So we know, everyone craves happiness and deserves to be happy, and we all have our own ways and ideas on how to go about achieving it. Many of us believe that “material possessions bring happiness”, yet from simple observations, we can see that people who are wealthy are not necessarily happier. It is sad but true that money can buy a bed but it cannot buy a good night's sleep… In this article, I would like to share with you the secrets of my own happiness! This is a unique philosophy taught to me by my teacher many years ago, and I am still grateful for it every day.
Do we agree that happiness is a state of contentment and joy about our lives, and emotional satisfaction in our minds? However, one key point is that we don't live in this world alone. Our lives are made up of people and the interactions that take place. It seems that we can safely deduce that our relationships and our perceptions of people will have a direct impact on our happiness. Just imagine for a second, if everyone in this world treated us very kindly- that would make us very fortunate and joyful, wouldn’t it?
In short, the key to feeling good about our own life lies in our ability to feel good about the people in our life. However, in order to appreciate the goodness in people, we first must have a set of eyes that can observe and see the true beauty and kindness of others. Makes sense? Yet, it is very unfortunate that most of us are not equipped with those eyes, as we are just not accustomed to holding only positive perceptions of others. Our human nature tends to focus on other people’s problems instead of their merits. This tendency can create unpleasant thoughts and feelings toward others, which can eventually ruin even our closest relationships, and in the end, even our lives.
So is there anything can we do? Yes, there is hope! I would like to introduce you to the most powerful tool for obtaining happiness, it is called OMAK.
What is OMAK?
OMAK is an acronym that stands for “Observe Merit and Appreciate Kindness”. Everybody has all sorts of qualities, temperaments, and characteristics. Among them, some are considered as merits (or good qualities) and some are faults (or shortcomings). When we interact with others, our tendency is to focus on one category over the other, and this focus dominates our pleasant or unpleasant perceptions, which then defines our relationship with those people.
How OMAK Helps Us
The purpose of practicing OMAK is to change our wrong tendencies. Instead of focusing on others’ faults, we try to look for their good qualities and their kindness towards us. Once we have become conditioned to this, we may still notice some faults in other people; however, this will not bother us as much anymore, because our focus will be on celebrating their kindness and other good qualities.
Our Views and Our Happiness is Perspective Dependent!
Let me give an example here. Even though we ourselves may have many issues, we do not find ourselves to be annoying. However, when it comes to other people’s faults, we tend to focus and obsess over them with a very critical eye. Even though they may have many good qualities, we often cannot even forgive them for a very minor fault. Furthermore, often during our interactions with others, our minds are dominated by negative feelings because our biased perceptions help magnify their tiny faults. On the contrary, when we think of ourselves, our minds will do the reverse by magnifying our own good qualities, however tiny they are. Therefore, we can all see that our distorted perceptions of reality are often influenced by the powerful effects of familiarization which makes the object (of being observed) project certain characteristics onto our minds.
The Reality:
The reason we should practice OMAK is that while others may be unaware of our kind thoughts and intentions, we will still benefit greatly from it. On the other hand, if we continue to obsess and get upset over the faults of others, they may not know it either, but we will certainly suffer.
Conclusion
Our natural tendency to focus on people’s faults is deeply rooted, and sometimes it may still come back to haunt us from time to time and challenge our beliefs in the benefits of OMAK. However, if we persevere and continue to practice OMAK principles, our habitual patterns will gradually change for the better. That is when we can start to reap the rewards of happiness from the seeds that we have been planting. This is how the practice of OMAK can greatly improve our relationships with friends, families, and coworkers; it can truly help us to obtain real happiness!
It’s hard to change the world; it’s certainly easier to change how we see the world. The key to happiness has always been in our own hands. This method has been practiced worldwide by over tens of thousands of people and has proven itself to work miraculously every time if practiced earnestly. It has also helped me tremendously in my own everyday life. I'm contributing this article in appreciation for all the love and support I have received from my wonderful family, friends, coworkers, customers, and visitors that come to our site. You give me hope, purpose, joy and have made everything possible. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and consider the benefits of OMAK. May you embrace happiness every day too!
Elaine L
CEO and Founder of APEC Water Systems
Please also read Giving equals Gain | An inspiring article about a generous and kind-hearted mother that touches everyone around her.