Positive Thinking and Contentment; Keys to Happiness 

     By Vic Odarve 

Although life is made up of ups and downs, thinking positively, coupled with contentment about what we have, may lead to a happier life. When life takes unexpected turns and brings along traumatic pain, evaluate events with an open mind; convince us that life must move on regardless. Think positively. Contentment is necessary for attaining a positive state of mind, accepting the situation, and moving ahead. 

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Sometimes life takes unexpected turns of events. It goes up and down. Think positively. If our failure is awry, inflicting pain and self-pity, positive thinking draws us to accept it as a learning experience and then move on. In statistics, it is impossible to have all failures; there must be success. My engineering classmate, who has passed and failed some math courses, spent about eight years in school before becoming an engineer, a profession he is proud of. He really thought he could finish it, and he did it! Positive thinking can create a realistic plan for goals in life, allow us to move ahead after some failures, and recover from our feelings of loss. This leads us to a better and happier life. 

On the other hand, contentment is necessary for attaining a positive state of mind; accepting the situation; and allowing us to move ahead. By appreciating the great things we currently have in life and changing our mood to focus on things positively may feel a happier life. Do not compare ourselves with others because we live differently. Be content with our achievements for it is our real accomplishment. Be ourselves. Do not imagine things that are beyond our reach. Do not feel jealous and insecure. Be contented with what we have. Do not match our neighbor’s new tennis rackets, shoes, iPads, I-pods, etc., feeling we are behind. Do not feel devastated that somebody overtakes us in some areas of our life. 

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Be contented and live well on what we have. Take the case of Jose Mujica, the world poorest president who lives on a ramshackle farm and donates most of his pay; do laundry by himself outside the house with water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds; keep watch outside of only two police officers and a three-legged dog. "I may appear to be an eccentric old man… But this is a free choice. I’ve lived like this most of my life and I can live well with what I have", he said. "I’m called ‘the poorest president, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more," he says. 

Like the sparrows and water lilies, we have the right to live and be happy in this universe. No matter what troubles the world brings to our lives, we must be at peace with our parents, brothers and sisters, and friends and deal with them in a gentle manner. 

There is always a void that cannot be filled with material things. This is a wicked world—a troubled place full of uncertainties that bring us nothing but broken dreams. But no matter how wicked and corrupt, it is still a beautiful world. We must strive to be happy, to be at peace with God, and to be at peace within our souls. Be positive and contented; this is the gateway to happiness.

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