There is a need for us to equip ourselves with these seven effective keys to achieving pragmatic happiness.
Given the fast pace and uncertainty that pervades our world, the significance of acquiring such understanding cannot be overemphasised.
The Analogy of the Philosophy Professor
A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the remaining open areas of the jar.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, and your children.
Things that if everything else was lost and only they would remain – your life will still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.
The same goes for your life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, or fix the disposal.
https://www.morganable.com/self-acceptance-eleven-ways-to-accept-yourself/
https://www.morganable.com/detaching-yourself-the-art-of-true-happiness/
https://www.morganable.com/yoruba-nation-in-pursuit-of-political-happiness-and-societal-development/
https://www.morganable.com/five-keys-to-effective-and-successful-personal-branding/
https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-be-successful-in-life-4165743
Effective Keys to Pragmatic Happiness
Here are the nine effective keys to achieving pragmatic happiness, as follows:
- Friendship– This is the ‘family’ that you get to choose. Having close friends that you can confide in is extremely important in boosting happiness and overall wellbeing.
- Forgiveness – Gaining the ability to forgive frees you from the burdens of hate and other negative emotions that can negatively impact your happiness quotient.
- Giving – Getting involved in charity and donating money to help others has shown to be one of the most happiness-inducing and fulfilling ways of spending your time, money, and efforts.
- Gratitude – Taking the time to think of things you are grateful for makes you more aware of the positive things in your life, making you less likely to be biased by the fewer negative things in your life.
- Connection – There is a need to connect to the feeling like you are living the life you wanted.An acknowledgement of your best life now. Just connect to the life you had wanted to live while making the most of your reality. There is a need to feel that the conditions of your life are good.
- Sense of Accomplishment – There is a need to retain the feeling that you have accomplished or will accomplish whatever goals that you have set for yourself in life.
- Embrace Positivity – To be pragmatically happy, you need to embrace a positive mindset. Positivity will do your life a world of good and will make you lead a healthier and pragmatically happy life. You need to seek out that satisfying feeling.
How to Prioritize Your Life
It might be useful, at this stage, to point your attention to pragmatic ways by which you could better prioritise your life in order to enhance your chances of happiness in life.
- Create your list.
- Determine necessary over non-necessary tasks.
- Don’t overwhelm yourself.
- Your Life Mission. Your life missions are priorities that give you meaning and happiness.
- Physical Health. Your health is highly crucial and should be first on your list of priorities.
- Quality Time with Family.
- Healthy Relationships.
- Mental Health.
- Finances.
- Self-Improvement.
- Be willing to compromise.
- Assess your most productive days of the week.
- Tackle the hardest task first.
- Plan ahead.
- Recognize prioritizing will become a skill set.
One important thing to remember is that happiness isn’t a state of constant euphoria. Instead, happiness is an overall sense of experiencing more positive emotions than negative ones.
Remember people still feel the whole range of human emotions—anger, frustration, boredom, loneliness, and even sadness—from time to time. But even when faced with discomfort, they have an underlying sense of optimism that things will get better, that they can deal with what is happening, and that they will be able to feel happy again.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “Take care of the rocks first” – the things that really matter. Set your priorities, learn a new skill, pay your household utility bills, pay off loans and credit debts, stay off debt as much as possible, become more self-sufficient, complete household projects.
Make sure you open a savings account and learn how to save. Learn how to manage money better and do household chores whenever the need arises).
The rest is just sand.
