The Search for Modern Happiness: How to Deal

Due to this being such a lengthy hub, if you see any grammatical errors could you please point them out for me in the comments section? I am finding it difficult to find all of the errors in this article. 

Thanks for reading and Happy Hubbing! :)

Imbalance. Ying and Yang, Light and Dark. What does it mean to be out of balance? Well, being out of balance means that you are not synchronized with yourself and the world around you. People who are out of balance tend to be unhappy, stressed, anxious, nervous, depressed, overweight, and/or moody. Many people do not even realize that they are out of balance, and as an attestation to that statement neither did I.

How do you get back in balance, and back into happiness? How do people manage to stay happy in this hectic, modern world? I am here to let you in on a few secret philosophies of mine.

First, you must know yourself. Understand that you have a dark, unhappy, bitter side to yourself, everyone does. Know that you also have a tender, loving, and caring side. When you are aware of both of these dualities, you can better control yourself and your life. This is what the ying and yang are, they represent the internal balance of personality, along with mental energy. Once you are aware of who you are, the process can begin to reconstruct yourself into a new, happier you.

Anyone who has had a difficult time in their life can understand this, if you have not yet gone through any difficulties then, kudos to you. When things are at their worst, and you feel like you have hit rock bottom, don't let go. God is always opening new doors and new opportunities. Tomorrow might just be the answer to your prayers. If you let go of life today then you will never have gotten the opportunity of tomorrow's gift. Hold on to life, because that one day after that you choose to throw it all away, could be the day that things get better. Maintain a hopeful, grateful mindset for the time being. Hey, grit your teeth and bear it if you have to. But, remember that things can not always be like this and there are always opportunities if you allow them into your life. Find something that you are passionate about and pursue it.

Now that is out of the way and we know a little more about ourselves and our life, we have to ask what do we want? Americans today so often forget about asking the question, "What do I want, for me ?" Today, tomorrow, sometime , seriously ask yourself the question what do I want out of my life? What do I want to do? Haven't you earned the life you want? Haven't you put in all of those years either with your family, or your job, or school? Start making a list of things that interest you. It could be traveling, writing, drawing, photography, cooking, etc. The point is: life is short, get to know what you want to do and have a some idea of how you will attain it, (even if it is a vague).

A subject that many people get caught up on is sinning. For those who do not know what sins there are, they are: Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth, Pride, and Lust. This list was compiled several hundred years ago, and in my opinion, lends little perspective on a modern lifestyle. Greed is not always a horrible thing. Many people must simply recognize when they are asking for too much, too soon. Overtaxing expectations will always lead to trouble. However, charity and giving will only make you happy, if you help others because you want to, not because you have guilted yourself into doing so.

Let things go. If you have just suffered a loss, grieve. No sane person will be ashamed of you for it. It is one of the ways to cope. If there are stressors in your life, understand why they are stressing you. Take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself, how can I fix this and make my life better. There are always way to improve your life. The first step is not sweating the small stuff. Next is realizing what should and shouldn't be holding onto, examples: bad habits, old lovers, emotional losses, and outdated modes of thinking. Don't over complicate your feelings and thoughts, keep them simple and organized like you would a house. If you house isn't organized then, well... a good, clean home is a thing to consider.

Enjoy the small things in life. You don't really need to buy a $5,000 handbag to feel good about yourself. Sure, it can give you a quick fix and make you feel good for a few days but, eventually that gas tank is going to run dry. People have to run off more than just quick mood fixes. Take time out of every day to observe what you have in your life. Then, out of respect, observe what less fortunate people have. Contemplate on this for as long as you want; it could be five minutes or an hour session. This period of contemplation can help put things into perspective. It can help you see how you fit into the world around you.

To promote self-esteem the same concept can be used. There are people in the world who are both more and less attractive. Attraction and beauty truly is a perspective that the beholder sees. When you can feel good about yourself and find something about yourself that you really like, it will radiate outwards and people will notice. This is one of the principles in the law of attraction, love yourself and others will love you in return.

My last tip for maintaining happiness is to go out and do something . Find an excuse to go walking, go to church, buy groceries, go window-shopping, take a trip to the beach, visit friends. When you can put yourself into social events with people that you like, you can have the time of your life. Socialization can be a very liberating and confidence boosting "drug". Simply emailing someone on a social networking site will not be enough in this case. Nothing can replace the actual world, nothing can replace the feel of having nature around you. A face to face conversation is not over-rated.

So, go out. Make some new friends. What are you still sitting here reading for? :P

Thanks for reading :)

Happy Hubbing.