How To Be Truly Happy

everyone wants to be happy the question is how we can all think of times that we feel happy for a moment maybe it was eating that entire large pizza or meeting your favorite celebrity oh oh my goodness oh my goodness it's really you but that short-term happiness quickly turns into belly AES and regrets security wa get this loser out of here oh my goodness I watch I know I what people really want is true happiness the good stuff that you feel deep inside learning how to be happy is part of becoming a good person who's capable of lifting others up so today we give you three tips on how to be truly happy number one avoid obstacles to happiness a lot of people think that pleasure equals happiness but it's just a trick pleasure feels good for a moment but it leaves you dissatisfied and desperate for another high whether it's something small and innocent like the high you get from winning a level on a video game or something more serious like alcohol or drugs pleasurable experiences don't make you truly happy and often times lead to addiction and pain so if pleasure doesn't make you happy what about money power and fame well if those things did the trick every wealthy powerful and famous person would be happy but uh if you've been reading any tabloids lately which I don't recommend you know that that is certainly not the case I'm rich and I'm powerful you know According to Jim Carrey I think everybody should get rich and famous so they can see that it's not the answer another obstacle is expecting life to be fair the reality is it isn't and it never will be as long as you expect life to be fair you'll always be frustrated and disappointed life is never fair for me the last big obstacle is letting your Happ happiness be dependent on the opinions of others don't be held back by your fears especially not the fears of rejection or failure maybe you work with someone who really likes to insult you man you smell like fish or you have a boss who thinks you'll never amount to anything it's been great having you in the company uh but you'll never amount to anything we've all been there there's always going to be negative voices in your life but you can't let them control you Abraham Lincoln said we are as happy as we decide to be number two apply the happiness equation u = i - R unhappiness equals image minus reality I know it sounds complicated but it's actually kind of simple image is what you imagine life should look like reality is what life actually looks like the gap between the two equals unhappiness the more life doesn't meet your expectations the more unhappy you become big gaps and expectations can come from being self-centered Focus focusing on your own self-image causes you to constantly compare yourself with others and ultimately makes you dissatisfied with reality big gaps and expectations can also come from feeling entitled thinking you are owed things that you don't have leads to frustration with reality I just don't understand why my parents won't buy me a car I have a life other people have cars the opposite of entitlement is gratitude which is key to happiness it means believing you are owed nothing and being thankful for what you have with this mindset life exceeds expectations and gives you a feeling of abundance and happiness uh you know I don't have a car either but uh my parents are willing to drive me around and I'm really thankful for that so how do you use the u = i - R equation to be happy you have to close the gap between image and reality you can start by changing the eye developing a new image that aligns closer to reality and then changing the r doing what you can can to improve your reality and celebrating the reality that you have number three find happiness through meaning so far we've seen that happiness doesn't come like you think it would through focusing on yourself or pleasurable experiences so then the question is how does it come ultimately happiness comes from the opposite of focusing on yourself in other words living for something greater than yourself why didn't I think of that before having meaning and a purpose for your life knowing that your life matters and what you're doing matters wow and working hard to accomplish things that matter you can do this by engaging in meaningful work helping others building relationships pursuing a religious calling or serving your community and maybe you're working a job that you don't think really matters that much there's a good chance it does matter you just have to find the things about it that are meaningful there are plenty of ways to get the focus off yourself and on to things that are bigger than you but maybe you're thinking things don't sound fun how that going to make me happy remember true happiness isn't about fun it's about meaning but the good news is when you find meaning you'll start to become a happier person and everything will be more fun just remember happiness is not a destination it's not like a fairy tale story where you marry The Prince and live happily ever after happiness is a lifelong journey that requires ongoing effort and self-reflection it takes work but it's worth it you owe it to yourself and the people around you so let's recap how to be truly happy one avoid obstacles to happiness beware of traps like pleasure two apply the happiness equation unhappiness equals image minus reality three find happiness through meaning thank you for watching this how-to video for prageru go to Prager kids.com to watch more and uh that is how you will be happy there's a couple more St thank you for watching and we'll see you in the next one Drake Bell believe that you are wasting your time the did you try to smack I just did and I will'll do it again those are company issued glasses so if you leave the property with them they will AR you company issu one of the most awkward things I've ever seen