Then, a logical question arises: what gives us energy? Aim gives us energy. If a person has a large-scale, strategic goal, he will have the energy to achieve it. But there is one detail: our world is dialectical, and our perception of the world should also be dialectical, combining the opposites.

When we have some kind of higher goal, and we only think about it, on the contrary, we will lose energy.

Why? Achieving these small goals allows us to succeed regularly and gives us a feeling of happiness and pleasure. At the same time, we understand that there is an even greater goal, and getting closer to it also makes us happy.

However, balance is very important here. When a person lives only by small goals, he will be happy about achieving them in the short term, but in the long term, he will have problems. But if he lives exclusively for a higher purpose, his strength will be exhausted.

Setting small, achievable goals and achieving them gives us pleasure. At the same time, having a higher goal brings strategic happiness.

For happiness to be always present in your life, all of these levels must be fulfilled!

It is important to understand that happiness always consists of opposites. If we have a dialectical perception of the world, we know we need to fulfill our dreams and desires but not become their slaves. A harmonious attitude towards the world ensures a harmonious inner state.

It is necessary to strive to keep the feeling of inner happiness continuous. The fact that we exist in this world should bring happiness in itself. The fact that we can develop and explore the world is happiness. In ordinary life, it looks like this: unconditional, independent state of happiness inside, coupled with actions to solve external problems on the outside. Externally, we may be happier or less happy depending on the situation, but the happiness inside us should remain unchanged.

However, to be happy, you need to work in two modes. We must simultaneously be individuals with our own goals and be able to love and respect others. If we think only of ourselves, we will be unhappy. We will also become unhappy if we forget about our own needs and only care about the interests of others. When we develop both collective consciousness and individual consciousness, a personality emerges. Collective consciousness includes respect, mercy, good nature, and understanding. Some personal qualities that must be developed include courage, determination, independence, and self-confidence.

You should try to make the inner feeling of good-natured love independent of everything. This is achieved through selfless love, spiritual generosity, overcoming resentments, envy, greed, and regrets. When the feeling of love in the soul is not dependent on anything, you will feel true happiness.

The expert
Sergey Lazarev is a psychologist, philosopher, and writer. He is the author of the books Diagnostics of Karma, Man of the Future, and Survival Experience.