Happiness is a state of mind.
Happiness is a state of being in which you feel relaxed, centred and well.
When you remove stress and other such toxic contaminants from the equation you are left with a sense of wellbeing, an open heart and a clear mind. This is the the natural habitat of happiness and the fertile ground from which joy may flourish.
Removing stress from the table can be done in many ways and more often than not it begins with the simple action of de-cluttering our lives. Less crap equals less cause for stress.
Most of us are terrible at letting go, wether it be a job, a car, a spouse, a garage full of old “nostalgic” junk or even saying goodbye to the person that we are pretending to be and allowing ourselves to embrace our authenticity, we all have separation anxiety to some degree. From my personal experience and observations, this is the number one thing that is holding us back from a happier and healthier life!
See stress come from a place of “I can’t cope!”, a sense of overwhelm, as though we have bitten off more than we can chew and our lives depend on swallowing it all at once! Eliminating excess from our lives can play a major role in reducing the likelihood of stress and anxiety, so, lets touch on the fear of doing so. What is the worst that can happen if you don’t hit those deadlines, end that toxic relationship or throwout/sell all that “really important” crap thats clogging up your living space!? Like the WORST thing that can happen… Think about it.
Wanna know what I think? I think the worst that can happen is nothing in comparison to the weight that will be lifted from those tired old donkey shoulders. Besides, even if you do suffer for a little while with PTWDD (Post Traumatic Waste Disposal Disorder) you’ll get over it!
Warning: You may even experience euphoria.
Its interesting that less physical stuff in our lives actually results in less emotional baggage… kind of like breaking off that toxic relationship often ends in less physical stuff in our lives… hmmmm haha
Ever seen those beautiful people in third world countries with the smiles that are so intense it looks as though they’re about to tear the corners of their mouths wide open! These people have happiness in spades and can often count all of their earthly possessions on one hand. Now im not telling you to sell everything you own and go and live out of a shanti – although im sure you would find more joy in doing so than you may think – but I am suggesting that you take a hint from the happy people.
Don’t run around thinking that happiness is a destination, that once you have this or achieve that, then you will be happy. No! Nothing could be further from the truth. Happiness is a state of mind. It cannot be faked and it cannot be bribed or bought, it must be realised. We all have it within us, we simply forget how to access it or perhaps its buried so deep below all our “stuff” that we simply cannot reach it…
The moral of this story is obvious so lets get stuck into actionable steps.
Step 1: Re-asses you life! Stop and THINK, how much of what I have in my life is serving me on a deep and profound level and how much of it is unnecessary junk that is taking up physical and emotional space in my life!
Step 2: Light the bonfire… for dramatic effect, or if thats not your style, wheel in the bin, organise a hard rubbish collection and have those difficult conversations. It might be tough at first but let me tell you, with each thing you throw, your happiness will grow! Its actually a very addictive process, trust me you’ll end up like me, always looking for an excuse to throw things out!
Top tip: ebay/gumtree is your friend! Some people make thousands of dollars clearing out their clutter and im sure that if nothing else, that will put a smile on your dial.. at least for a lil while. Just dont go blow it on more useless shit ok!!! Go on a holiday or something. True wealth lies in experiences.
Step 3: Smile! Lifes actually pretty damn good isnt it 🙂
Live your best life.
Jeremy Strong
