Tag Archives: being happy

Some Things that Aren’t True

 

We all have an ego, which feeds us information about ourselves and life that isn’t true.

Which defines you.

Most thoughts the Ego creates stem from fear and are designed to keep you from making ANY changes. It just wants you to stay in the known. But the problem is that most of your greatness and dreams lie in the unknown, which can be scary. The Ego is your false self, a voice in your head telling you things to limit you.

This little writing is about some daily popular lies your Ego creates for you. If you do nothing else, look at your thoughts objectively and see if they are in your best interest. If they are causing you to suffer, harm yourself, and not allowing you to step into the best possible version of yourself, then make a change. Of course, like all things, YOU are the one who needs to make the decision.

Lie # 1 You are what you own.

Your are not what you own
You are much more than this……

Many of us buy into this one. Our Ego equates accumulating things with being critical, safe, successful, and happy. Yet, even though this thought is in our heads, experience teaches everyone that the enormous pile of material goods will not make you a good person. Once a purchase is made, there is a momentary feeling of gratification followed by a search for the next thrill of possession. If only it were this simple. Buy something and be a better person. The funny thing is that what you own will never make you happy.

Our society is so consumer-oriented, and we are all conditioned to consume from birth. Propaganda teaches what things you need to be popular, influential, or successful. If a person feels a lack, we are introduced to fill it with popular clothing or highly processed foods loaded with sugar. All of that is not going to make you any closer to happiness. You are what you own is a lie that we all believe, but it is still a lie. In the end, when you are taking your last breath in this drama called life, you will not be thinking about the things you own. You will wish for the people who mattered to you—those you loved and loved you back, even for a short time. The lies of the Ego push love to the background with a need to make you safe. What you own doesn’t create character, love, enjoyment, or happiness. Find your true self.

Lie # 2 You are what you do for a living.

In American society, this is particularly true. When you

You are not your job
Are you happy?

Meet someone, and one of the first questions asked is, what do you do for a living? Why? We can glean their success, value, and personal development by the profession one decides to pursue. This is a lie, as well. What someone does for work does not define their character, caring, kindness, and ability to care about others. This is your Ego, looking to measure yourself against someone else and making yourself feel better about your life, choices, and prospects. It has no merit at all as to your value and contributions as a person. A profession is what you do to make money, not who you are.

This is your Ego, looking to measure yourself against someone else and making yourself feel better about your life, choices, and prospects. It has no merit at all as to your value and contributions as a person. A profession is what you do to make money, not who you are. A better question to ask a person you just met is, “What excites you right now?”  That passion is a more realistic indicator of what a person is all about.

What you choose to do to make money is not a vote of confidence or an indictment of your ability; it is a reflection of current circumstances. The e will change but will still have little to do with your value, and your actions will show this.

Lie # 3: What others think of you defines you.

One of the most harmful lies your Ego tells you. It  s a simple fact that some people are going to love you,

Prison of what others think
Who wants to live in prison?

Some are going not to like you so much. Most of the reasons for this have nothing to do with you but more with that person’s biases and experiences. When someone notices something about another that bothers them, it reflects something they don’t like about themselves.

Often, I have created imaginary thoughts in others’ minds, in which I make explicit assumptions about their thoughts of me with absolutely no factual evidence. To give validity to these thoughts (which don’t exist) is insane.  So  thoughts that help me – 1. What someone else thinks of me is none of my business. 2. Ego is not who you are ev r form assumptions about another’s thoughts. 3. if someone thinks something negative about you, it doesn’t make it accurate.

One of the most challenging lessons here is not caring about what others think about you. Your thoughts and feelings about what you do should be necessary.

The bottom line is that you have control over the thoughts that you entertain and add validity to in your life. Cho sing to add value to negative thoughts about yourself is a self-defeating activity that can be changed at any moment.  You are not your possessions, your job, or what others think of you……….That begs the question, “Who are you then?”  Looking for this answer is the first step to expanding consciousness, a deeper understanding of life, and a feeling of fulfillment.

Make Someone Happy

Happy-    feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.

HAPPYOf all the words I use, this is the one that all people seem to be looking to find. In all they do in life,  people seek to find a state of happiness through their choices. We work to earn money so that we have the freedom to get the things we want and do the things we want to do because that will,  in theory, make us happy.

Yet, many people seem intent on going through life as unhappy as possible. Being happy isn’t the result of things we do or the possessions we own. It is a feeling that comes from the inside and can be shared at all times. Today, the challenge is to raise your consciousness about all the happiness inside you and notice the pure joy in all those around you. It starts with the thoughts you pay attention to, the words you choose to use, and the actions you decide to take because you are happy or to make someone else happy.

Be Happy Now

I once heard it explained that unhappiness is the desire to get something, and happiness is the desire to give. So using that idea as a basis for our actions, there should be no nobler, brighter, or magnificent task to undertake today but to make life happier, brighter, and a little sweeter. Not HAPPYwith yourself as the focus, but with other people.

