How being authentic leads to happiness

  • 2018

The road to true authenticity

By Gopi Kallayil, Sep 13, 2018

When I think about living life fully, these questions come to mind:

Do you have hope? Are you contributing?

Are you living the life you want?

Are you making a difference ?

Are you chasing what is important to you, what aligns with what you value most?

A long time ago I decided that the three things I value most are peace of mind, freedom and happiness . I believe that these values ​​are appreciated by all human beings.

My hope is that my book " The Happy Human " can help accelerate this state of happiness.

The key to my happiness comes from embracing the "human" in "The Happy Human." It's not just about being happy, it's about being human . For me, that means being completely faithful to who I am, to what matters to me.

It's not just about being happy, but about being human.

If that means leaving my home country to look for an uncertain job in an unknown country because seeing the world had long been a dream of mine, so be it.

If that means giving up a lucrative job that would make me advance in my career because I realize that work is not resonating with me, I will do that.

When we are faithful to who we are, when we delight and express ourselves in our authentic selves, we embrace our human defects, we feel compassion for ourselves and others as we make our way in life, we can discover a huge inner freedom, even if circumstances prevent us from external freedom.

We can feel peace. Joy. We can feel happy.

I attribute much of my happiness to a combination of the practices of wisdom that I learned from growing up in India. I feel incredibly blessed to have been born in a culture where the practice of yoga and meditation have been part of people's daily lives for hundreds of years.

My yoga and meditation practices help me harness and foster a deep sense of joy . They also help me to have the confidence to embrace the human experience in all its fullness, even if, perhaps especially, when I screw up.

And I have done it. Many times.

When we are faithful to what we are is when we can discover a huge inner freedom.

I sang live at Burning Man, although I sing a bit out of tune. I was terrified.

I participated in a triathlon, which consisted of swimming in a lake. Before that, I only swam in a pool, always a meter and a half from an edge to grab me. I almost drowned.

I spoke in Toastmasters, just a few months after arriving from South Asia without a job and with $ 7, 000 in my name. I was horrible. But I learned Go forward. I improved

Without failure, I would not have had the successes that I have had, both in my personal life and in my professional career.

I would not feel the feeling of freedom and joy.

Working in Silicon Valley has helped me take risks, because technology companies encourage failure, and fail in a big way.

One of the keys to Google’s success is its willingness to fail.

And we fail most of the time.

But because we fail so much and so often, we learn a lot, we experience a lot, and then we become successful.

Fail allows us to grow.

It is fascinating that an industry that deals with artificial brains - electronic brains, people in social networks, cars without drivers, vendors who offer us movies and books at the moment we connect to Netflix or Amazon- It also embraces human fallibility more than almost any other industry.

How do we fully embrace ourselves and the human experience?

How do we find the confidence to take risks, screw up, get back up and live an expansive life?

What are the internal changes we can make to get to this place of joy?

Studies show that people who are happier, more resilient and who do not apologize for embracing life have found a deep sense of purpose, one that resonates, that enlightens them and, in their Once, enlighten others.

How do you find that purpose?

You sit, listen, watch.

You pause. “Pause, ” writes Rachel O'Meara, “offers you the opportunity to remember what enlightens you.” And deep down, you know what that is.

It doesn't matter if you pause for two weeks, two days or even two minutes.

The point is that you need to be alone.

The pause is really to create some interior space, and in that pause, that space, you reconnect with yourself .

Happiness requires commitment, action, love.

The journey to happiness is in itself a cause of happiness.

Remember, these are the crucial pieces:

  1. Find a purpose in our lives, which gives us meaning and direction.

Even being a somewhat anxious and distressed teenager, I wanted to explore the horizons of a life beyond the confines of my home and, finally, I was quite attracted to explore the inner life through yoga and meditation, from which I derived a Amazing feeling of joy.

Over time, I came to my own meaning and purpose in life, which is to live to my highest potential and help others realize. My meaning and purpose come from a place of deep joy .

  1. Re-framing the stories we tell ourselves that make us unhappy or imprison us will empower us.

The importance of re-framing events and retelling the story in your head because at the end of the day, happiness is not really driven by events but by your interpretation of them.

As the Stoic philosopher Epictetus said 2, 000 years ago: "Men are not disturbed by things, but their opinions about them."

I have been fortunate to meet people from all over the world who have survived horrendous experiences, have reformulated their stories and have lived deeply meaningful lives.

  1. Being comfortable in our own skin, absolutely one hundred percent faithful and happy with who we are, which will allow us to move forward and live a full life, without apology, spreading our purpose and our one hundred percent fallible, totally human and equally happy .

And let your own story unfold in opposition to the life of another person, the expectations of another person and the mood of another person.

Just be yourself and live the life you want to live and that you are destined to live, which puts you on the path to inner freedom and happiness. That requires courage.

When you have these three ingredients, it is much easier to take risks, make a difference in the world, or, as Steve Jobs said, "Leave a mark on the universe."

TRANSLATOR: Carolina, translator of the great family of the White Brotherhood

SOURCE: Gopi Kallayil (2018) How Keeping It Real Leads to Happiness- Making Your Way towards True Authenticity. www.healyourlife.com/how-keeping-it-real-leads-to-happiness

Next Article