“Some people CHASE happiness. And some people CHOOSE happiness…” -Robert Holden
I have a confession to make. I have made the most amateur mistake you can make when following your dreams. The one that even your grandma could have predicted. Yeah, it’s pretty embarrassing. Yet I’m going to open up and be vulnerable here, because I think there’s something you can learn from it.
What if you could quit your job? Forget the annoyances, leave the frustrations behind and proudly announce to your boss: “I quit.” What if you could escape that relationship you’re so unhappy with? Or move out of that lousy living situation? What if you had the strength and the courage to get rid of everything that makes you unhappy and to shamelessly pursue your true happiness?
Not long ago, I had the kind of life that many people dream about. I was married, had a good job where I was steadily moving up the ranks, lived in a nice home and had plenty of money to do the things I wanted to do. In some ways, I had it all… except happiness. Happiness was something I’d lost along the way; something I’d forgotten about as I pursued the life I was supposed to live instead of the life I wanted to live.
“When I am happy, I see the happiness in others. When I am depressed, I notice that people’s eyes look sad. When I am weary, I see the world as boring and unattractive.” ~ Steve Chandler
Happiness is not a quality easily had by those who fear challenge and difficulty. Happiness, as a matter of fact, can require quite a bit from us if we would develop those traits that produce it at its highest potential.
In other words, happiness is not for the squeamish. It requires us to get our hands dirty in the ditches and mountain sides of life. It requires us to climb and learn and overcome and develop in ways that are not always easy. Here are four reasons happiness is not for wimps:
What do you really want from life?
I mean really, really want. If you sit down and think about why you want anything, you can almost always discover that the main reason is because you want to feel a certain way.
It could be to feel peace of mind, fulfillment, purpose, or even freedom.
You may think you want money, but what does money give you? Freedom? And what does freedom give you?
Have you ever started off on some huge project to overhaul your entire life – only to give up after a couple of weeks?
Change doesn’t need to be dramatic or all-encompassing. Small, individual changes can lead to new habits, and – eventually – to a much-improved life. They might seem insignificant on their own, but they build up to a powerful force, just like raindrops working away at rocks.
Here are 30 tiny changes that you can start on today. If you made just one change every day, you’d be doing them all in a month’s time. How different could your life look in a year?