You cannot remain unhappy when you have made someone else feel happy in any way. Pain is relieved, sorrow lessened, and life is more prosperous just by focusing our attention on what we can do to make others happy in the world. This is a force that lessens the pains of life because we all will experience them. But in time seeking to be and make others happy will smooth out our experience’s rough edges and allow us to move forward with hope, kindness, and wisdom. The simple knowledge in us is the capacity to survive, and that alone should make you pretty happy.

How to be Happy

You can focus on simple things to pursue happiness in life, and I will list them and link to a more in-depth work I wrote that explains them in detail. But we can take steps in our conscious thoughts, words, and actions to be happier at any moment in life. Rather than sit around and feel sorry for ourselves because of the things we have lost or don’t have. Focus on the beautiful things life has given you. These HAPPYthings exist every day, and even if you have lost, been down, and are hurting, there is a chance to reclaim happiness with a simple shift of attitude.

Accepting others for what they are and understanding that we are all on this voyage of life together is an excellent place to start. This understanding of others, their situation, and their needs is a great place to start. Simple Ways to be happy:

  1. Accept responsibility, and Don’t make excuses.
  2. Choose your Words Wisely
  3. Be physically fit
  4. Be Fearless
  5. Practice Mindfulness
  6. Be Kind
  7. Choose gratitude and appreciation in life
  8. Forgive
  9. Practice a growth mindset
  10. Surround yourself with positive people
  11. Positive thinking
  12. NEVER worry about what others think
  13. Give Freely

These are a few topics I have written about in the past, and if you focus your consciousness on them, it will be difficult not to experience a higher level of happiness. To be happy is the goal of most of us, and it is one of the more ironic facts of life that the more we strive to make others happy, the more happiness we will experience ourselves. Today, let’s focus on being conscious of the thoughts, words, and actions that will spread a little joy worldwide. 

Many people have no idea how much happiness they put into my life, but I know, and I appreciate, them and the richness they provide to my life. There is always room for more positive people in anyone’s life, and I have all the space in the world.

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” ~ Jim Rohn

“The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are and not who people think you are.” Goldie Hawn

The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have instead of what you don’t have.”

We all live intending to be happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.”Anne Frank

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute, with love, grace, and gratitude.” Denis Waitley

Christmas Should Be the Cure

Why Christmas should cure people.

christmas wonder
Christmas should be a time of wonder, and if it isn’t, look within yourself.

It is easy to see the problems with the world today, life’s issues seem to force themselves into our consciousness.  There are those without enough to eat, no family, no home and no hope of anything any better.  This is impossible to fix completely but Christmas gives us our best opportunity to make changes in the quality of life for all people.  How come we so often miss the mark?  Why is it that so many people are not really happy on Christmas?

Commercialism Robs Gratitude

greedmas
Too often it seems Christmas lists look like this. Greed is not good.

The increase in commercialism around this time has made Christmas the season of expectations not of gift giving and gratitude.  People, especially young people, spend the holiday wrapped up in what is being wrapped up for them.  Rather than being concerned with the feeling of Christmas which has always been love, they are worried about what is in this for them.

I feel old when I say I remember a different time, but I do.  There were small gifts that were really appreciated by those receiving them.  I remember not only receiving gifts that were thoughtful, and just what I wanted, and I remember searching for just that perfect gift that cost under five dollars for my parents or siblings.  It was a simpler time, even though Christmas was commercialized then, it was nowhere near the media advertising blitz it is today.

It is no wonder people are so messed up around Christmas, if your intake of expensive electronic gizmos and gadgets doesn’t equal the price of a small import car, the holiday is a failure.  Where did we go wrong?

The Magic of Christmas

gratitude of Christmas
Try some of these thoughts and emotions this year.

It doesn’t have to be that way, and it is simple to reclaim.  If you are Christian then remember the actual meaning of the holiday.  The message is one of love, power, and wonder.  If you aren’t Christian but like the holiday, simply remember that the act of giving is a good thing, and has the power to transcend culture, distance, and differences of all kinds.  Giving is a two-part transaction, which should never be forgotten.  On the one hand, there is the giving of a gift.  It simply has to be given with an open heart, to make someone else happy.  That is it.

The second part of the transaction is receiving, with gratitude, and appreciation, that someone else in the world cares enough about you to take the time to find you a gift. There was a time in life, that I took gifts for granted myself, but age and time have made receiving gifts of any kind a wonder.  I appreciate the thought, even more than the gift itself, because that is the real treasure anyway.

This is the magic that comes with this season each year and seems to be lost in the commercialism and greed that pervades the holiday.  The act of giving is powerful, but the feeling of gratitude for the gifts and love of another can carry you to new heights.  Having a gratitude in your heart can allow you to find the strength to make it through tough times because it is not really how much crap you accumulate in this life, it is how much others care about you and your presence in their lives that matters in the end.

It Will All Be OK

So when you start to feel overwhelmed with the season and find that you are getting frustrated with the commercialism and greed that seems to be all around you, then you need to look inside yourself and find the spirit of giving and the gratitude for all that you have.  If that is your focus you will have a much more pleasant holiday season and life.