“The difference between a successful person and others is not the lack of strength, not the lack of knowledge, but, rather, the lack of will.
Vince Lombardi
#motivation #desire #happiness
You’ve heard lots of talk about discipline.
What you don’t always hear about is the link between desire and discipline.
Some people know exactly what they want from life. Others really haven’t a clue, except for some superficial desire for money, power or some other thing in the abstract, especially when they see that others have what they don’t.
Those in the first category usually not only know what they want from life, but also find a way to get it, even if it means having to do some uncomfortable things before they get it.
Those in the other group will search for contentment, probably never find it in absolute terms and complain that they are not getting it. Many of us know these people. They work at a job, or in a certain place, they make a living and make the best of what life gives them. They realize it’s not enough and are envious of those who have more. Envy is a profound energy waster. It will produce nothing, but will gradually drain one’s physical and mental resources.
Those in the first group look at others’ accomplishments as goals for themselves. They don’t waste energy on envy, resentment and other worthless emotions. They focus their energy on what they need to do to achieve what they desire.
It’s difficult, but not impossible, to convert from one type of person to the other. It’s not easy for an envious person to be self-reflecting. It’s not easy for a motivated, discipline person to sink to the level of the envious, providing he doesn’t listen to what the envious tell him.
But let’s just say an envious person has an epiphany, the same way an addict gets the message that he needs to stop. When that happens, the envious person learns that he DOESN’T have to accept things as they are. He learns there IS a way he can better his life, even, perhaps, without interfering with what he is doing.
What might cause this? Desire! One must realize that he would like something in life strongly enough to make changes, to discipline himself to do what he needs to. Just as the addict might one day say, NO MORE, and mean it, the envious person might find the desire that has been missing. He might realize that contentment is not the same as happiness. He might discover something inside him that will make him want to change.
It’s easy to be fooled by procrastinators. They will talk eloquently about what they will do tomorrow, but that tomorrow is long in coming. They realize contentment isn’t so bad. The person truly converted from envious starts immediately. He doesn’t necessarily look for things to happen quickly, but he performs activities needed to change his life
Are you an envious, contented procrastinator? Or do you want more from life than what you have, and are willing to do what you need to get it? If so, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. See firsthand how people motivated by what they want can get it. Then, see how motivated people help other motivated people do the same.
They had, or discovered, a discontent with a contented life. They didn’t want to wait for something to happen. Instead, they did what they had to do to make it happen.
Another characteristic of motivated people is that they can lose everything, and know they can get it all back. Instead of settling for contentment, they strove for true happiness, and helped others do the same.
Peter
Tag Archives: happiness
HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE
Happiness is not happenstance.
Life comes and goes, with its ups and downs, but happiness is a choice.
Glenn Van Ekeren discusses happiness, among other attitudes, in his book, “Love Is A Verb: 10 Ways to Make All Your Relationships Great.”
Van Ekeren uses the example of child star Shirley Temple Black’s husband, Charles, who asked his mother what the happiest moment of her life was. “This moment – right now,” she responded.
The happiest moments of her past were the happiest then. But today, she is living in the present. It’s great to have cherished memories of the past, but you need to be happy today. Happy people only have two things in common, Van Ekeren says. They knew exactly what they wanted, and felt they were moving toward getting it.
Circumstances will confront you, but not control you. Happiness is a choice. Others will have what you don’t have. It doesn’t matter. Happy people make the best of what THEY have.
Van Ekeren uses the term “inverse paranoid” to describe happy people. They are people who think everyone is out to make them happy. Happy people, therefore, devote their time to making others happy. Usually, the favor is returned many-fold.
Happiness is not a state of being. It’s a created attitude. When you ask someone as you greet them, “how are you,” do you get responses like, “I’m here, aren’t I?” Or, “I’m living to see another day,” these folks have not created happiness in their lives.
On the other hand, no matter what they are going through, happy people will respond, “I’m great,” or “life is wonderful.” They have worked on being happy. It doesn’t matter what their circumstances are. They are happy, and they want YOU to be happy.
We all experience anger, disappointment, resentment and other negative emotions. We might all occasionally ask, “why me?” But happy people never say, “woe is me.” Their inverse paranoia takes over. They want to make someone else happy today, and they probably – though it’s not an expectation – will be made happy by someone else today.
You see, happy people give without expecting a quid pro quo. They are happy because they believe they can offer someone value, and will gladly donate it to them. Now, people need to earn money, but even in business, the happy businessperson gives his clients more than they pay for.
Did you work on your happiness today? Have you been working on it for a while? Have you worked on it for so long that it just comes naturally to you? Are you paying it forward, by making someone else happy? Are you a person who knows what he wants, and is moving toward getting it?
If that is NOT you, stop. Don’t think about your circumstances, think about your relationships. Are you helping make other people happy? Are you doing that gladly? (In some jobs, your boss may be happy with you, but you are not happy about making him happy). Do you see where you want to be in life way in the distance or, in your mind, unachievable?
Regardless of how you see yourself, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. People who’ve worked on their happiness might see a vehicle with which they could make many more folks happy. People who haven’t may see a vehicle that could help them build their own happiness.
Bobby McFerrin’s song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” is a cute tune and a cute lyric that disguises his musical genius. Happy people may have worries, but they are short and temporary. You will never see it when you talk to them. Their attitude is on the big picture. They want to make YOU happy. Undoubtedly, you’ll want to do the same for them.
Peter