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  • Written by Eric North aka “The Happiness Warrior”

It’s often said that happiness is a choice and only a feeling that’s soon forgotten. As The Happiness Warrior, I strongly disagree and believe we deserve more. Happiness is best viewed as a lifestyle and mindset that we choose to make happen through self-discipline and love for ourselves. It’s a summation of our core values, ideals, and perspective in life. The life-changing process where the principles of happiness are always there for us to utilize in every aspect of our lives. All it takes is belief in our right to be happy and to give ourselves permission to feel our authentic joy. Despite our fears and doubts, happiness is all around us when we follow our best instincts and seek to share it with others.

Too often in life we see others making as little effort as possible to make a difference or do anything to earn respect. They get by and somehow make it as they stagger through life. They’re usually making a scene or causing a disturbance. Most are always late and are looking for ways to cheat or dodge accountability in order to create an appearance of normality. They haven’t yet discovered that happiness is always waiting to be discovered.

This type of mindset is the antithesis of happiness and one that shows a pervasive lack of self-esteem. In a life full of a myriad of choices this is the attitude and mindset they’ve chosen. Frozen in time and fearful to adapt and change. The mistaken choice that life will be easier if we take the path of least resistance and hide from our true nature. A choice to create a life lived in balance and self-respect or one that consistently fails us. A straight-forward choice or squandered opportunity that severely damages the potential to be happy and feel connected. Never realizing that our true potential comes from our innate powers and gifts. The choice is ours alone to make, we have the ability to develop happiness essentials that create our destiny.

The outcome is never a pretty picture. They’ve made their choices and have created the kind of lives that can be expected. Predictable and lacking inspiration. A place where happiness comes from a false sense of safety and security. Where dreams are repressed and long forgotten. They’ve forgotten that happiness comes from within and have yet to realize that they deserve more for their lives.

Even in the darkest of hearts there’s always a light that’s waiting to be found. There’s hope for change and enlightenment when we can let our negative emotions go. One small step in the right direction can create a world of opportunity. Greater happiness and serendipity are always waiting for us when we live in a mindset of life-affirming feelings of self-confidence and resilience.

As The Happiness Warrior, I’ve always believed that happiness comes from personal responsibility as well as the ability to look inward with clarity and courage. It’s the place where we are at our most authentic and vulnerable. When we care about and love ourselves without reservation. Where we can easily forgive others and be kinder to ourselves. To know that we are all human and that happiness is a basic human right. A place where we begin to see our destiny as something that we have power over. The ability to manifest our intentions when we believe in and have compassion for ourselves.

Happiness is a responsibility that we can use to make our lives stronger and have more meaning. A mindset where we can learn to be warriors and gain the wisdom that comes when we learn the value of helping others. We can find the best parts of ourselves that we’ve yet to discover when we give ourselves permission to be happy and vow to be our best.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IS FREEDOM

When we begin to take personal responsibility, we enter a new mindset where we seek to understand and take control of our thoughts and actions. It’s an overwhelming feeling to live in our truth and peace of mind. Knowing that the journey can take many paths and some of them might cause us to feel remorseful and sad. The process is all knowing and soon our perspective will change, and we will feel happiness wherever we go. We will begin to see the world through a new lens with more empathy and compassion. We will rise when challenged and know when our integrity is certain.

THE HAPPINESS ESSENTIALS

1.      Learn to stop negative thoughts immediately and avoid negative people.

2.      There’s a solution to every problem and choices are always there to be made.

3.      Spend time in meditation, go for a walk, or exercise and use this as a time to clear our heads and “just be”.

4.      Develop a habit of thinking positively and always steer the conversation to something good that benefits everyone.

5.      Refocus on our narrow priorities to developing a greater perspective for others and how they live their lives. Examining the actions and habits of other humans can help us to see inside of ourselves and live in our truth.

6.      Be aware of the hazards of compulsive behavior and reactionary decision making.

7.      Always focus on the positives and try to find something valuable in even the worst of situations. Resilience is the most honest and arduous teacher.

8.      Never feel pressured to prove ourselves to others. Instead seek to set an example and practice good habits and self-discipline. This is how warriors become better leaders and focus on the greater good.

9.      Never complain, nothing has ever been solved by a complaint. It’s a matter of perspective and confidence when we realize that all problems must be resolved through our own means. Every problem has an equitable solution if we have integrity.

10. Convince others through unselfish actions and commit to life through positive habits and behaviors.

11. Words have spirit. Pay great attention to both the subconscious and verbalized words that we produce. Words have spirit and never disappear.

12. Learn the meaning of contentment when applied to our own lives.

There’s a moment in all of our lives that’s waiting for all of us to find more clarity. To learn to live in our truth and realize the magnitude of our thoughts and actions. Everything we do matters and how we use our time and resources is the determinant for greater happiness and fulfillment.

It means the ability to find happiness despite the negativity of others or current circumstances. The knowledge that time moves on, and change is constant. We can transform the concept of accountability into integrity and empathy. We can learn to be better humans and actualize our true motivations. This is how we become real warriors that realize our power to create our destiny.

INTEGRITY ROCKS

Many of us spend time thinking about and searching for the meaning of life. We often ask these questions over and over again but forget the answers that we seek come from within.

When we look from within we might not always like what we see. We uncover years of emotional subterfuge and compartmentalization. We can falsely believe that we are too fragile and emotional to process or understand. This is how dreams are lost and long cherished motivations are lost and forgotten.

Fear is the root of all evil that comes from within. Mostly irrational, overblown, and exaggerated to keep us from moving forward and finding clarity. Fear is a deterrent from growth and always lets us down. The truth is that most of what we fear never happens.

For most of us, fear is the only thing holding us back from living the lives we deserve. Never finding true happiness because of the mistaken belief that our fears keep us safe. Or that we deserve less and are doomed to suffer.
When we develop integrity we are creating a self-directed superpower that roots out fear and craves honesty. This life-changing mindset shift to truth and integrity is an unbeatable combination that will always be more life affirming. It’s the way to move forward with dignity and grace.

No one can take integrity from us, and none of us are immune from the truth. Integrity is the only thing that can’t be taken from us in our final moments. The path to happiness is so easily obtainable when we learn to understand that happiness is mostly self-created. A blend of our core values, integrity, and passion for life. Happiness is best exemplified by the things that matter the most that we practice in our daily lives.


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IG @thehappinesswarriorofficial
Website: thwarrior.com

Eric North The Happiness Warrior

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