Have you witnessed street children merrily dancing in the puddles during the rains or happily playing with a broken cricket bat? Wondering how they can they be happy in spite of their circumstances? Aruna Joshi, a happiness coach and author of The Happiness Manual helps you unlock your happiness quotient. Read on for tips on how to find joy no matter what the situation.

Tips to unlock your happiness quotient

Happiness comes from within. It has nothing to do with the external circumstances. It is already there deep within us while we keep searching for it. Here’s what you need to do to find joy in everyday life.

Exercise your choice

You can be as happy as you choose to be. Nothing can stop us from being happy but ourselves. It is a choice that we have to make and we always have a choice at every given point in time. There is a famous story of the Buddha and an angry man. When the Buddha was teaching a group of people, a bystander who was angry due to some reason started hurling abuses at him. The Buddha patiently waited for a while until the man was done and asked the group and the man with a smiling face, “If you gift yourself something to your friend and he does not accept it, who would then own the gift, you or your friend?” “I would own the gift,” said one person and everyone nodded in agreement. “Isn’t it obvious?” added the angry stranger. “Absolutely right,” said the Buddha, “So whenever someone tries to abuse or unload their anger on you, you have a choice, either to accept or reject it, to own or disown it, to get affected or unaffected by it.”

Develop a higher understanding about life

What is life? Is it about money, success, fame etc.? Maybe, but it is also about the huge universe that resides within. It is about the relationship you have with yourself and others, it is about our evolution. Life is all about being happy.

We get so stuck in the dos and don’ts, in money and fame, in responsibilities and duties that we forget to live life. If we look at life from a higher perspective, we will realise that all these things contribute to life but they are not life. There are going to be ups and downs, good and bad things, but none of these can define our happiness. If we develop a mantra that “All that happens in my life is for my highest good.”, we can easily unlock the happiness quotient.

Follow your passion

One thing that will certainly make you happy is doing what you like. Some people are fortunate enough to be doing what they like for their living. But if you are not, you can always find sometime to indulge in something that you feel is your calling. Find out what your passion is, and pursue it.

Shift your focus

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. There are always two sides to a coin. The direction of your life is decided on what side you are looking at. Make it a practice to look at the brighter side of the situation. Something good always comes out of any given situation however bad it may seem at that time. So go with the flow and believe that the best is waiting for you.

Be in the present moment

Say you go and buy the latest expensive mobile that you always craved for. Or you finally get your dream car. Do you feel happy? Yes, of course. But how long does that happiness last? Most of the time you are worried about damaging your care or dropping your phone. What happens here is the happiness you experienced is replaced by worry and fear, and you start living in the future instead of the present moment.

It helps if you bring your attention to the present moment. Life is only in the present. The worries and fears are of the future and guilts and regrets are of the past. Life happens only in the NOW.

One of the best ways to do that is by training your mind. Practice any form of meditation that works for you or simply focus on your breath. That is where life is.