Happiness. Its a big word. It relates to every aspect of our lives, can change a single moment from despair to ecstasy. Some people chase it forever. Chasing happiness endlessly becomes their entire lives. Some people are born happy, and stay that way through their entire lives. And some people, try as hard as they might, never find it.
Everyone has something that makes them happy. Just like everyone has something that makes them sad. A career, a loved one, a materialistic object, just something that brings a smile. But happiness is such a huge word that no matter what lengths you go to, sometimes you just can't quite achieve it. Take a dream career for example. You might study really hard, spend hours of your time volunteering, working towards the qualifications and experience necessary to give you a head start for the job you so desperately want. But at the end of the day, the decision always comes down to someone else. Its out of your control. Of course, you might be lucky and be the shining light. But what if there is always one person at that interview who is more experienced than you? The interviewer would be mad to offer it to anyone other than that person. Its out of your control.
And what about love? Girl meets boy, boy meets girl, girl falls in love with boy. Boy is in love with girls best friend. Girl ends up heartbroken because she has so much unrequited love. Or girl meets boy. Boy meets girl, and boy falls head over heels in love with her because she is so beautiful, so funny and so caring. But girl, inside, despite being so beautiful, so funny and so caring, feels numb. She doesn't feel alive, and whats the point in anything if she cant just feel something? Girl is so cold, so stuck, that she doesn't feel the boy's love trying to wake her up. Girl is surrounded by people who love her and want to look after her, but is so absolutely numb that she doesn't even notice. Boy has no choice in the matter. He cant make her notice how loved she is. Its out of his control.
You want a big house to put your big TV in. Well, especially in this day and economy, where you need at least 20% deposit to secure a mortgage, the bigger the house, the bigger the money pot needs to be. So how do you get what will make you happy if you cant raise the cash? Rob a bank? Save every spare penny for the next 40 years, and you can finally buy it, but you cant enjoy it? Or what about borrow the money? If the bank manager deems you unsuitable, you have no chance. Its out of your control.
For some people, music is the ultimate happiness. Listening to your favourite band or solo artist can wake those emotions so deep you cant help but feel such a profound happiness you have to smile.
A friend was complaining about their job, and someone said "millions of people hate their jobs. Its not just you...". This puzzled me. Does this make it acceptable? Millions of people are lonely, but that's no reason to roll over and just never look for love. Why do we feel it is more acceptable to work daily in a job we hate, with people we don't like, just because a high percentage of the population cannot stand their job, or working for their boss? Why is it good enough, just because millions of people put up with this feeling? Why should we have the desire to work for the next 45 years in a job that you dont like, just because other people do? Is it so wrong to want to have a little bit of job satisfaction, and actually enjoy the day to days of life?
The key is to re-evaluate. It may not be practical to quit your job and become a bum until someone discovers your potential and falls over themselves to give you a job that will make you your millions. Because the chances of that happening are very, very low. You have to work towards it, and give yourself the very best chance. Qualifications, voluntary experience and research are all great ways to further your knowledge and help yourself. Take the steps that no-one else can take for you, and prove to yourself and everyone else just how serious you are about making the changes and taking the chance to grab it. Hard work does eventually pay off. In the same line, only you know what you truly want.
Can you honestly say that you are genuinely, truly happy? Maybe you have the career you have dreamed of since you were 4. But in getting that, have you sacrificed love? Or maybe you are like so many people, who are deeply, romantically, in love, but stuck in a place you cant escape. Perhaps you don't even have that, you are drifting from day to day with the person you love, in a job you hate, living in a house that's just not "you" and resenting every day that passes without happiness. But there is only one way to get out.
Only you can make the changes. Only you can grab things with both hands, and say "I deserve to have all the happiness I want".
Happiness is not such a big ask after all. Its achievable for anyone, and should never be out of reach. All you have to do is follow your heart...