Why this Secret will Lead You to a Happier Life

Happiness
It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. – Charles Spurgeon

 

People would always see me and maybe asked themselves, “She has everything in her life, she’s now married, she’s living in Australia, she’s vlogging, she’s very happy. What is she doing?”

As what I’ve told you in my story, we were not wealthy. My mom was a single parent. Until now, we don’t have our own house named after us.

But you know what? As unbelievable as this might seem but I have never felt worse off than other people. I might have felt jealous but never worse off.

Let me tell you my real secrets first:

1. I never had a branded bag of my own up until now. At the age of 30 years old, these are just my branded bags I bought for myself: 1 Pacsafe, 1 Jansport, 1 High Sierra, 1 Fossil Bag.

2. We never had our own house. – The house we have back in my home country was a gift from my grandmother. It’s not ours.

3. The branded shoes I had in my lifetime are just these: 2 Skechers rubber shoes, 1 Merrel, 1 Hush Puppies, 1 Nike

4. The laptop I bought for myself is just two – Both Acer brands. The first one died after 7 years.

5. I never owned or bought a single jewelry for myself. The fanciest jewelry I have is just my engagement ring given by my husband and the pearl necklace and earrings given by my grandmother.

6. I never owned a branded watch. What I have are 1 Seiko watch bought by my grandmother, 1 Garmin watch and 1 Fossil watch bought by my husband. I remember I bought one Casio watch for myself! At least I have one I bought for myself.

7. Our family never had our own car. Well, we have one now from my car facility from my work which my younger brother paid in full when I resigned from my job in the Philippines before I migrated to Sydney.

8. I was abused when I was a child – But life must move on. Your past circumstances should just be a point of reference not a point of destination.

Now let me asks you:

Should I feel sorry because we don’t own any house?

I never had a house of our own but I am still thankful because I could sleep soundly at night.

Should I feel sad because I am alone here in Sydney with no friends and family?

I am alone in Sydney but never did I feel that I am alone. Because I am happy and I acknowledge I am loved.

Should I feel miserable because my friends are working and here I am starting again from scratch?

I don’t have a job yet but being able to work before is a gift that I am thankful for.

Should I feel sad because I do not have branded bags, clothes, more jewelry or shoes?

Will I overanalyze and overthink?

Should I be over critical about myself?

My answer is NO.

 

Instead of dwelling on things I do not possess, I find pleasure in things that I already have and had achieved.

I list down the things I have in my life and read them every morning to remind me how great my life has been and will be.

 

What I have is GRATITUDE.

 

Before you proceed below, take a piece of paper and write all the things you have accomplished and all the things you have in your life that you’re grateful for.

Here is my list:

1. I am a normal child

2. I graduated with a Bachelors degree with Latin Honors

3. I have a bed with a nice comforter

4. I do not have debts

5. I have genuine friends

6. I have a great family

7. I have my own website

8. I have a facebook page

9. I have flawless skin

10. I am a positive person

11. I am married to a wonderful and loving husband

12. I have a great mother

13. I was able to pay our electricity bill for 8 straight years

14. I have an emergency fund

15. I have an insurance

16. I have a support group- my churchmates from Sta Teresita Parish and Feast Greenhills

17. I have a priceless gadget – my kindle, my old iPod classic, my iPod shuffle, my Huawei phone and an external hard drive

18. I was able to go to some local and international destinations

19. I am using the free internet here at the library every day

20. I have wonderful dogs

21. I could drink clean water and breathe fresh air

22. I could walk, I could see, I could hear, I could run, I could smell, I could hear.

23. I could pray, I could write, I could dance.

24. I am healthy

25. And the list goes on…

How do you feel? Do you feel better? Do you feel more fortunate?

The only secret that will lead you to a happier life is by being GRATEFUL.

Be grateful for what you already have and stop looking for things you do not have because that’s the best way to self-destruct. Learn to thank yourself and thank the Lord for the things you have now.

If you still feel that life has been very unfortunate, go out, find someone to help, look for a beggar or someone who has been mistreated or left as an orphan and understand their story.

Find ways to help other people who have been really neglected in this life so that you will realize that you are already the BLESSING. That you are not worse off than you think you are.

Yes! YOU are the BLESSING! You do not need to look elsewhere to realize this. And once you’re able to help, you’ll realize how great your life is because you have something to give.

May you not be intrigued by other people’s life. Because you will never know how someone out there would desire to live your life and there you are believing the same instead of being proud and thankful for what you have.

The next time you will feel how bad your life is – stressful work, discouraging boss, traffic, a concert ticket you cannot buy, a gadget you cannot own for now- THINK again. Your problems are not even the worst problems for you to feel sorry or be a miser.

Look at your gratitude list. Remind yourself how great your life is now and how great and how far you have become. Do not dwell on what you lack. Dwell on what you have and IMPROVE on it because what you focus on expands. Focus on being grateful. Focus on blessing your blessings. Be thankful.

A grateful life is an abundant life.

How you treat and look at your life is how it will treat you the same.

Teach yourself to be more grateful.

Don’t hate, APPRECIATE. Appreciate even the small things. You are blessed more than you realized and acknowledging that will lead to more happiness and contentment in your life.

 

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I would love to hear from YOU.  =)

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