Category: Uncategorized

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HAPPY

Since I started this site I have had a few people tell me, “I like what your doing, but I have no time to be happy. I have to pay the pills and make dinner for my kids. I can’t worry about making myself happy. I have to concentrate on what is important”.  That statement surpises me and yet it doesn’t.  A lot of the influences we hear tell us that to worry about ourselves and our own happiness is selfish.  We are taught to  ‘put others before ourselves’.  So why is being happy so important? Why should we spend so much time worrying about what makes us or others happy?  Well we could look at the scientific facts that have been mentioned in the media so often.  A positive attitude helps us live longer,  boost our immune system, heal from injury quicker.  Even if you have no interest in living a longer healthier life, although I am not sure who wouldn’t, happiness is still more important than most of us realize.  It reduces our stress levels and allows us better to face the challenges that always pop up at the most unexpected times.  How often we regret reacting to a mild irritation in a severe way just because our thoughts were already focused on some other trouble.  It leaves hurt feelings and turns another situation from bad to worse.  If we do our best to keep our thoughts focused on the joy that life offers us and adding more to our lives, then we shall see situations as they are.  For those of you that are familiar with the Law of attraction, which states like attracts like.  It should be apparent why being happy is so important.  If you are happy you attract more happiness into your life, if you are unhappy you will be more likely to be faced with negative situations again and again.

So if we are busy focused on our own happiness, what should we bother worrying about others happiness?  Well, recently that was shown to me in a dramatic and tragic way.  A wonderful co-worker of mine took his own life a few days ago.  When such an event happens we are always left with the same questions “how could I not know?”, and “What could I have done?”.  Truth is, most of the time there is nothing we could have done, and no way we would’ve known.  In this case by all accounts this gentleman was filled with good humor and had a real zest for life.  Which stresses the importance even more.  We never know what is going on in someones world.  So consider that when dealing with the cheery lady at the coffee shop, or the grumpy cashier at the grocery store.  We are never sure when someone may need that genuine compliment, or sign of gratitude from us.  How important can happiness be?  It can be a matter of life and death, for both ourselves and those we care about.

TOGETHER AS ONE

“We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools”

-Martin Luther king jr.

Judgement is one thing that can truly separate us from each other.  Let’s be honest, there are both good and bad people in every race, religion, culture, country and any other group you can break society down into.  Disliking someone based on the fact that they are different than you in appearance or in belief only hurts yourself.  Not only are you the one who gets upset, but you remove the possibility of meeting many fabulous people who could add joy and other great things to your life.  I am always surprised to hear expressions of prejudice in todays global world.  With as much communication as we have with each other and how interdependent we are on each other to me it seems antiquated at best.  Being an enlightened individual means keeping your mind open to all views.  Not that you have to agree with them, but as much as we would like others to respect our views, we should be honored to do the same for them.  I can not begin to convey the joys all my friends have brought me and can’t imagine leaving any of them out just because they are different then me.  So remember,  when you hold judgement against someone else, it not only affects their joy, but steals yours as well.

WRITE YOUR EULOGY

You may wonder what such a title is doing in a blog about living a positive and rewarding life?  Throughout the course of my life I have read a great deal of self-improvement/law of attraction type books.  A lot of times ideas and thoughts are repeated in slighty different ways.  Which is good.  It let’s you know what seems to be working for a great deal of different people.  Once in a while, however, you come across a fresh idea which you haven’t heard before. This is one such time.  Do you ever wonder, “Is this what I should be doing with my life?” or “How do I know what the right path is for me?”.  I know I have.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a way to see if what you are currently doing matches your values and priorities?  There is!  I prefer to call this ‘Keeping the end in mind’.  Sit down and prepare to write your own eulogy.  What would you want said about you at your memorial service?  Was it that you were a good parent and raised your children in a loving fashion? Then family would be a great value to you. Perhaps it is that you showed kindness to everyone you met. Then compassion would be a trait that is of great importance to you.  Truth is, when we decide what legacy we would like to leave behind it gives our lives purpose and us a sense of direction.  If a eulogy seems a bit to dark for you, then try imagining what they would say at an awards presentation.  personally I like the eulogy as it also serves to remind us that time is one of the most precious commodities and we should spend it doing what we love and what bring joy and love to the rest of the world.  So ask yourself, “what would I want them to say about me?” You’ll never wonder if you’re on the right path again.

