We all live in a world full of challenges and stress, which can lead to anxiety and or low mood. The goal of Happy Thinking is to help one be happy, despite facing such issues.
As will be explained, “thoughts” play a very important part in one’s happiness. One’s mind is essentially a collection of flowing thoughts. Every waking moment, one is “thinking,” constantly generating thoughts. It’s what makes one “conscious” and, in many ways, it makes one human.
The thoughts in one’s mind interact with the challenges one faces. The nature of these interactions determines how happy one is at that moment. Some thoughts are “positive” for one’s happiness; when facing challenges, they help one feel positive and content. On the other hand, some thoughts are “negative” for one’s happiness, as they, when facing challenges, tend to lower one’s mood.
Let us now see a simple example of how thoughts can influence one’s happiness.
Imagine that two people are working for an excellent company. This company pays big salaries and offers numerous luxurious perks. Unsurprisingly, both these people are very happy.
But now imagine that things go wrong with this company. The management makes some very poor business decisions, resulting in the company losing money. Eventually, despite heroic efforts, the once fantastic company goes bankrupt. With no money to continue operating, our two workers lost their jobs.
Unsurprisingly, both are now miserable in the immediate aftermath of losing their lucrative jobs.
When facing this stressful situation, imagine that the two people in our scenario think differently.
The first person thinks, “Well, that was a great job, but that is no more. There is no point in thinking of what I have lost. Instead, I must start job hunting to pay my household bills.”
On the other hand, the second person has thoughts such as, “How terrible! Bad things happen only to me. I will never get another job. There is no point trying, as the world is useless.”
Both people have to face the same problem, but each has a markedly different way of “thinking” about it.
The first person’s thoughts were “positive” because they did not worsen their sadness. This person’s thoughts kept their mind in a state where they could effectively consider potential solutions. The positive outlook will help the person move on and ultimately find a new job.
On the other hand, the second person’s thoughts were “negative” as they only made the person feel bad and offered no constructive solutions. With these negative thoughts, the person may well spiral into depression, which itself may make finding a new job difficult.
Despite facing the same stress, the first person’s positive way of thinking kept them relatively happy, whereas, in contrast, the second person’s negative way of thinking made that person unhappy. Two different outcomes, just by thinking differently. In this way, thoughts can be a powerful factor in determining happiness.
It is essential to limit the power of negative thoughts to affect one’s happiness. A primary aim of Happy Thinking is to give practical ways to achieve this, and it will help you in the following ways:
1. Recognising negative thoughts
An important aspect of Happy Thinking is recognising when one begins to develop negative thoughts. To help with this, in the first half of this website, I will clearly describe common negative thoughts people have.
2. Overcoming negative thoughts
Once one recognises negative thoughts, a key ingredient for happiness is overcoming them. To this end, I will share, in the second half of this website, powerful psychological methods you can use to overcome negative thoughts.
3. Learning from the wisdom of others
Happy Thinking is not only about dealing with negative thoughts; it’s also about looking at the world in a compassionate and truthful way. By compassionate, I mean seeing things from all angles, not just your own. And by “truthful”, I mean seeing the world as it truly is, rather than imagining it to be a certain way. To help with this, I will share wisdom taken from various ancient and modern wise people.
These ingredients, i.e., recognising negative thoughts, overcoming them, and using wisdom, together make Happy Thinking. This concept has made me a happier person, and I am confident that it could help you, too.