How to study yourself and build real happiness

Self-study is the foundation upon which you can build your happiness. Carefully examine and study the aspects of your life that amplify your joy. Reminding yourself of your failures and apparent obstacles may become more disheartening than helpful, thus, focus on what does work for you. I will fully explain the importance and power of self-study.

In my own personal quest, I always viewed my search for happiness as a journey. Any well-seasoned traveler will tell you that the most important things to have are a good map, a good guide, and insights from other travelers who have already made the journey. Self-study means acquiring knowledge that is helpful for you and learning the principles and practices that are specifically useful for you. Many people want to be "successful" or "spiritual" without a clear definition of those terms.

They want it, but they aren't really sure what it is. This lack of clarity and honesty about the journey commonly leads to failure and frustration. It also can make you gullible to falling prey to false teachers who will rob you of your money or, even worse, your self-reliance. A beginning sojourner needs to follow the threefold path of self-study.

First, get to know yourself and your immediate strengths and weaknesses. Compare your self-inventory with the requirements of the journey on which you wish to embark - for me this was a journey to happiness. Study the map, find a good guide, and talk to those who have already accomplished the journey.

As you come to know your own personal needs and goals, it is then important to carefully select the resources that can help you at tain your goal. I have found it to be very important to choose books, teachers and therapists that are compatible with helping me overcome my immediate hurdles. I have gone through a progression of highlyvalued mentors and techniques in this process. My allegiance was not to a particular person or culture, rather it was to freedom itself.

As a child, I greatly respected my first-grade teacher but 12 months after meeting her I was eager to study with my second-grade teacher. It is with this same attitude that I have studied medicine, sought counsel in the form of a personal trainer and found great benefit from fellowship. Each activity helped me understand and resolve obstacles in my journey. Incorporate the teachings and counsel of others, but allow your conscience to be your chief guide. At that point self-study can truly lead to wondrous self-transformation.

The second phase is creating time in your day or week for self-refl ection where you can digest the facts and possibilities of your experiences. Sit down and think about what has happened. In the beginning I could only find time for this on the weekends. None of us wants to make the process of self-transformation overly tiresome and time-consuming. So choose a time and place that works for you.

Gradually you will see that insights and guidance, that will help you reach your goals, occur every day. And, more importantly, your self-reflection strengthens your determination as you learn to view all life events as lessons and feedback. Then you will value the wisdom gained from failure or loss. This allows you to become more realistic about your timetables and more skillful in your actions.

The third phase is the momentum birthed by the accumulation of insights gained from your self-study. A few minutes each day can build into the groundswell of insights leading to a big "aha." When you get stuck in really difficult situations on your journey, trust your past eff orts to come forward with an escape plan. The accumulation of your past eff orts have created a forward moving momentum that will carry you through moments of weakness or despair. No matter what, you will complete your journey.

How to study yourself and build real happiness

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