Finding Happiness
Happiness; this 9 letter word with a world behind it. People struggle to find this 9 letter in the smallest of tasks and in the most obscure places in the world, but what does it mean to actually be happy?
In my 16 years of being on this planet, I've recently found a degree of happiness. To me, happiness is like a religion; It requires a lot of belief and practice.
One may argue that they achieve happiness in their daily lives--that they are content with the life they have--but in the modern world--where people instantly post pictures of the new purse they bought or a really cool island they visited off the shore of Caribbean--will those same content people say they are happy? To be happy is to not feel jealous at the same time.
Among the many different chemicals we have in our bodies, 4 activate the feeling of joy and happiness; Those include dopamine, oxycontin, serotonin, and endorphins
Dopamine is the typical happy drug. When our dopamine system in our bodies is activated, people become more motivated to achieve their goals. We feel excited to start moving and achieving the goal which ultimately leads to a level of positivity in our minds.
Oxytocin is literally the “cuddling hormone.” Oxytocin is released through communication and connection with another person. Whether it is through cuddling or eye contact with that cute boy you like, oxytocin is triggered through the levels of social bonding.
Serotonin is our mood swinger chemical in the brain. It changes constantly. you have probably heard the saying “hangry,” right? Well the reason why people become “hangry,” is because 80% of our bodies serotonin lives in our stomachs. Ain’t that cool??!
Endorphins are the pretty interesting happy chemical. These guys are the chemicals our brains release in a fight or flight situation. These guys help us achieve our more physical goals.
I want to rewind back to the idea that happiness is a religion. In religion, one prays to their god(s) in the hope that he will listen and answer their prayers. The believers and followers don’t know if their god will communicate back, but what they do know is that they put their prayer into the universe for God to respond. Happiness in a way is just like that. You make a goal for yourself, whether you know you can achieve it or not, you put that goal into the universe in hopes that you can achieve it. In order to achieve anything in life, one most practice and believe in themselves, as cliche as it sounds.
Once you find that goal for yourself, repeat it to yourself every day, make sure you wake up and fall asleep with that goal in your mind.
Attract that goal. Believe in the unknown forces of the universe. Believe in the different energies around you, and surround yourself with positivity.
Happiness isn’t achieved, one doesn’t truly know what this phenomenon that has 9 letters can truly be. But in short bursts of life, like an achievement of a goal, our brains will release a flow of happiness throughout our nervous system.