Happy people build their inner world, unhappy people blame their outer world

Happy people build their inner world, unhappy people blame their outer world.

In our continuation of the theme of self-awareness / personal development during this pandemic, let us explore the theme of happiness. It is such a simple concept yet so difficult to achieve.

Remember, when we were young and we sang: When you're happy and you know it, clap your hands?

Such innocence. How have we lost it all?

Personally, I like the simple strategies of life: happy, laugh. Sad, cry. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that. But we have made life too complicated by overthinking, and most of the time these thoughts are just full of nonsense, with no connection whatsoever with reality and what is really going on.

Overthinking is usually the cause of most of our unhappiness. Because when we are not present in the NOW, and we live in the past with regrets or we anticipate the future of not knowing, we cannot fully appreciate the now, and this robs us of our happiness.

And we live in a world so full of distractions, we can easily come up with excuses that we are too busy with work, and with this or with that to do any self-reflection to build our inner world. Keep in mind that self-reflection is not about thinking and overthinking. Self-reflection a productive exercise in developing self-awareness.

Now that we are being confined at home during this pandemic, we can easily distract ourselves with our online games, Netflix and the 1001 TV channels available now, but is this how we wish to use this precious time?

If being confined at home is causing you loads of stress, unhappiness and a sense of not knowing what to do with yourself then you indeed have to wake up. Take away the devices and the distractions, what you have left is YOU.

If you cannot sit with yourself without these distractions to get to know yourself, how do you expect others to want to know you? Or be interested in you?

You have possibly depended on your outer world for happiness all your life. So when your outer world no longer exists, you find that life cannot be lived in a way you find satisfactory.

Now let's take this idea a little deeper within ourselves, how much time have you spent building your inner world? How much power have you given to others to determine how happy you should be?

Time to go inward, my friend.

Here are some leading questions you can ask yourself in your journal:

• What does happiness feel like? (If you can't answer this, then ask yourself what does unhappiness feel like, what does it make you want to act/say/think/feel)
• When was the last time you felt true happiness, where you did not depend on someone to feel this happiness? (Usually, it is something as simple as feeling healthy, feeling energetic, experiencing fulfilment in your service work)
• How does your inner world feel like? (Full? Empty? Lost? Don't know what it is like? Slowly getting there etc) And what do you think you can do to help yourself build it further?

Be a happy person, my friend, focus on building your inner world.

©2020 Shamala Tan

Let me know how I can assist you if you have any questions [email protected]

Shamala Tan is an author, spiritual entrepreneur and healer. Her work focuses on transforming the lives of others on the spiritual, emotional, mental and earthly level.

One of her success stories as an author is to being featured alongside New York’s bestsellers Sonia Choquette, Robert Allen, Arielle Ford, Marci Shimoff as well as Christine Kloser in the book Pebbles In The Pond.

Shamala’s clients include small business owners, holistic practitioners as well as those seeking to find more significant meaning and value in life. Shamala offers laser coaching to her clients on a one-to-one basis or in a group environment, offline as well as online.