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From Stressed to Blessed: How to Find Happiness Every Day

Do you know you can be happy despite your circumstances?

Elaine Hilides
6 min readJun 21, 2024

My partner thinks that jumping out of a plane is a positive thing. I think it’s decidedly negative.

Motorbikes also make him happy. When I think of motorbikes, I imagine helmet hair, the inconvenience of creaking in leather, and the noise. Oh, the noise. Motorbikes do not make me happy.

Much of what makes my partner happy doesn’t make me happy. Fortunately, we make each other happy.

Sometimes.

That’s the thing about happiness. It can’t be defined.

Walking on the beach makes me happy, but I’ve had many days when I’ve been caught up in my head and barely noticed the things that give me joy, like the sun glinting on the sea, the sound of the waves and the feeling of sand underfoot. And because I haven’t thought about those things, happiness eluded me.

And this is because happiness isn’t a thing. You can’t order a packet of happiness online. Like all emotions, you experience happiness via thought.

Knowing this, why aren’t you happy more often?

What stops you from being happy?

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Elaine Hilides
Elaine Hilides

Written by Elaine Hilides

I'll help you go from anxious to peaceful. Wellbeing coach for over a decade. Currently enjoying a digital nomadic life travelling, working and having fun.

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