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“attached” to other people, material things or events, you are freed from the mental ties that bound you to the mistaken belief that your happiness or
unhappiness was out of your control.

Are You Already Happy?

One of my favourite films from my childhood was the Wizard of Oz. Remember the college diploma the Wizard of Oz gave to the scarecrow and the medal of
honour that made the lion recognize his own true courage? Perhaps all we need is a diploma of happiness to declare that : “Congratulations, you are now
officially a happy person!”. Did you ever stop to think that you might already be happy and not know it?

You can be happy while enjoying whatever you are experiencing – in full flow and growing while being who you are, however you are, and wherever you are.
Some people may even find happiness in being somewhat of a killjoy. There is even a word to describe it – “Schadenfreude”: meaning 'pleasure taken from
someone else's misfortune’.

What would it feel like to simply accept and believe that you are already, automatically, authentically, deeply and profoundly happy, and to know that you will
always be happy, regardless of what does or doesn't happen in your life?

Sometimes happiness can boil down to whether we think we are happy, so please don't confuse your overall happiness with things that may or may not be
causing you concern or anxiety. Every day, life will have its ups and downs. With this awareness, let the waves of your life ebb and flow, and seek to maintain
a happy heart through it all.

When you start with the assumption that you will be happy regardless, you'll have taken a powerful step to being happy. By accepting that you're already happy,
you'll be relieving yourself of a great burden - that of always seeking and desiring to find happiness in other people, places and things. You'll breath a sigh with
relief, as you become relaxed in your own natural state of happiness.

Being too needy for happiness can have the same effect on your happiness that being needy about money can have on your finances and being too needy in
relationships - it weakens your sense of self-empowerment and lowers your self-worth If you use all your energy seeking happiness, it may elude you and the
very act of desperately seeking it may keep you from being happy. The more you constantly ask yourself if you are happy, the less happy you may become.

While admiring or helping others, our focus is on appreciating and serving, instead of on monitoring our own personal, momentary experiences of happiness.
Provided you achieve the right balance of selfless giving and selfish taking, by putting effort into helping others, happiness will appear in your life.

Types of Happiness
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Whilst there are as many descriptions of happiness as there are people on the planet, happiness itself falls into one of six broad categories :-