How does one find Happiness and Success in Life?

There are so many books written on this subject, but the most comprehensive answer to this question is in our own scriptures, especially 'The Bhagavad Gita'.?

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna collapses in the battlefield, unable to think clearly, his mind clouded with emotions and his intellect stopping to function. Lord Krishna offers Arjuna the wisdom that clears all his doubts, helps him regains his composure and fight to victory. With the new found wisdom, Arjuna is able to think clearly, act perfectly and success becomes a forgone conclusion.?

Being peaceful is our natural state but given the multitude of distractions that we face, we are caught in the turmoil of the world. To look at it objectively, the only thing in our control is our responses to?situations that arise everyday. If we focus on this with all our energy, concentration, consistency and cooperative effort from others, we should be on a path of success. But we pay too much attention to the external world and let the environment affect our wellbeing and happiness. Our success is not determined by perception of others but is defined by our ability to create a series of perfect actions day after day. As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison is believed to have replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps!".?

We perceive the world around us through our senses and our rational brain, the Neocortex, acts on these external stimuli to create appropriate responses. But it must be noted that before the external stimuli reaches our rational self it has to pass through the primitive brain - The Amygdala and Hippocampus. Now our primitive brain can short-circuit our rational responses based on past memory and emotions associated with it. This was particularly useful to induce the fight or flight response during the prehistoric period as human beings faced constant threat from predators and there was no time to think and rationalise. But in a knowledge society, we cannot let our minds be constantly agitated and let our primitive brain take over and drive our actions. So how does a person go about attaining this tranquility and control over the mind?

Martin Seligman, the famed American psychologist, talks about the 5 key principles to lead a happy life, represented by the acronym ‘PERMA’ - Positive mental attitude, Engagement or Flow, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishments. But one cannot attain any of the above without first controlling the mind and keeping it free of negative emotions. It is like trying to see ones reflection on the surface of water that is turbulent or flowing like a river. Stress is but a socially acceptable form of mental illness! Constant stress and anxiety will prevent us from attaining the state of ‘Flow’ or Engagement that would ultimately lead to success and happiness.??

Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita recommends the Yoga of Action or Karma to attain this state of ‘Flow’. Actions that are performed with total love, dedication and without expectation of positive or negative results. The secret of happiness boils down to a single word - ‘Choice’. Happiness is a choice that every human being can make despite their circumstances. But in order to make this choice every time, in every situation, and in a consistent manner; will require practice and training of the human intellect. Just as we go to the Gym to stay physically fit, we must train our own mind to not get attached to the results but focus on our mission and purpose in life.?

One must realise that it is not just the end result that matters but the path we follow to get there. It is this knowledge that can help us to focus and be fully absorbed in what we do. It is by performing these perfect actions, however simple it might be, that we shall find true joy and happiness. Statistically speaking, if we improve ourselves 1% every day, we will be 37 times better in 1 year [1*(1+1%)^365=37.78!] in our chosen field of focus. The best way to derail our happiness and chance of creating impact in the world is not being focussed on the present moment but being agitated about past and the future

To summarise, happiness is not a destination that we must strive to reach but is a choice that we can make everyday to not let external factors disturb our peace and tranquility. Every moment is a gift given to all of us to make this choice, to be focussed on the present moment (Karma Yoga), discover happiness and achieve success.

Reference:

1. Bhagavad Gita