Five Ways (and then some) to a Happier Life!

I’ll be the first to admit that I have read articles with a similar title as this one most of my life. I’d say I’ve spent numerous hours trying to discover the secret to a happy life.

I’ve searched books, articles, blogs—everything possible to become a happier person, willing to follow any advice necessary.

I was looking for someone to tell me what steps to take in order to transform my surroundings into a better existence. It’s as if I believed there was some kind of happiness bucket I could dip into and pour over myself, and BAM … my life would be a happy place—instantly!   
 
But in my quest for a happy life I discovered instantaneous gratification isn’t everything. And having a positive attitude can only go so far. Changing negative thoughts and words (as many life coaches/writers/counselors advise us to do) is not the secret to happiness.

I've learned “choosing” to be happy doesn’t make me happy at all. If one wants to be happy, his or her life may need some major transformation before happiness is available, and all the positive words in the English dictionary will make no matter.

But even more importantly, I discovered that although change is usually necessary to become happy, happiness—TRUE BLISS—comes from God! The Holy Spirit is Who provides true soul-moving happiness!

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

There it is … JOY! God provides every good attribute. We search, ponder, strive, and fight to find love, joy, peace, patience … self-control … doing everything possible to be the person we long to be—the happy me that exists underneath the miserable me.

And instead of eventually finding this earth-shaking happiness we’re told we can obtain by just uttering a few positive words over our day, what we discover is that we cannot find, declare, proclaim happiness over ourselves any more than we can wish ourselves a ten pound weight loss by Friday! (Though I wish the latter were possible!) (Big sigh here!) (And another!)

“There is no law against these things,” verse 23 goes on to say.



That means it’s okay to be happy and at peace with ourselves without having a guilt complex to go along with it. Don’t let guilt crush your joy!



Guilt is something Satan loves to heap on us when we’re taking time to enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. Guilt has no place in this list of fruits. So kick it to the curb the next time it shows up to crush your spirit.



Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying we can live, think, and speak any way we want and it won’t affect our well-being, quite the contrary. Every action has a reaction. With that being said, let me give you some pointers I’ve learned along the way in my own quest for happiness.





SOUL-SUCKERS:

A very wise man once taught me that if you want to have a happier life, you have to get rid of all the soul-suckers dragging you down. Whether it be family, friends, acquaintances, or even non-living objects—such as social media sites (a-hem)—you’ve got to get rid of them!!! Your happiness depends on it! You cannot thrive in a chaotic atmosphere! PERIOD!  



PAST-DWELLERS:

I cannot stress enough how vital it is to your level of happiness to let go of the past. You will NEVER move forward if your eyes are stuck looking back. When you’re focusing on what’s behind you, you’re not paying attention to what’s in front of you.



It’s like trying to move forward in the dark. You’re missing out on great opportunities because your focus is in the wrong direction. You can’t have a happy future if your mind is focusing on a sad past.



FUTURE PREDICTORS:

Stop worrying about your future. Only ONE Person knows what tomorrow will bring. Put your hope, dependence, problems, goals, wishes, and desires in God’s hands, and then sit back and enjoy the ride knowing He already holds the solutions to tomorrow’s problems.



How much more reassurance do you need? Nothing could be more comforting than knowing God has got your back!



WALL BUILDERS:

Get a new attitude, friends!!! Break down those goal-limiting walls! Stop speaking defeat over your life by using words like, “I can’t…” Yes, this is OLD news! But it’s good news, and it’s good advice! When you say you can’t do something—you believe you can’t—therefore, it becomes a fact, and you won’t!



I discuss the self-defeating walls we create in our lives in my new book, God, Fix it!, and how we can break these walls down for good. One method is to keep in mind that we serve a God who knows NO limits. We are allowed to ask BIG, believe BIG, and live BIG! Now, get going! Start living a life that has NO limits!



REGRET MONGERS:

Let go of regret! Did you get that? Stop regretting everything you’ve done and every mistake you’ve made! Did you know chances are the majority of the things you regret in your life are the exact same things God has used to make you grow, learn, become wiser, and stronger! It’s these regrets that have molded you into the person you are today! Without them, you could not be YOU!



God is the God of turnaround! He makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). This means those things you regret in your life have already been used by God to prosper you! So stop dwelling on regrets!

If we want to be happy, we have to stay focused on the TRUE source of happiness, which is God!





Every positive, satisfying, fulfilling emotion comes from the Lord and cannot be obtained on our own.



Sure, we may be able to experience momentary bliss in things like eating cake, a great massage, a nice vacation, and so forth…. But lasting joy, love, peace, hope, and happiness lay in our Father above!   

 

Once we discover a blissful life is provided by God, and that it is He Who is in control of our futures, we can learn to RELAX! Let go and let God! Be at peace with peace! It’s not against the law to stop stressing about every thought that shoots through our ever-so-busy minds!



If we keep our focus on loving and glorifying the Father, we will learn that happiness

will FIND us!



“Delight yourself also in the Lord: and he shall give you the desires of your heart” ~ Psalms 37:4



“… whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he” ~ Proverbs 16:20



“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” ~ John 14:1



“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” ~ John 16:24



“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” ~ Luke 11:28