"Research has identified a number of attributes that correlate with happiness: relationships and social interaction, extroversion, marital status, employment, health, democratic freedom, optimism, endorphins released through physical exercise and eating chocolate, religious involvement, income and proximity to other happy people." According to this, I have some major work to do.
Overall, I feel as though I am a happy person. I have had my down times, but I always end up coming back up. However, I also know I am very prone to craving immediate fulfillment. I'm the queen of telling my friends the insane, irrational decisions I made the day or week before, while laughing (and just as often crying) because it makes no sense to me now. We do what makes us happy or feeling fulfilled in THAT moment. It's so much easier that way. But I'm realizing how often that causes us to feel more and more empty. (I don't know why I keep saying "we" and "us," because obviously I'm basing my thoughts on my own messed up life.) That happiness wears off so quickly.
I'm about to move to the number one most unhappy city in the country. Good thing I have my head on straight... Ha, right. But it has just got me to thinking. Different people find happiness, contentment, fulfillment, etc in so many different ways. Plus, so many people in our culture go for the immediate, temporary happiness. Why don't we go after the lasting happiness? What are the things that can bring lasting happiness? It's money, right? :) But seriously, I've realized that popularity, having my identity in my boyfriend, drinking too much, lying, and about 5 million other things do not bring me lasting happiness. I am trying to unravel the things that make me want to wake up in the morning. I think I thought this was going to be easier than it is.
Relationships make me get out of bed. I love loving people and feeling loved by people. I love sitting down with a friend or relative and simply having a real conversation. I love listening and learning from people I care about and respect. Then again, throw me in a room with no one I know, and I'm bound to find a connection with someone. I learn so much from hearing other people's experiences, struggles, insecurities, love life, ambitions, etc. My family really keeps me going. The older I get, the more I love and appreciate every little thing about every single member of my family.
Serving makes me get out of bed. This is something I forget too often. I know I am called to serve, and I truly find happiness in it. Now, serving is such a vague, yet broad term. This is what I mean by serving... I love using my time and energy to assist other people or an organization.
Music makes me get out of bed (literally, it's my alarm). There's nothing like listening to music that causes me to have goosebumps and makes me smile. It's invigorating and motivating to me. I love listening to words of songs and trying to think what was going on in the songwriter's head as he/she was writing the song. I love beats. I love learning from my interpretation of songs. Hey, I'm not saying all the music I listen to is good and uplifting. Heck, I'm in an eminem stage right now. If gas wasn't so damn expensive I would ride around my car with all my windows down listening to music hours at a time.
Competition and challenges make me get out of bed. I love a good challenge. I can't say competition always brings out the best in me, but I do live for it. My heart starts racing at the mere thought of competition. I even love it if it's challenging and competing with myself and my own pride. I just started appreciating running, so I challenged myself to run at least 2 miles 5-6 days a week. I hate losing or failing so I guess I have to stick to it.
Knowing that God has a greater plan for me makes me get out of bed. It's so easy for me to get caught up in the mindless routines and monotony of this world. Knowing that I can wake up every morning and it doesn't have to be about me is a very freeing feeling.
These are obviously just a few main things, but I felt like I needed to write them out to really see what came to mind. I hope remembering the importance of these things and truly seeking them out will help me to not become a part of the statistics in Portland. Now I just need to figure out how to get my fill of Vitamin D.
