Happiness Comes From Accepting the Things You Can’t Change

As a child, happiness was our default nature. We were always happy no matter what. We used to enjoy everything and live each moment. But then as our age increased, the level of happiness in our life decreased. Our minds were conditioned to live as per the outer circumstances of life. And this opened the gates for all the pain and suffering in our life. So, to reduce the pain, we try to control everything in our life. We want to control all the circumstances of life and the outcomes. And when things get out of our control, we get miserable and we begin to ponder over the situation. This resistance leads us to pain and suffering. We have to remember that some things in life will always be beyond our control. As Lord Shree Krishna explained to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra,

“You can only control your actions, but you cannot have any control over the results. The fruits of action should not be your motive nor shall you be attached to inaction.”

Sometimes, its always better to just do your work and stop worrying about the final outcome. Just do your best and then leave it to God. Always remember, when it is not in your control, it is under God’s control. And God always wants the best for you similar to how parents want the best for their child.

Apart from the circumstances of life, we have got two extra ordinary qualities that are the major causes of our unhappiness, i.e. memory and imagination. And our minds are perfectly designed to use these qualities as it loves wandering and time traveling. Sometimes it makes you suffer by reminding you of the past and sometimes it makes you worry about the future. We need to understand that past can’t be changed and no one on this planet can control the future. We just can’t erase our past or control our future. Only thing we can do is to just accept the past and learn from it. And prepare yourself for the future. And you can only do this by learning to stay in the present moment. Your happiness resides in this moment. Your power is only on the present moment. And your future depends on how you live in this moment.

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.“ — Omar Khayyam

There will always be some situations in life that are not in your control. You just can’t change it or do anything about it. And the only thing you can do is to accept it. Acceptance means that you acknowledge the situation without attempting to resist it. You are fine with it and you surrender to it. The more you resist, the more you will suffer. Train your mind to practice acceptance. Acceptance sets you free. Acceptance is freedom. Once you accept it, you will be liberated.

“Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” — George Orwell

We can’t control the life’s situations, but we can always control our reaction to it. So, instead of resisting, accept the things that you can’t change. And once we begin to accept the things, our life becomes easier. We become free from suffering. And it opens the doorways to long lasting happiness.