A CUSTOMER…AND SOME CHOCOLATE

I recently received a thank you note from the daughter of a customer who passed away.  The note was thanking me for attending her funeral and for always leaving her little pieces of chocolate.  What really got me thinking was the great lengths she went to explain that it was not so much the treats that made her smile, but the fact that somebody felt she was special.  You see this women was in her mid 80’s and her husband had passed some years before.  My first meeting with this fabulous woman was last October when I started at the post office I currently work at.  It is a small and rural town of only a few hundred people and everyone seems to know, well…everyone.  Here comes a long-haired guy from out-of-town, I thought it would take me forever to win them over.  Well in walks this lady and proceeds to tell me she is the Queen of the town.  She asked if I was the ‘new kid they put out there’ and really just proceeded to give me a hard time in general.  She informed me if I wanted to make it in that town, I better be nice and it wouldn’t hurt if I brought chocolate.  So the following day when she came in I was sure to have both milk and dark chocolates, the kind with the little inspirational messages in the wrapper.  From that day forward she would stop in to make sure I was behaving.  The payment for this service?  You guessed it, a small piece of chocolate.  Before her passing of cancer shortly before Christmas we got to have a little chat at the diner across the street where she confessed she worried she gave me to hard of a time at first.  I assured her, that was the best thing that could’ve happened as it made me feel right at home.  I told her how much I worried about fitting in and what a small town would think of me.  She said something I’ll never forget “Always be yourself, if you’re nice people will be able to see that.  If you’re not nice then they will let you know it”.  She passed away only a few days later.  The lesson I took from this on reflection today was something we may forget.  Always be yourself, you never know when you are just what someone needs.  Also, if someone does make your day just by being themselves, thank them. You never know when you may no longer have a chance.

CHANGE THE WORLD

One of the issues that is brought up rather frequently is how bad/negative the world appears to be today.  I say ‘appears’ because with the advancement of technology and dissemination of information I believe we just hear more of issues we might not have in the past.  That being said, what of the world’s problems?  What can be done about them?  Of course there are plenty of organizations dedicated to change and peace that could not all be listed here. Joining a cause you firmly believe in is truly a great idea.  What can be done now, however?  What can you and I do on a daily basis to address the crime, wars and other issues that plague this planet?  The answer can be found by realizing how powerful we as individuals are.  The world is made of nations.  So to change the world change a nation.  The nations are composed of states/provinces.  You wish to change the nation, change your state.  States are made up of cities and towns.  You wish to change the state, change your city or town.  Cities are made up of communities.  You wish to change your city, change your community.  Communities are composed of several households.  You wish to change your community, change your household.  Households are made of individuals.  You wish to change your household, change the individual.  What individual do we have the greatest control over?  Ourselves.  So truly if you wish to change the world, the first step is to work on ourselves.  By improving ourselves we make our household more pleasant.  By improving our household we add something to our community.  This continues on out into the world.  I would recommend taking a second look at the post for the quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” So remember, even the smallest improvement in ourselves makes the world a better place to live.

2 DOGS

I am pleased to share one of my favorite Native American stories and how it stresses the importance of living a positive life.

There was a young child who was walking through the village and noticed he saw two distinct kinds of people, ones who were genuinely nice, and those who were not.  He approached the tribe shaman and asked “Grandfather, when I grow up will I be a good person or a bad person?”.  The old man replied, “That depends on the dog”.  Very confused the young man asked him to explain.  The shaman explained to the young man, that inside of every one of us lives to dogs, a bad dog and a good dog.  The bad dog thrives on anger, gossip, negativity and expresses itself in depression, hostility, selfishness, sickness and a bad life.  The good dog thrives on joy, kindness, compassion and positivity and expresses himself in happiness, great health and a kind way of treating others.  Knowing quite well he wished to live the latter he asked “Grandfather which dog will win inside of me?” the old man looked into the childs eyes smiling and said just one thing before walking away, “It depends on which one you feed”

Now I have heard this expressed in a variety of ways, good vs. evil, God vs. the devil, light vs. darkness.  How you choose to see it does not matter.  What does matter is that you understand that both exist in every person, including you and I.  At some point both will win.  The question is which dog are you going to feed?

THE PASSWORD IS…

Passwords…how many do you have?  One for your ATM card One for your email?  One at work?  It can sure be annoying having to remember all of those.  Your dog’s name plus the number one?  Your birthday backwards?   I almost used to dread when my passwords were coming due.  There is also the famous ‘secret question’ in case you forget your password.  They say that everywhere you see a problem lies the seed for the greatest opportunity.  This example is no different.  Let me explain.

People are always telling me, “I know I should try to be more positive, but it is too much work.  Why can’t it just be automatic?”.  Well here is your answer.  Why not turn your passwords into a daily dose of motivation or inspiration?  I’ve used passwords such as ‘joy4me’ and ‘happiness4all’ or ‘smile2day’ The possibilities are endless!  That way every time you time in your password, you are reminded of something positive.  Let’s face it, you must have a password anyway, why not make it work FOR you?  Even if it may not seem to be making a difference, how do you think saying  “joy4me”  everyday in your head will affect you?  Even on a subconscious level.  Not to mention, you probably already know your dog’s name plus one.

THE DECISION

Ok, so you have decided to start the journey to a positive and rewarding life.  That’s great, but do you realize how important it is as well?  Let me explain.  I know several people who have hard time making decisions mostly out of fear of making the wrong one.  Not only does this lead to inaction and an inability to move your life forward, but it comes at the cost of one of your greatest assets.  Making a decision actually liberates us from lots of stress and worry as to whether or not we are doing the right thing, or on the right path.  Let us take the decision to bring more joy into our lives.  If we make that choice with clear conviction a great deal of our life becomes clear.  Simple test, take any situation in your life, is it making you happy?  If the answer is no it tells you that situation, as it presently stands, will not work in your life.  If the answer is yes, that is an area of your life you should try to grow.  Not only that, but knowing the ‘end game’ allows us to stay focused when the inevitable challenges show up.  If a ship is knocked of course by a storm,  it does not give up and head back to port.  No, it adjusts its course and continues on.  We must be like a ship when the storms of life come calling.  If we find ourselves without joy, we must adjust our course and set sail as soon as possible.  The further we get off course the longer it takes to get back.  So remember to know your destination, have it firmly fixed in your mind. (writing it down may not be such a bad idea either) If you don’t know where you’re heading, you will never get there.

If you make the decision to live a life with more joy and love, you will be amazed at the power you will have over your life.  When life tries to get you down just repeat to yourself “I am determined to live a life of inner peace and joy” or whatever words strike your fancy. Make the decision, that is the first step. The rest is just figuring out how to make it work.

WAKING UP IN NEUTRAL

What kind of day are you going to have today?  About 90% of people will answer that question with “I don’t know” or some form there of.  After all, how do we know if the alarm will go off at the right time?  How traffic will be on the way to work?  What mood the boss will be in?  Simple answer, we don’t.  Then why, day after day to we give the power over to situations?  To often we let circumstances beyond our control dictate how we will feel about our day and to some extent ourselves.  When you stop and think about it, that really is a foolish idea.  So what to do?  Stop ‘waking up in neutral’!  At night when you go to sleep say to yourself, or even better out loud “Tomorrow will be a great day” if anyone asks you why, be honest.  Say “I don’t know, it just will”. Then when you wake up repeat that statement.  Repeat it as often as you can throughout the day, but especially early in the day.  You make the decision how your day is going to go.  Don’t leave it up to others, especially those who may not know or even care how your day goes.  It may surprise you how effective this will be.  Like anything else it may take a while to get used to, but stick with it.  Take back control of your life! Then when the inevitable challenges do arise, you will know that even though the situation may not be exactly to your liking it will still be a good day.  This often separates the happy from the unhappy.  Don’t believe me?  I’ll leave you with this quote from a former first lady.

“The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances”

-Martha Washington

So let’s get out there and make it an amazing day!

ATTRACT MONEY NOW!!!

This is a title of a book by Dr. Joe Vitale. You may remember him from the movie “The Secret”.  This is not a blog about making money, but about living a more rewarding life.  Well it is true money can’t buy happiness, let’s be honest, it can make life a lot less stressful. The reason I mentioned this book is that the author has agreed to make the online copy free to readers of this blog. The book itself is filled with both practical and metaphysical ideas for attracting abundance to you. I encourage all of my readers to check it out. At the price of free, what do you have to lose? Please let me know what you think.  It is another great tool to lead a positive and rewarding life!

www.attractmoneynow.com