Joy - Happiness - Contentment

Happiness is an emotion that all people desire, actually all the time, and at the same time most find that they experience it all too rarely. Poets and philosophers focus on the question "How can I be happy?" for centuries - and don't we all concentrate on this question in the last few years or centuries?

For decades, however, scientists from other disciplines have also taken it up. Nobody knows a simple recipe for a happy life. Last but not least, this may be due to the fact that we are chasing “a false kind of happiness”.

Joy - Happiness - Contentment

What we generally and our Society understand by the term happiness - and the related terms "joy" and "contentment" I am unable to say or interpret. But I can share what I understand and feel when I think about happiness, joy and contentment.

Joy is a strong feeling that usually occurs in response to a pleasant situation and moment. Joy is rather short-term; a feeling of being alive and vital.

Happiness describes the most intense well-being known to man. The feeling of happiness takes hold of the whole person, it is longer lasting than joy but shorter than contentment.
Happiness has positive aspects and impacts on others to others, and it makes you more open-minded. It is often related to things that go beyond oneself - we experience happiness in social situations or in harmony with nature. Happiness consists in and by contentment.

Contentment is the most stable good feeling - I guess - I would say. It is a calmer and stable emotional state and feeling than joy and happiness, and contentment works more in the background and as a kind of vessel or basement of the experience. Contentment is based on a positive mood, on fundamental affirmation of life.

Finding joy, happiness, and contentment in life seems like a road we all walk that never finds its end. 

Filling your life with contentment

Understanding and finding yourself - and to discover how to be content with life may feel daunting. What is meaningful to you and how you want to follow your purpose - these answers can come only from yourself. And it is essential that you need to accept who you are as you are rather than try to change yourself. Practicing contentment will tell you that being happy for a day isn’t enough. You want to be content with your life as a whole and develop an attitude that stays with you long into the future.

You won’t wake up tomorrow and be content. It takes effort, self-awareness, and dedication. It’s your journey to finding inner peace, so enjoy it. Even though it takes time and demands you to look within, contentment is worth every ounce of effort you put in.

Benefits and reasons why contentment is important as it fosters healthier, stronger relationships, better sleep hygiene and you will experience less stress

Achieving contentment

• Record, practice, and share gratitude - See and acquire the things you’re grateful for.
• Stay true to yourself - Find the things in life which are meaningful or purposeful
• Keep your loved ones close - Even if you live far away from your loved ones, make an effort to talk to them regularly over the phone, via video calls, or instant messaging.
• Act on your goals - Your goals reflect your dreams and ambitions in life.
• Take care of your health and yourself - For your physical and mental health think of ways to move your body that feel good and eat foods that fuel you.

Closing Thought

All too often we forget contentment - our inner sense of fulfillment - I see it as basement for joy and happiness and it's relatively independent of external circumstances. Contentment is a long-term state of being where you are at peace with your conditions and have the knowledge that things are ok just as they are.

In Context to this ...

Article about Joy  and Happiness