Is there anybody in this world who doesn’t want to be happy? The whole world is seeking happiness, joy, and bliss, be it a little child who wants to be happy with his toys or a young adult who is enamoured by the pleasures of this world. Whether it is a person who has grown old or the one who is young, everybody wants to be happy. It doesn’t matter which country we come from, which religion or race we belong to, and it doesn’t matter which gender we are, we all want to be happy.

While everybody wants to be happy, different happiness triggers bring in happiness in people’s life. Something that makes one very happy may not make the other happy. The whole world seems to be living by the ‘pleasure-pain principle’ – this principle states that we all are attracted towards pleasure and we all shun pain. But the most important question is, “Is everyone happy?” No doubt some people are happy, but not everybody is happy all the time.

There are six steps to Happiness –

Step 1: Desire to be Happy.

Step 2: Find out what makes you Happy.

Step 3: Pull the Happiness Triggers and be Happy.

Step 4: Eliminate Joy Stealers and avoid being unhappy.

Step 5: Bounce back from tough situations with Faith, Hope, and Enthusiasm.

Step 6: Choose to remain Happy always!

Many people live a life of misery. To them, life is full of problems and difficulties, and it is so difficult to smile. Others are cheerful and enthusiastic; they live life as if it is a game, enjoying each day. Some people believe that their happiness depends on their past actions, while others believe that it is their present actions that decide their joy index. Some surrender their happiness to luck, but others who believe that luck doesn’t control happiness prefer to pluck happiness with their efforts. Different people believe in different philosophies of life. But one thing does not change – everybody wants to be happy.

Happiness is not exclusively for the rich. If wealth created happiness, then the rich would be glad, not sad. Happiness is a state of mind. It is a state of joy, bliss, and cheer. It is an emotion – energy in motion – that makes one glad, just as unhappiness is an emotion that makes one sad.

We, human beings, have desires and wants, and there is nothing unusual about wanting. But not all our wants are fulfilled. Happiness is all about achievement. If our dreams come true, we become happy. We experience joy because we move forward on the First Peak of Happiness – Achievement. Achievement gives a “kick” – an instant gratification, the immense pleasure that creates happiness. It releases that magical hormone, dopamine in the blood, which triggers joy. It’s like a drug you can’t do without. But, it is a myth that achievement equals happiness because the joy experienced from achievement is temporary and fleeting because we tend to seek more, and our greed overtakes our need.

If you want to discover a better way to live life happier, healthier, and wealthier, then resolve to exit from the first peak of happiness because as long as you are chasing happiness on the first peak, you can never discover true happiness that resides on the second one. The Second Peak is Fulfillment which is based on the state of Contentment. On this peak, people are far happier not because they want more and have more, but because they are content and satisfied. This state is far more blissful than the state of Achievement.

Is Fulfillment the Ultimate Peak? Trekkers know that while climbing a mountain, they can’t see the peak beyond. Only on reaching a peak, one gets a glimpse of what lies ahead. Most of humanity doesn’t even know that there is a second peak. They live and die on the first peak of Achievement. Is there really a third peak of happiness? Why is it that not many people talk of it?

What is this third peak all about? It is about Liberation from the several prisons of misery that make us miserable. It is about knowing the cause of this misery and understanding the truth of who and what we are. Finally, it is about achieving freedom from these prisons of misery. This very rare. Less than 1% of humanity is on a quest for the Third and Ultimate Peak of Happiness – Liberation.

Liberation means freedom from stress, worry, anger, greed, and revenge; freedom from duty and shame; and liberation from old age, disease, death, and rebirth. The Third Peak of Happiness or Liberation is the realization of the truth by the removal of the darkness of ignorance that exists in humanity, thereby leaving us with contentment and fulfilment, joy and bliss, and peace and tranquillity that are not interrupted by any kind of misery, pain and sorrow.

A seeker, who is void of desires, transcends the mind and the body and progresses towards Liberation. One who has realized the self and is liberated progresses on the journey of the Third and Ultimate Peak of Happiness. A liberated one experiences Ananda, which is ultimate, everlasting, and eternal joy.