There's a difference between that feeling of joy as you walk out of work on a Friday afternoon and the feeling of true happiness.
Pleasurable feelings come and go, but genuine happiness is both natural and unplanned.
Everyone experiences significant moments of happiness at times.
Maybe you got a raise or won a race — and if you could bottle and sell the euphoric feeling of falling in love, you'd be a millionaire.
During these situations, you might truly believe that sustained happiness comes from these exterior events.
Since the mind relaxes during these experiences, it gives you a mistaken sense of relief. You have achieved your goal, so you briefly stop obsessing over it.
With a quiet mind, you experience intense satisfaction and may believe that happiness is the result of these outside sources.
But by this way of thinking, you become insatiable as happiness is dependent on the next “hit” of a positive experience.
You may have learned that this false thinking leads to pain, attachments, suffering, and denial.
The reality of happiness is knowing that you can feel this pleasure whenever you want, without having to fulfill outside desires.
You can achieve happiness because it is inside you, not outside.
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