How to Be Happy and Reduce Stress by Freeing Your Mind

"The secret of happiness is freedom, freedom is freedom from stress" A. Ferrari Norman

Your mind can be your prison or your mind can be your sky. Many people are unhappy and stressed because their mind is not free. They are like prisoners of their own mind because they are always attached to something: their ego, thoughts, emotions and material wants.

As a coach and manager of training, I come across many people saying things like:

"I can only be happy when I earn more money"
"If I let myself to be happy, I'll be disappointed most of the time"
"Happiness cannot be eaten, so we need to be practical and do the right things and then we can be happy"

Such thinking reflects the mistaken belief that happiness is an end by itself and not a means to an end. We know that happiness is a state of mind that can be experienced right now, regardless of what state you are in. There is nothing wrong to wanting to have nice things, to look smart or attractive, but when we attach emotions of happiness to things we are imprisoning ourselves.

Happiness is always there, even if we may not be aware of it. All we need to do is to free our mind and just be happy now. There are 5 ways to be happy when you free your mind:

No Ego. Don't let your ego be your stumbling block to happiness. If you want to be happy, just be happy, don't worry about how others think about you. For you are responsible for your own happiness
No Conditions. Like true love, true happiness is unconditional and no pre-requisites are needed
No Limiting Beliefs, be open to new ideas and practise seeing things as fluid and not static
No Upset. When you're upset by a situation or person, ask yourself this question: "Am I going to attach myself to this and create another unhappiness?" Don't let a fleeting emotion ruin your day.
Let it Go. Let go of all attachments and be aware of your attention. Focus on the solutions and let go of any past unhappy experiences. Remember: the more you let go, the more happiness you let in.

From Andy Ng, whose newest course "Work Happiness and Stress Management" is on 15 January 2015 Thursday 2 to 5.30 pm. For details, click here. Related articles:

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