If happiness is a feeling, catch it while you can

‘Happiness Is a feeling, not an outcome. When you understand that happiness is nothing more than a feeling, you can help it to grow and maintain itself when you do feel it.’ (Richard Carlson, You can be happy no matter what).

So spot feelings of happiness that come to you at random, ordinary moments for no particular reason and give them some appreciation while they last.

Easier said than done?

Sometimes this is easier said than done. Maybe difficult events are going on in your life or you’re in a ‘down’ mood that’s persisted for a while. Still, little moments of happiness, of lightness, can occur. We can spot them and appreciate them while they last even if that’s not for very long.

When we ignore these feelings, it’s as though life has given us some free happiness and we’ve brushed it to one side, preferring to dwell on our issues and our doubts.

But since we spend so much time and effort pursuing happiness, doesn’t it make sense to catch it and appreciate it when it comes along?

So think of random good moods or feelings as ‘free happiness’ that you didn’t have to do something specific to experience. All you have to do is to allow it to remain in your awareness for a little longer.

When you practise mindfulness it becomes easier to spot those good moments. You can learn all you need to know about mindfulness in my 15-lesson online course Easy Mindfulness.  Payment is by donation.

See also: Spotting unexpected happiness

Image by Luca Upper on Unsplash