How To Be A Happier Human
How To Be A Happier Human
Simple ways to improve your quality of life and impact the world around you.
The world is a divided by our differences, but the commonalities we share are far more significant.
Politics, perspectives, and beliefs define who we are these days. I guess they always have. Isn’t it time for something different?
Even with the division and anger, there’s no better time to be alive in recorded history.
Instead of focusing on our differences, why not focus on what binds us?
Deeply Human
Regardless of where you come from and the circumstances that shaped you, there are many qualities we share. Some of us have more advantages in life than others, but what defines our lives is the choices we make and the mindset we carry throughout.
All of us have to learn how to:
Manage finances and support ourselves
Manage our emotions and how we respond to the world
Find work that inspires and fulfills us
Cultivate social skills and connections
Find meaning in our lives to feel peace
Manage our health and well-being
Develop skills and empower our growth to provide value in the world
Balance technology and the evolving world we find ourselves
These are foundational elements we all face regardless of our backgrounds. Understanding that each of us has our struggles in these areas is a great starting place when interacting with others.
All of us are lost
To act as if we have everything figured out is insane. No matter how smart one may be, there is always more to learn and understand. Too often we close our minds to new knowledge as we’ve determined we already know the answer. This mindset is poison to the human soul.
We need to stop pretending like we know what to do and how to manage this situation. There are so many challenges to tackle and things to overcome, but we can survive. We’ve made it this far!
Fear-mongering is a mental disease that feeds on our lowest nature.
Embrace the fact that we don’t know a lot of things. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know” to a question or comment! Embracing this will bring much peace and growth as you’ve now created space for new knowledge. One great pleasure in life is learning something that wasn’t known before and using those skills to create value in the world.
Pain & suffering hurts us all
Outside of the sociopaths in the world, the rest of us feel the pain of emotions and body. We get let down. Misled. Disappointed. The list goes on. Yet, we so often forget the struggles we all go through and quickly judge others for their shortcomings.
Pain is the inevitable part of life that reminds us we’re human. It’s also a beautiful part of being alive! To deny or ignore these simple truths is doing ourselves and our fellow human brothers and sisters a disservice.
Remember, when people are angry, upset, and frustrated, there is usually something deeper hurting them. To judge them and scorn them doesn’t help with the pain they feel within. Empathy and compassion are the antitheses of this way of operating.
Kill the double standard
People so quickly judge and hold others to standards that they do not live up to. How is the fair or even practical? If we’re not willing to do something ourselves, then why judge another?
First, be the standard by which we judge others. If we’re not willing to do what we expect of others, then sit down and be quiet. We must change our world from within before we can ever hope to change the world. Far too many times, people run out into the world, claiming change, justice, and control but can’t even manage their lives.
There’s no reason to tell others how to live if we’re a disheveled mess.
Have faith
Without a higher meaning in our lives, this can be a profoundly challenging world to find ourselves. Tap into our ancient call to Spirit and find your God. All the world's religions hold truths that bind us together. Most of them are merely different perspectives on our place in the world.
It doesn’t matter what we choose, but finding the call to God within us will change our lives for the good. Spend time in prayer and cultivate a personal relationship with your Creator. All true religion is rooted in a personal connection to God — everything else is community building.
If you want to take a deep dive into some spiritual reading, then I suggest the Urantia Book. It’s basically a space bible. Use your free will to choose what makes sense for you. It’s over 2000 pages, but it is so fascinating you can dive in at random.
Life is one big choice
What we do with it is up to us. We are the collection of all the choices we make in our lives. We choose what to believe and how to respond to our world. We are not victims.
Choice means we can go whatever way we desire despite the consequences. Naturally, some choices take us higher, and others bring us down. When life is over, we will look back and determine whether we fulfilled our purpose or not. Life is a gift. It can be celebrated or squandered. The choice is ours.
People have brought themselves out of horrendous circumstances to go on and do incredible things. This great is a pretty great example.
We have to stop with the excuses and embrace the power we have. If we have faith, coupled with a will to fight, we can overcome anything.
Happiness comes from within
We have to stop chasing material things to fill the void within ourselves. It’s an addictive hard cycle to break, but it is doable. It starts with recognizing our power of choice and the sovereignty we carry within us. Our happiness is determined by how we interpret the world around us.
Circumstances and things have little impact on our well-being beyond a certain point. $75k is what this study shows. Anything beyond that has a marginal effect. The difference is when living from within, it becomes about who you’re with and your attitude about life.
This is why the mindset is so important. Without the inner change, our external world can never break out of our mental prisons.
Salt-N-Pepa had it right all along!
Mindset is Everything!
Deploy patience
We should do our best to be patient with ourselves and others. Life is a process of learning, making mistakes, growing, getting better, and moving forward. Mistakes are part of the process!
A great practice is to simply pause before responding if we find ourselves getting upset and angry over something. Work on the inner dialogue and nurture ourselves. We should treat ourselves as if we’re both parent and child. Instead of being dictators, let’s embrace compassion and support our growth.
Great things take time, and becoming a reliable human is no different. To do so requires patience, dedication, hard work, and faith. We can enjoy the process if we embrace it.
One day at a time.