If you put your happiness in temporary things – your happiness will be temporary.

If you put your happiness in temporary things – your happiness will be temporary. – Nick Vujicic

Mmmm! With a plate of cookies and a quart of milk, I’ll be happy for at least 15 minutes.

What does that mean?
There are things in our lives that last a long time. Then there are things like cookies. Consider my favorite kind, the chocolate chip cookie. Having a couple (or a couple dozen) cookies will make you happy. Perhaps even very happy. But that form of happiness, like the cookies, will be a very short lived thing.

This quote warns us against depending on the fleeting things of life for our happiness. Whether that’s a night out drinking, or an afternoon of socializing, the event doesn’t last. And, as the quote says, neither will the happiness you had in the moment.

The quote implies that the same pattern holds true at the opposite end of the scale. If we put our happiness in things that last, our happiness will also last. So far, I have found that this holds true for me, how about you? How well have the lasting things done for providing lasting happiness?

Why is lasting happiness important?  
Think about it for a moment. If you have to keep doing something to get happiness, doesn’t that sound like a lab experiment? Like you’re a trained dog or monkey, doing things to get a little hit of happiness? Yeah, it’s a living, but not what I would call exceptional. Would you like that?

So, the opposite of that grim scenario is to find things that help you be happy over a longer time frame. If you have decided to celebrate each morning, not because you have to go to work, but because you aren’t dead, then that happiness will last a lifetime, right? By definition.

By finding things that can last, you can have your happiness with you at all times. The definition of long lasting as opposed to temporary things can be debated, but at the extremes (happy for cookies vs happy to be alive), it’s pretty clear which is which.

Where can I apply this in my life?
As usual, I see this as something that can be applied to pretty much every part of my life. It is probably the same for you. We may have areas where we already have fairly lasting things which help us remember that we are happy.

Relationships, such as with family or friends, tend to be fairly long term. Our relationships with pets can straddle the line between medium and long lasting, depending on the species and your sense of time. Our hobbies and our other favorite things to do can also help us experience medium to long lasting happiness.

What about memories? Have you heard the phrase “memory to last a lifetime” or something similar? What can you remember that brings a smile to your face? I can think of quite a few, but then at my age, that’s to be expected. How about you, how many happy memories can you remember?

Sometimes a form of happiness is called pride. This is the proper pride, not over inflated pride. This is the ‘proud of my skills’ or ‘proud of my heritage’ kind of pride, not the kind that comes before the fall. Of what are you proud, and does it make you at least a little happy?

Memory based happiness will last for as long as you can remember them. The skill based pride will last as long as you still have the skill, then it becomes a memory based happiness, right? Pride in things that don’t change, like your heritage, will also be something long lasting, right?

What things, long lasting things, are part of your life and help you remember that happiness is always at your fingertips? Grab some paper and start a list. Write down everything which comes to mind. Try to stick to the longer term items, and avoid the cookies, or in my case, chocolate.

And don’t feel limited to just the topics I used as examples. Anything and everything which lasts a long time (by your definition) counts. And don’t forget each aspect of your life. Even work can have some great memories or great relationships, right?

If you were anything like me, you have quite a list of things. Did you realize how happy you really were? You might want to write a few of these items down neatly on clean paper, and put them somewhere where you will see them on a fairly regular basis.

How often do you think you should remind yourself that you are happy? Would twice a day be too much, or just once? It’s your life, you’ll have to determine how much happiness you can handle.

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to ignore the temporary happiness. A cookie can be a nice thing every now and then. Just don’t make it your primary way to experience happiness, right?

From: Twitter, @tonyrobbins retweeting @Peace_Janise
confirmed at : http://www.thextraordinary.org/…/-nick-vujicic#quotes (fifth quote)
Photo by seriousbri