Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment.
Vocabulary.com
Happiness Is A Feeling, An Emotion, A Mood.
What is happiness?
Happiness is the urge you get when somebody hugs you, making you want to hug them back. It’s the “aaaah” feeling when you’re exhausted and your head finally hits the pillow. Happiness is the tickle in your brain that makes you laugh out loud when something’s funny.
Happiness is:
- visiting with an old friend
- kids on Christmas morning
- holding a newborn baby
- puppy breath
- kittens
- hearing “I love you” from the ones that you love
- making S’mores over a campfire
- being with family
- having a roof over my head
- having food to eat
- having clothes to wear
You can all fill in the blanks from here.
What Causes The Happy To Happen?
Scientifically speaking, happiness is a chemical change in one or more of the following neurotransmitters involved in the body’s reward system:
- Dopamine – a hormone that rewards you with excitement and energy every time you have a new reason to be happy. The greater the reason, the bigger the release of dopamine. But it has to be a new reason, not one that’s happened before.
- Serotonin – another brain chemical that increases feelings of pride and self-esteem. Too little of the chemical can cause depression. Too much can cause social competitiveness.
- Endorphins – these neurotransmitters are released during physical pain, exercise, eating, laughing, crying, fear, love, sex, etc. They act as a form of morphine to decrease pain and put you in a state of euphoria to increase pleasure. This is what happens when you get a runner’s high. This is also why exercise helps to reduce depression.
- Oxytocin – this chemical is responsible for friendship, love, trust, and affection. It’s what gives us our sense of belonging and what bonds mother and child. When our oxytocin levels are low, we feel lonely and isolated. But a simple hug can boost our levels back up.
What Is Happiness?
Well, I believe happiness is a product of perspective. That perspective is reflected in our attitude. A positive attitude equals a happier feeling.
You see, perspective is how you view something – how you see, smell, hear, taste, think, and feel it. Does it smell good, look blurry, taste delicious, or feel soft? All of these things form our perspective.
You’ve probably heard of the glass being half empty or half full. That’s perspective.
Do you look at the light at the end of the tunnel or do you only see the tunnel? That’s attitude.
It’s like wearing a pair of dark glasses.
If you wear dark glasses all the time, then you perceive everything to be darker, right? If you were in a tunnel, you may not be able to see the light at the end of it. You might not be able to find your way out. Everything around you seems to be drab and gloomy. There’s nothing to excite you. This is because the dark glasses block out the light and colors. It’s like having a negative attitude. Your perspective is dark.
If you take the dark glasses off, you then see things for what they really are. You would see the sunshine, the green grass, the brightly colored flowers. They were there the whole time. You would see the light at the end of the tunnel to guide your way out. You would view the world with a positive attitude. This perspective creates happiness.
Some people are said to wear rose-colored glasses. This means that they have a higher than what’s considered normal, positive attitude. They see the silver lining in every cloud. No matter what, they will put a good spin on a bad situation. You can always depend on them for a smile at a funeral. It was said that people who wear rose-colored glasses think things are just “rosy” all the time.
A Positive Attitude Is Such A Powerful Thing.
A positive attitude doesn’t change the situation, it helps you to handle the situation better. It doesn’t cure a disease, it gives you hope, and it helps you to be strong and courageous. A positive attitude doesn’t fix a mistake. It allows you to set pride aside, acknowledge the error, and laugh at yourself a bit. Then you can learn from it and move on.
Having a positive attitude can also carry you through the toughest times.
For instance, my mother had a stroke and passed away 8 months later. It absolutely crushed my soul to lose her. BUT, I am so grateful to have had that time with her instead of losing her that day. That’s what I focus on.
I didn’t waste that precious time crying at her bedside for 8 months straight. I wouldn’t want that if I was in her place. I would want to be treated like people were happy I was still alive instead of sad that I was in that condition. I tried to make the most of the time that I had with her. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t perfect. Some days I could have done better than others, that’s for sure. But I did my best to be grateful for what we had that day, at that moment, instead of what I would be losing. Perspective.
Here’s another example on a smaller scale.
One of my cats, Gus, loves to come in and wake me up as soon as my husband leaves for work. This could be as early as 3:30 am. I grumble a bit, but then I get over it because I’m so grateful to have such a little cuddle bum to give me unconditional love.
I don’t necessarily get up at 3:30 am, but I still appreciate the snuggles. Besides, he’s so dang cute.
