Happiness, Appreciating What You Have

Someone said that happiness is so well hidden that no one will ever find it. But where did they hide it, you’re probably wondering, and I’ll try to answer that.

For some who live in very poor countries, happiness means emigrating to wealthier nations. Also where you can buy a new car, rent a house with a pool, travel the world, among other pleasures.

For others, it means finding the woman or man of their dreams, who must be beautiful, intelligent, financially stable, preferably professionals, and able to give them equally beautiful and healthy children.
But what is happiness? Happiness is an emotion or state of mind that a conscious being experiences when they reach a moment of contentment. Well-being, or have achieved certain desirable goals.

Finding happiness has less to do with moments of euphoria than with maintaining a stable mental rhythm. So in where energy, rest, and purpose are naturally and consistently balanced, says Héctor Farrés. A journalist specializing in health and wellness.

Sometimes we seek happiness in great achievements. Although the brain defines it differently. What truly influences well-being isn’t fleeting moments of euphoria. But rather the balance between energy, rest, and purpose. This mental harmony has much to do with how substances like dopamine and serotonin function. With how curiosity keeps the brain awake and motivated.

Three Nobel laureates in Neuroscience—Arvid Carlsson, May-Britt Moser, and Paul Greengard—demonstrated that the feeling of well-being has biological foundations. Their findings reveal that happiness isn’t a permanent state. But a chemical and emotional process fueled by consistency, exploration, and rest.

Moser seamlessly blends her personal and professional life without rigid boundaries. In a conversation with the IBSA Foundation. She explained that “having two children and a laboratory as a third child has given me incredible happiness.”

Her example shows that well-being arises from key feelings. When what you do each day connects with your own motivations. Without sacrificing affection or rest.
This blend of curiosity and purpose has a biological effect. Exploring the unknown activates the brain’s dopamine circuits. Generating a feeling of energy and gratification. Moser herself sums it up with her approach to science: pleasure lies not only in the result, but also in the process of learning and sharing.

How to apply all this at home: first, dedicate time to learning something new, even if it’s just a small detail. Second, maintain personal relationships that give meaning to your day. Finally, seek out activities that spark curiosity without competing or comparing yourself.

I confess, ultimately, that happiness is hidden within you. In the place you least expect to look, but who put it there? Surely it was God with his brilliant ideas.

José Miguel Ávila Pérez
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