Happiness- “a state of well-being and contentment” That’s the definition that good old Merriam-Webster gives us. Where do we find this contentment and well-being, though? One might ask this throughout their lifetimes and never really find the answer until it is too late. I’ve heard many things pertaining to happiness and some of them seem so simple, yet in our lives nothing seems to be simple anymore. This quote can really sum up most of my thoughts when it comes to happiness:
We all have imperfections, let’s face it. Jesus walked on water, but yet he still worried his parents sick when he was 12 and spending 3 days straight in the temple preaching. We do things that aren’t perfect. We slip up on words, we are clumsy, we think things that maybe we shouldn’t, but hey, we’re human, and we are beautiful just the way we are.
So in being happy, does this mean that everything is imperfect and we just have to accept that? Nah…some things are bound to go our way and make us happy which adds to the thrill of what is our lives. It’s not always going to go perfectly though, some time you are bound to mess up here and there and when you do, it shouldn’t be a big ordeal because everyone has their moments.
A sign that I have in my room at my apartment states that, “Happy is what you make it. Always has been, always will be.” I saw that sign on the shelf and fell in love with it because it is so true. We can be having the worst period of our lives that we have ever seen, but we can pull through and realize how that experience has changed us in positive ways. If you can’t make yourself happy, how can you begin to think that someone else will make you happy? This is something that I have struggled with throughout my adult life because I have gone through periods where I hated who I was, what I looked like, how I acted, and even just who I was plain and simple. I remember looking in the mirror wondering when the old Stephanie would come back. It took awhile, but it did happen, and that happier, more mature (at times) person is back.
It is still a constant struggle to make myself happy day in and day out, but it’s something that you shouldn’t just settle for. Keep it interesting, make new goals, set out on new endeavors because this is life. No matter how good or bad it may be, it is our lives. We have the most control over them, and we should exercise that power. When we realize that happiness is not something that is handed to us on a silver platter, we are a better person because of it. I am by no means saying that I have any superiority over someone whom has not found true happiness, because I am still a continuous work in progress when it comes to that, but I think that the realization that we are all human and are capable of making ourselves happy can bring us to greater self-satisfaction.
A lot of people think that there are certain things that could make them happier such as money or a good job, and it seems to me that a lot of these thing are based on worth. If there is one thing that I took out of my theories of counseling class this semester, it is that we are all equally worth it. No matter whether you are a stripper, a whore, a beggar, a CEO, a housewife, a teacher, a doctor, a student, a nobel peace prize winner or just a self-employed small business owner, you are worth it. So many times in life we place value on who we are a person on how we perform.
“Because I got a C on this exam, I am a horrible person.” We’ve all done it as students, don’t lie, I know I have done it and still often find myself doing it if I don’t do as well as I had hoped. This grade, though, does not reflect on worth. We are all worth it in our own ways. We are in a sense, equals. This may sound idealistic, but no one is better than anyone else. Just because you have the greatest, most well-paid job in America or the world, does not make you worth more than me, a poor college grad school student trying to make it in the world. We’re equal. We can all gain a sense of happiness in our own ways, and we are worth it.
It’s not something that we think of often in these kinds of terms, but just because me mess up, it doesn’t make us worth less as a person. We may stumble, but it’s real success when we get back up and dust ourselves off and start running game. It makes me reflect back on my Aerobic Mix class where I biffed it face first on the concrete playing a running again. I hit my knee, hard, and I just got right back up and started running again. Mostly because I am a competitive person, but also because I don’t quit. Small victories such as this can make our lives so much better. Had I laid there and cried, my team would have lost the game, and I would have been greatly embarrassed. I got up, though, because I knew that laying there was no option for me.
As someone wise once said, “It’s not about weathering the storm, it’s about being able to dance in the rain.” We are all worth it, we are able to make ourselves happy which then allows us to bring others into the equation to make this happiness even greater. I hope that you are all able to pick yourselves right back up, dust off, and begin anew. The future is waiting.