Compass for a 'Way of Life' Vol. 1
Hello everyone! I am Yoshiyuki, a paper counselor. This is my second post. There is so much I want to share that I had a little trouble deciding where to start. Please forgive me, but I will follow my intuition and choose the topic that feels right. Also, I am still learning how to use Note, so you might think, 'I wish you would do it this way!', but I ask for your patience. By the way, it is often said that 'acting immediately upon a thought' leads to better results than overthinking things.
To increase your sensitivity to happiness
Now, let's get to the main topic. I imagine many people wonder, 'What should I do to be happy?' Conversely, there are also those who say, 'I am happy.' First of all, it is not about 'If I have X, I can be happy' or 'I cannot be happy because I don't have X.' You might think, 'Wait, that's not true!' This is not a great example, but you might think that if you won a large lottery prize, you would be happy. That might be true. However, 'only temporarily at that moment.'Happiness is not something given from the outside, but something felt from within oneself.That is why it is easy to misunderstand. In other words, you might feel a sense of happiness right after getting a large sum of money, but over time, it becomes 'normal,' and you end up seeking the next thing you want. By the way, there is information from follow-up surveys of large lottery winners suggesting that about 70% of them became less happy than before.
Why does that happen? How would you answer this question?'Are you satisfied with your current life?'Let's look at another example.
Those who thought 'satisfied' likely already have a high sensitivity to happiness. For those who thought 'not satisfied,' perhaps even if you obtained a large sum of money, happiness might slip away... Why is that?
For example, suppose someone from the Edo period saw our current era. Wouldn't they be surprised, saying, 'Such a world exists!' Even ordinary citizens have a blessed environment, including the houses they live in, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, an environment where they can get immediate treatment when sick, and transportation infrastructure. We live lives far wealthier than the feudal lords of that time. However, we often hear voices saying, 'I don't have X' or 'I want X.' Wait, from the perspective of someone in the Edo period, isn't this a very blessed situation? That's right.Humans are creatures that, even in a blessed environment, get used to it and take it for granted.that is just how we are.
Let's return to the topic of winning a large lottery prize. Just like the above, wouldn't having a large sum of money at hand and being able to live a good life become 'normal'? (Of course, this won't be true for everyone. If a compassionate person wins a large prize, they will likely become even happier! Also, those who have solid dreams and goals will surely achieve good results.) What if you are very wealthy but not happy? What would you seek? It is said that there are many people in the world who are wealthy but feel unhappy. Regarding the relationship between annual income and happiness, research results show that while they are proportional up to an income of about 8 million yen, the level of happiness hardly increases even if income rises beyond that. It seems we cannot definitively say that having money makes you happy.
Please try to imagine this. Suppose you became very wealthy but had to live on a deserted island. How would you feel? I think no matter how much money you have, it would feel empty. Thinking about it that way, the idea that you can become happy by obtaining a large sum of money might just be to satisfy a 'sense of superiority.' Or perhaps it is related to 'self-importance,' which is said to be the strongest of human desires and one that many people 'crave'—the desire to be recognized by others (the need for approval).
So, how can we prevent falling into this situation? It is tore-examine the things around us that we take for 'granted.' The opposite of 'granted' is 'gratitude.' Let's look closely at our surroundings. How many things do we take for 'granted'?It is very grateful that you are reading this article (of course, I do not take it for 'granted'), but the fact that there is an environment like Note where I can post like this, the staff who maintain it behind the scenes, the existence of computers and smartphones, the ability to use electricity, being able to eat meals, having a healthy body, having a house to live in, having friends who will listen to my consultations... the list is endless. I intend to talk about this later, but if you understand 'community feeling' well, you will understand the sense of gratitude.
In this way,if you make it a habit to feel 'gratitude' for what you take for 'granted,' your sensitivity to happiness should increase. The number of dissatisfactions should also decrease.This means shifting your thinking from focusing on 'what is missing,' such as 'I don't have X,' 'I want that,' or 'I want this,' to focusing on 'what is present.' Even if the situation does not change, have you realized that if you change your perception and perspective, there is a lot of happiness right in front of you? Being able to notice that happiness is what increases your sensitivity to happiness.
Thank you for staying with me until the end!