Happiness - really?

“What we feel inside us about what’s happening around us is our perception of the world” I was telling my daughter while setting her room in the dorm where she will stay for the next four years.    

“So, is there nothing like the good and the bad world?” my daughter questioned.

“Yeah, there is but how that is, is purely our take of how we feel about it, there will be situations when you will feel nothing is working for you even though the resources are not in short supply and you will feel inadequate, unhappy and there will situations when the resources will be in short supply but you will feel optimistic of the situation and hence happy”.  I responded.

“Hence, feeling adequate or not is our decision and is not driven by the world around us”. I added.

My daughter was confused but was willing to think. “So this entire emotional wellbeing is driven by us and not by people/situations around us?” she was really curious.

“ I wont be so black and white about it, the point I am making is, how we rationalize within ourselves is what will determine happiness for us. Ofcourse, if you have a lot of money and you have the freedom to spend it, you will feel happy, so the situation is going to make it easy but in the same situation, someone can chose to be unhappy by being pessimistic of the outcomes of spending it” I was trying to explain the thinking to her.

“ I need to take more responsibility of my emotional well being is what you are telling me?”

“Yes!!!” is what I told her.