Don’t wait for happiness to knock on your door, happiness isn’t some unexpected guest. It`s you.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of happiness? True love, an exciting lover, a big house, more money, less work, success, good looks, excellent health…? The list is long but also a bit depressing because, if we are being honest, it`s nothing more than wishful thinking. The real question is, what happens if, for some unknown reason, none of our expectations comes true, what is the alternative? Are we supposed to give up on happiness and live a miserable life feeling sorry for ourselves? 

What if the answer 
isn’t waiting 
for something to happen 
but rather 
making it happen?

 What if happiness 
isn’t ”out there” 
but  ”in here”, in you, 
where it always has been, 
waiting for you 
to discover and embrace it 
once and for all?
 

Define “happiness” by being authentic

What does “happiness” mean for you personally? What is your authentic idea of “happiness”? This is the important part so try and concentrate on answering at least some of these questions:

* What is authentic about you?

* What defines you?

* What inspires you?

* What relaxes you?

* What makes you laugh?

* When do you feel most free?

* What do you like about yourself?

* What gives you confidence? 

Think about it and make a list. Write down everything that comes to mind, it might be an important piece of the puzzle called “you”. In order to get some real answers, you must be completely honest to yourself. What you`re after, is the ugly truth. Don´t hold back but let the past rest and focus on the present moment in pursuit of your “authentic self”.

Let your mind find the way to your heart

Enjoy this exciting journey back to self; listen closely to your body by slowing down and relaying mostly on your intuition. Don’t feel pressured. Pour yourself a glass of good wine, listen to your favorite music, meditate, go for a swim or for a run, feel good about yourself and let your mind find the way to your heart.

Discover the beauty surrounding you

Daily routine can be blinding and after a while we simply stop noticing stuff. But hey, no worries, it`s just life passing us by, right?… I personally believe in small things. Basically, all you need is good natural light to start noticing the beauty of small things around you. Realizing how important it is to actively start looking for what we are hoping to find I started photographing fragments of life: the colors, the shapes, the patterns, the contrast, the hidden details with its perfect symmetry or balance in the world of small things that fill my heart with simple joy and peace. Paying more attention to the details of simple every day life actually made me more apprehensive and aware, which is very rewarding.

Start “readness”. It`s just like fitness only better

Thinking about books and reading I instantly thought of fitness. For it to work, it`s important to exercise frequently, so why should reading be any different? Having that in mind I created an Instagram account and started posting daily about the books I`ve been reading so eagerly. Soon I noticed things started to change… 

What has changed?

Daily reading started to feel more like a need than an obligation. My reading rituals gave me a whole new perspective in life but also improved my English, German, Spanish, Croatian, Serbian and Ukrainian. Suddenly I started seeing the world through the eyes of others; the eyes of authors from all over the world and trough diverse literary time periods as well as the eyes of their amazing characters. The everyday life just got so much more interesting. 

Photographical therapy

Can you imagine having a kind of photographic diary of life`s happy moments? The only problem with this idea is, we are often too busy to take a little break and look around. But what if we stopped for a while, took a deep breath and simply observed? Maybe we would indeed find something worth slowing down, just a small thing that would make us smile or even laugh, a life`s happy moment to photograph and save as reminder for rainy days… 

Every day should have its highlights!

There are bad days and there are good days but don’t make it a rule. Instead, insist on feeling good about something small every day. Find a lovely little café, treat yourself with a tasty meal or a little dessert, enjoy your new reading ritual, smile and breath feeling the present moment. Soon you will realize, everything is fine, just fine…