Applying Buddhist Teachings to Live a Happier Life, Both Online and Offline

(6) Right Effort

Right Effort has a lot to do with the pace at which you do things and the way you allow your will to work. Remember that old saying, Strong and steady wins the race? Well it's a little like that. Practicing the Right Effort part of the Eightfold Path means actively training your mind to handle the stresses of life. For many this is easier said then done.

Another way to think about this step is to think of your mind as a garden. Positive thoughts are like water and fertilizer, they will make your garden healthy, lush, and beautiful. Negative thoughts however are like drought, infestations, and bad soil, they will leave your garden limp and unhealthy.

This step takes time, you cannot practice training your mind to be a positive place for one day and expect a big change. This step is a lifelong challenge. But the longer you work at cultivating a positive mental garden, the easier it will be to feel that happiness.

Some examples of thoughts to keep out might be jealousy, anger, bitterness, hate, and pessimism. For me personally, pessimism is the one I fight with the most. I'm naturally a pretty pessimistic person, but I don't allow that to rule the garden of my mind. Instead I push it out with optimism. I do the same thing with anger, if I were to let the anger take control of my mind on a consistent basis, it would be much harder to let the happiness in.

You can extend this principle to your online habits as well. Avoid negativity. How do your online activities make you feel? Twitter? Facebook? Tumblr? Do these platforms make you feel good or bad? If they make you feel good, then keep doing them. But if they cause negative emotions, work to eliminate those influences from your life.

This page has paths: