By Dr Rajesh K Pillania
Human life faces various Kurukshetras in its evolutionary journey. Each one of these kurukshetras is challenging, difficult, complex, and at times life-threatening, posing a threat to the existence of Homo sapiens. We should be proud that Homo sapiens have successfully faced numerous such Kurukshetras, and that humankind has reached the current stage of evolution. This should give us confidence and also the daring to know that, however difficult a Kurukshetra might look, with genuine, sincere, brave, and continuous efforts, one can find a way to come out victorious.
Unhappiness: A Silent Global Pandemic
One big Kurukshetra of life today is unhappiness. It is a big global pandemic, but a silent pandemic. Many studies by global institutions have examined various aspects of unhappiness, such as loneliness and stress, highlighting their wide reach and negative impact on various aspects of life of individuals, organisations, societies, countries and the world.
Dealing with the Unhappiness Kurukshetra
So, one needs to find a way to deal with the Unhappiness Kurukshetra of life, and do so alone as well as with others. Below are some simple steps to take on the Unhappiness kurukshetra of life.
Step One: Understanding Happiness
The first step is to know oneself and find out what happiness means for oneself. Happiness is simply defined as the presence of positive feelings, and it can be operationalised by the simple concept of finding balance among giving, enjoying life, and the meaning of life.
Step Two: Making Happiness Part of Daily Life
The second step is to make happiness a part of daily life by taking small steps, such as helping someone in a small way, enjoying small things, and finding meaning in little moments. If one wants to achieve big things, one can break them into small parts, doable on a daily basis, which can help experience happiness daily. Nowhere are we suggesting that one needs to be happy all the time or experience happiness every day; rather, we suggest that one should experience more happiness than sadness and be aware of it. By these first two steps—identifying what happiness is and making it part of one’s life—one becomes stronger to face the unhappiness Kurukshetra.
Step Three: Conquering the Kauravasof Unhappiness
The third step is to identify the Kauravas of unhappiness that one must overcome. To do so, one needs to identify things, thoughts, emotions, habits, or people that make one unhappy, such as jealousy, anger, comparisons, regrets, guilt, and so on. Once one has identified and listed the Kauravas of Unhappiness to be conquered, one should start small by deciding which to take on first. With growing confidence, one can then take on another, and then another, in increasing order of difficulty.
Winning the Unhappiness Kurukshetra
By following this process of identifying happiness, making it part of daily life, and addressing the causes of unhappiness, one can emerge victorious in the unhappiness Kurukshetra of life and live a happier, more fulfilling life. However difficult it might appear, one needs to start early—one needs to start today, and one needs to start now—to win this unhappiness kurukshetra.
(The writer is a Professor of Strategy at the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. He is popularly known as India’s Happiness Professor and India’s Happiness Guru)
