Blessed

 

The lyrics below, from an old Kenny Chesney song written by Mac McAnally, are a powerful reminder. Perspective is everything.

Knowing where you are, and being grateful for it, is a key to happiness. The lessons we learn along the way fuel our growth and guide our journey forward.

“Maybe what you have ain’t what you wanted

Where you are ain’t where you want to be”

“Every day is a blessing to be counted

Every night is a lesson to be learned”

     Island Rain – Kenny Chesney

Laugh, Think, Cry

 

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

-       Jim Valvano, ESPNs speech 1993

 

I am always reminded of this speech this time of year on ESPN. Jim Valvano was dying of cancer when he gave it. Sadly, he passed away less than two months later. If you have never heard this speech, you need to. (Easy to find on YouTube) His words of wisdom make up one of the most moving speeches of all time. It is powerful, motivating, passionate and emotional.  What if we all really experienced all three things daily?  He was right, we would have something special. 

 

Laugh, Think and Cry today…

There is no key to happiness, but the door is always open…

We live in a fast paced world, especially in this country.  To go along with that pace we tend to be a bit impatient.  We expect quick service, easy answers, and immediate solutions.  We believe, happiness should be constant and easy.  We look for a pill or a doctor to fix our woes.  We seek diets or lifestyles that will improve our health and state of mind.  We grab onto fads and trends to make us feel good about ourselves.   It seems to be all about finding the easy answer, the key to happiness.

There is no “key” to happiness.  There is no one thing that will make you happy and keep you happy.  Life is comprised of challenges and struggles.  I do not believe that we were meant to be happy all the time, but we can be happier by choice.  We can be more positive by choice.  We can live a better life by choice.  It takes a little determination and hard work.  It is not a quick fix.  There are certain things that can help us be happy in life; faith, family and health. However, each of those have challenges as well.  Happiness is a process, a door to walk thru again and again every day. Happiness is a choice to make.

Stop looking for a key to happiness and walk thru the door, by choice, each and every day! 

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving week!  It is the time we designate each year to give thanks, to be grateful for all that we have.  Shouldn’t we be doing that all the time?  I had a conversation just last week with some friends about the things we take for granted, food and shelter, hot running water, a coat to wear when it cools down.  If you are reading this, you are likely blessed well beyond most people on this planet.  Be thankful for that!  Be thankful for that all year long!

These days there seems to be a lot written about gratitude, and the role that it plays in a positive outlook and happiness.  Expressing your thanks can really improve your overall sense of well-being.  Studies show that grateful people are more agreeable, more open, and less neurotic.  There are many ways to remind ourselves of our blessings and encourage gratitude.  I know people who maintain a gratitude journal.  Another friend recently reached a milestone birthday and created a list equal to his age of things he is thankful for.  Don’t take your blessings for granted, Willie Nelson doesn’t.

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."

-       Willie Nelson

Be intentional about your gratitude.  You will feel better, I promise. 

Happiness

There is no key to happiness.  The door is always open.

We live in a fast paced world, especially here in The United States.  To go along with that pace we tend to be a bit impatient.  We expect quick service, easy answers, and immediate solutions.  Happiness, we believe, should be constant and easy.  We look for a pill or a therapist to fix our woes.  We look for diets or lifestyles that will improve our health and state of mind.  We look for fads and trends to make us feel good about ourselves.   It seems to be all about finding the easy answer, the key to happiness.

There is no “key” to happiness.  There is no one thing that will make you happy and keep you that way.  Life is comprised of challenges and struggles.  I do not even believe that we were meant to be happy all the time, however we can be happier by choice.  We can be more positive by choice.  We can live a better life by choice.  It takes a little determination and hard work, not a quick fix.  Certain things can help us be happy, faith, family and health among those things, however those have challenges too.  Happiness is a process, a door to walk thru again and again every day, a choice to make.

Stop looking for a key to happiness and walk thru the door, by choice, each and every day! 

Attitude & Perspective

Many a MMM have dealt with the power of one’s attitude and perspective on life.  It is easy to forget how much control we have over our happiness.  Does that me that we can control all of our problems and their outcomes?  Nope. What it does mean is that we can control how we respond to them, what we learn from them, and the attitude we have while working through them.  Life is not about what happens to you, it is about how you respond to what happens to you!  Consider these two thought provoking quotes…

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

-       John Wooden

“You either ride life or it rides you. Your mental attitude determines who is the rider, and who is the horse.”

-       Napoleon Hill 

Problems

We all have problems!  They come in all shapes and sizes, some more challenging and frustrating than others.  We have problems at work and problems at home.  They might even be threatening our livelihood, health or relationships!  How we deal with problems goes a long way to determining who we are and how we find happiness.  The first question we need to always ask ourselves is “Are we part of the problem”.  Especially in relationship challenges a hard introspective look can really be valuable.  Maybe a solution is right there in front of our eyes.  Stop being part of the problem!  Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in it.  Give it some thought in regards to the problems you are dealing with.  Be part of the solution, not part of the problem!