The 3 Steps to Happiness

What would make you happy? Being able to do what you want when you want, say when you retire? Having all of the money you would need to do those things? Perhaps that would make you happy for a while. For some of us, that type of freedom could actually lead to crippling anxiety or even depression. But why is that?

But what if being happy is all about you? What if there were three simple steps you could start doing today to help you live a life that you will love?

Here is what I believe. The key to being happy and fulfilled in life is to “Be Who You Are.” This means that you are living your life in a way and pattern that is consistent with your moral, ethical, spiritual and fundamental beliefs. Here are the three steps to get to that point:

Find It - You need to investigate where you came from, what you were exposed to as a child, what you believe in now as an adult. For myself, from the time I started working, I have always advocated for those less fortunate. If you google some of my early research in the 1980s, you will see that I advocated for high school dropouts and then later other groups of people. My parents escaped Hitler and communism; my father escaped as he was about to be arrested for his views by the Communists after World War 2 in the Czech Republic. I found out 5 years ago that my grandmother was Jewish, so by inference I am Jewish. That in a nutshell is who I am. Took me about 55 years to find out that I’m an advocate, someone who believes deeply in our freedoms as guaranteed by the Charter and who needs to help others and change things so that when I leave the world is a bit better of a place. In a nutshell that’s who I am. Who are you?

Love It - This can take a while. Took me about 5 years, so technically didn’t start loving who I was until about a year ago. You have to embrace your truth, spend time thanking those that came before for their sacrifice, learning to forgive any past injustice that may have impacted your life. Remembering the following truth is helpful to learn to love who you are. Life is not fair. Bad things happen to good people. You did the best you could (as did your ancestors) with what you knew at the time. Learn to love who you are once you know what that is.

Live It - This is the easiest, but also at times most difficult, one to do. The happiness you will realize and feel daily will overwhelm you and come without effort. The problem is it can be difficult to feel great every day when those around you at work, your friends or family feel miserable. The difficult part is only choosing to use your valuable time to be with and around those who understand who you are after doing this exercise and how you have chosen to live your life. It may mean you can’t be around or with those that used to be your friends or in some cases even family members. Being who you are is the key to happiness - at least that is my opinion. Living it each day once you are aware of it, is your obligation.

Consider taking the time to go through the steps I have outlined. My wish is that you too will discover and “Be Who You Are.” Then get set to have a lot of fun!