Are you physically happy?

When people are asked what would make them happy, they usually answer, “a million dollars,” “a wonderful love relationship,” or “peace of mind.” The first answer, of course, represents financial well-being; the second, emotional well-being; and the third, mental and spiritual well-being. What most people don’t realize is that having all the money, all the love, and all the spiritual joy in the world would mean nothing if one is sick. Physical health is a basic requirement for happiness; it is the top, singular factor that makes all the other three relevant. For how could you drive your latest-model SUV, romance the gorgeous love of your life, or have the energy to pray when you are ill, weak, and suffering? Your physical health greatly affects your emotional, spiritual, and even financial well-being more than most people realize. This brings us to ponder one of the important realities of life: physical happiness.

Being At Your Physical Best

What is physical happiness? It is that state of existence when you are as healthy as you can be and are at your physical best. It is the kind of exhilaration you experience when your body is in tip-top condition, when it functions great, feels great, and even looks great. You get up in the morning energized and raring to go to live the day; you feel wonderful and are active the whole day and into the evening; you achieve the goals you set for yourself and pursue the things you love with great passion and vitality; you easily go to sleep pleased with your day, and get a good night’s rest feeling fully refreshed again in the morning. Problems don’t get in your way because you perceive them as challenges to be conquered rather than hurdles to suffer and, finally, you rarely ever get sick.

Happiness is a state of mind as well as a feeling in the heart. More importantly, it is also a state of the body. Just take a baby, for instance. If he is comfortable, he smiles and is playful; if he is uncomfortable (like when he is wet or hungry), he would cry and be cranky. Your body’s condition greatly affects your happiness. But most people take their physical health for granted. We expect nature to keep our bodies in tip-top shape and maintain it as it always has. As we grow older, we need more maintenance just like older model cars do. We don’t realize the value of health until we lose it. We have a responsibility to keep our bodies fit and in good shape if we want to maintain our physical happiness.

How To Be Physically Happy

How can one be a physically happy person? There are three basic things to do. First, you must determine what your physical or health problems are. The usual physical problems involve not being happy about how you look (not attractive enough, too thin, overweight, short, too tall, bad skin, frizzy hair, no hair, etc.). Second, you need to determine the best solution to solve those problems. You must believe that all of these have solutions from makeup and cosmetic artistry to simply creating the illusion. For your health and medical problems, it is best to consult your physician or an expert. The third step is to develop the right mental attitude to change your ways and improve the way you look at things. As Abe Lincoln said, “People are only as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Raise Your Happiness Quotient

Of course, not everyone who is healthy is happy, and not everyone who is happy is healthy. But you need health to experience great happiness and you also need happiness in your heart to sustain your health. Health and happiness boost each other, so endeavor to have both. Want to raise your happiness quotient? Heed these happiness tips:

• Realize that enduring happiness doesn’t come from success, money, fame and possessions as it is often defined. Love, peace of mind, spiritual stability, family, friends, and community can give satisfying joy to your heart.

• Develop close, meaningful relationships but also extend your focus beyond yourself.

• Take control of and manage your time.

• Seek work and leisure that give you pleasure and utilize your talents and skills.

• Be creative and inventive.

• Get into aerobic exercise and get involved in sports as well as games, tests and teasers for the mind.

• Get enough rest and sleep.

• Eat the right foods.

• Be grateful and appreciate what you have; don’t focus on what you miss or don’t have.

• Find and use your strengths, and live a multi-dimensional life. Discover the pleasures your body can give you.

• Learn to manage stress. Uplift your emotions, enkindle your soul, and find spiritual joy.

• Finally, make up your mind to be happy, no matter what.

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