How to live happy forever
A simple recipe to live happy forever
How Can We Define Happiness?
Happiness does not have a single definition; happiness is a multifactorial concept. It’s affected by money, love, time, location, relationship, health, religion, and other factors.
I will share my personal recipe to live happy forever; it is based on a long experience in testing several aspects of happiness.
My Formula: Islam-Knowledge-Entertainment.
Islam
The most important ingredient and the most underrated religion worldwide, it may be a provocative word to many readers due to the media and some events. Forget all of that. I don't mean radical Islam; I mean the peaceful one. It may seem annoying to connect happiness to Islam or any religion. I'm not here to force you to think as I think. This topic is sensible and controversial. For your happiness, you are free to follow or dismiss this formula or omit the first ingredient, but I don't recommend that. Life without purpose is a mess; knowing your life purpose makes your life organized and reduces stress, which leads to happiness. The only way to know the answer is by religion, and the only religion that provides a logical answer is Islam.
Knowledge
Can knowledge make you happy? The answer is actually YES. Intelligence is your decision engine. When you learn accurate knowledge, you make accurate life decisions, which lead to happiness. Can ignorance make you unhappy? The answer is also YES. When you lack knowledge, you make bad decisions that can ruin your entire life. Seeking knowledge doesn’t necessarily mean going to universities to get the highest degrees; several company CEOs have no degree. Self-learning is another powerful way to gain a vast amount of knowledge. You can read online whatever you want for free.
Entertainment
Because life is tiring, you need to relax; you should entertain yourself. I want to ask you a question to understand the importance of entertainment: Can you eat your favorite dish without sugar or any sweet ingredient? The majority will answer NO; it tastes bad. The minority will answer, Yes, sugar is unhealthy. But food without sugar or sweeteners feels boring. To fix that, add a little sugar to healthy foods and add exercise, and the damage is negligible. Life is similar; spirituality and learning may seem boring. Add some entertainment to enjoy your life; you may ask: What is the value of listening to music or watching movies? It's like the value of adding a little sugar to tea; don't be too constrained. Your mind and body need to relax; it's called life, not a prison.
The Big Picture
Islam Without Knowledge
The missing ingredient produces the bad version of Islam, which is called radical Islam. Unfortunately, many people worldwide hate and fight Islam because of the ignorance of some of its followers. I like this quote: Islam is perfect, but I'm not. If I made a mistake, blame me, but don't blame Islam.
Knowledge Without Entertainment
The missing sugar produces boring people who know nothing but science. Many people in public hate to talk about science. They need to hear a joke or some interesting news; many forms of knowledge are boring to the public. So don't be so serious; life is not always learning, learning, learning. You need time to relax.
Entertainment Without Knowledge
Eating only sugar? No healthy foods? That's very dangerous. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Imagine your life is only about listening to music, playing games, watching movies … no education, no career to follow. The missing ingredient will ruin your life.
Knowledge or Entertainment Without Islam
This is like cooking healthy foods with a little sugar, but the fire control is broken. The recipe itself is healthy, but it will be burned later. Islam should be your life’s control; it controls what you should learn and what you shouldn't. Which form of entertainment is healthy and which is not. It defines your life ethics to become a good human to anyone, even if they’re different from you, and it teaches you how not to harm people. It teaches you also how to protect yourself. If you miss this most important ingredient, unfortunately you will be burned later in the afterlife even though you live happily now. I’m not joking. If you want eternal happiness, in life and the afterlife, don't miss any ingredient. Living with this recipe is easier than you think.