Heart to Heart: Finding happiness by living in the present

The truth is that everyone wants to be happy. The problem is that we think it’s in the next thing – the next job, the next person, the increased salary we make, the next ‘good’ decision. It’s all a lie.

Happiness is in our ability to sit back, relax, and appreciate the things we have now. When was the last time you appreciated the fact that you can breathe, unassisted; that you’re still alive; that the possibilities for your life are endless?

So many people spend their lives regretting the past or overthinking about the future. Never savouring the little things they have now, like the taste of food in your mouth, the fact that you can get online and read this article, the limitless ways that life can still surprise you.

It can be stressful to swing between living in the past and overthinking the present because your concentration will be shot and you’ll be overly stressed. You’ll be sabotaging your future without even knowing it.

And because of this, we stay stuck in places we don’t want to be and are consumed with sadness at things we think we can’t change.

Well, that’s false. We can change many things in life, especially our happiness and the source of it.

One thing that’s important to know is that happiness exists in the present. How else are you going to stay happy if you don’t focus on things that happen now? The things whose outcome you can predict?

Happiness comes from within, and it’s important to continue putting in the work to stay happy, not by giving away our joy by letting it fly away with wishful thinking and situations that we can barely control.

The past is gone, the future is not here yet, so all we have to savour is the present.

We all should learn to practice mindfulness so we can all develop the awareness needed to stay in the state of happiness.

So, that’s our secret for staying happy – staying in the present.

If you don’t agree, share your thoughts in the comments section below along with extra tips for staying happy.