5 Lessons In Happiness We Should All Implement

Living life in the 21st century can be quite a hassle! We all know it: from the stressful scene of dating to trying to live up to the societal expectations of what it means to be attractive and master happiness. But are there really lessons in happiness you can learn? Let’s give this concept a try.

After all, being alive in this day and age can be quite overwhelming. Not to mention how unhappy the entire world is, given the striking prevalence of depression. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Luckily, we have brains, and so, we can choose not to be slaves of the capitalistic and narcissistic world we live in.

Here are 5 lessons in happiness that we should all implement in our lives and free ourselves from the crowd:

1. Plan your life: Screw career-planning and focus on planning your life! Well, not entirely. But don’t make the mistake of focusing solely on your career, as we see women and men do on TV. Personal life is far more important than your working life. So make sure you also have a plan for your life; whether it’s getting married and having children or living a spiritual life, make sure you have at least a direction in your mind.

2. The ideal of beauty: In a world of Photoshop masters, realizing that nobody looks as flawless as the people on the magazine covers is an essential truth to acknowledge and repeat to yourself in the mirror when you are about to body-shame yourself! Stop comparing yourself to models digitally altered to the point of perfection because that is not real life and it won’t bring you happiness. Real women have curves, edges, a wrinkle over here, a tiny pimple over there and so on. Embrace yourself!

3. Find your purpose: It’s probably the most important lessons in happiness in this list. Some say that a well-lived life is a long one. Wasting time with things that don’t mean anything to you can give you the feeling that time is speeding by and you’re getting old really fast. For this reason, you must live your life properly, and what better way to do that? Finding your purpose in life. Whether is sharing your gifts and talents with the world or making a difference in your community or worldwide, we each have a purpose – and if you can’t find it, create it!

4. “It only needs to work once”: Those were the words of Michael Cane in Interstellar when they were struggling to find the solution to the equation needed for saving the world. Years and years of failure until one day: Eureka! Wanna know how they got to the break-through? By not giving up. By embracing the fact that sometimes we fail. That’s the key to happiness.

5. Experiences vs. Stuff: In a world full of plastic and image-making, having a lot of stuff – clothes, gadgets- is a symbol of wealth and personal value. However, this is untrue. It is the man wearing the clothes, not the clothes, who has value. For this reason, you are better off investing your money into experiences. A weekend in Paris or a summer trip to the Caribbean – that is what will bring more joy in your life!

To sum it all up, these are 5 lessons in happiness you can implement in your life right now. In a world of make-pretend and fake-it-till-you-make-it, it’s becoming increasingly harder to identify the real values and find true happiness. Whether that is spending time with your loved ones or embracing yourself with flaws and all, happiness is a state of mind that needs the proper conditions to manifest.