29 May Happiness is overrated. Make these mindset shifts to find meaning in each moment
Should happiness by your life’s goal?
Or would you be better off working towards constructs like thriving and flourishing, meaning and purpose?
Well, in short, we should want to create ALL these!
The discussion should never be dichotomous; and we shouldn’t think any one is MORE important than the others.
Positive emotions like happiness are great, but not everything. So we should want to feel good AND live good …
via Fast Company
Cuong Lu studied as a monk under the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village in France for 16 years. After that, he was a prison chaplain in the Netherlands, and now he is a Buddhist teacher.
Below, Lu shares five key insights from his new book, Happiness Is Overrated: Simple Lessons on Finding Meaning in Each Moment.
1. SUFFERING IS A TRUTH, NOT A PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED.
The first step in transforming suffering is to change our way of understanding it. Suffering is not the enemy. To calm and center yourself, you can say, silently: “Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out,” as you breathe in and out. When you feel calmer and safer, you can add: “Hello, my suffering. I am here for you.” Doing this, you’ll already feel better, even before the suffering subsides.
The Buddha taught Four Noble Truths. The first is that “suffering exists.” He did not describe suffering as a problem; he called it a truth. Suffering is a part of life. It is not an anomaly; it belongs, and we can learn from our suffering…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE