…..happiness is the way!
This quote from Wayne Dyer is one I try to remind myself of regularly. We spend most of our adult lives searching and striving for more success, more money or simply more peace and happiness. Sometimes we attain it, mostly it eludes us. Day after day delaying gratification for that golden chalice of joy that awaits our daily sweat and toil. When I get that promotion, when I win that tournament, when I run that marathon, when the kids get a little bigger, when my salary increases, whatever the excuse or reason it is always a time in the future, a illusion to be sought but always just beyond our reach.
Wayne’s powerful words remind us to take a step back and challenge our habitual thinking, that happiness can only be achieved if we pursue it long enough and hard enough. Can we not just be content with the way things currently are?
I asked a client that question recently, “If this were it, if today was your life would you be happy? The horrified look on her face gave me the answer before she replied “God No”!
The secret to happiness is in the here and now, the present is all we have, tomorrow may bring greater troubles and hardship, what if today were better than tomorrow and we are not appreciating it, what if we reach our goals of earning more money or running that marathon but we don’t feel any different, we still feel the same as we did without the money or without the achievement. What if today were it? Could you be happy with your lot?
A useful way to appreciate what you have is to make a gratitude list, listing out all the things that you are grateful for in your life, your health, family, intelligence, opportunities, sight, freedom whatever your list contains it will remind you that in fact your life isn’t so bad and you are luckier that a great percentage of the humans on this planet.
So do we stop striving to get better and achieve more in our lives? God No, we can continue to seek greater fulfillment and achievements but we should not forget to enjoy the journey because your life is the journey, not some point in the future. Take on that journey with gusto but on the way don’t forget to smell the roses.
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