True happiness is our essential nature.
This is the central theme of the teachings of spiritual teachers, philosophers, and wisdom traditions from around the world.
Unfortunately, we often forget this truth and mistakenly believe that happiness comes exclusively by getting what we want. We put ourselves in an endless pursuit of pleasure, wealth, and power in a mistaken pursuit of happiness. They have limited roles in our overall sense of happiness and fulfilment.
To discover the true inherent happiness which is our essential nature, we must
- Understand and erase the long-held misconceptions and conditioned habits that falsely lead us away from true happiness.
- Cultivate right virtues.
- Sincerely perform our duties to the best of our capacities.
The book As a Man Thinketh by James Allen beautifully explains these ideas.