How do you know if you are Truly Happy?
Today I was thinking about happiness, and the question “Am I truly happy?” Happiness is thrown in our faces all day every day. We see it on social media, advertisements, people in public, etc. But we never know what’s going on behind the scenes.
Social media is basically a highlight reel of somebody’s best life. We know they’re not putting the negative content on there. That woman in the coffee shop laughing with her friends? She could be having the worst week of her life at home, and this is the only glimpse of happiness she has seen in days. That guy who’s laughing in the gym? He could have a terrible job, and the gym is the only place where he can feel any relief.
The point is we see happiness everywhere, but are we actually happy?
So many people think about their future and picture a fairy-tale-like happy ending. It’s like we have built ourselves this unrealistic version of life and what it should be and how we should feel.
But the truth is I don’t think anyone is happy 100% of the time, and that’s completely normal. We have this vision that to be successful in life we need to be constantly elated, and that’s just unrealistic. Happiness is not the only human emotion. Just because we’re not happy all the time, doesn’t necessarily mean we’re not happy at all.
Every day is a constant flow of different emotions: sadness, grief, anger, frustration, embarrassment, fulfillment, excitement, and so on. And this is completely NORMAL!
We get so caught up in “what should be” that we forget, we are all human, with feelings, and emotions, and we’re allowed to feel ALL the things. Think of a spectrum. Happiness can be at all different points of that spectrum at different times within a year, a month, a week, a day, etc.
Now back to my original questions, “Am I truly happy?” and “How do I know if I am?” When looking at my happiness on a spectrum, I’m not 100% happy 24/7. But relatively speaking, I have so many happy moments, and I’m grateful for them. I live for those moments. Sometimes, I’m content, not elated but not miserable. Sometimes I’m downright pissed off. Other moments I’m sad, quiet, and maybe I cry. The point is just because we have not-so-happy times/moments, does not mean we aren’t happy.
Don’t take the happy moments for granted. Live for them and be present when they arise.