Achieving and maintaining personal happiness is difficult. The reason this is true is that so many things (or factors) affect our degree of happiness. For example, our career/profession/role affects our happiness. To the extent that we are doing what we love and loving what we do, we are either happy or sad. The same could be said about our relations with family and our relation with nature. But happiness is determined by so much more, including our health or degree of fitness and our financial state, among other things.
Many people (myself included) exist on a happiness roller-coaster where one day we are happy and the next day we are sad. For obvious reasons, this is no way to live. Each of us was meant to live happily; a life fragrant, full of color. That said, there is a way to get off such roller coaster. The way to get off the emotional roller coaster is to first take an inventory of those things in your life that both make you happy and make you sad. Let’s call each of these items ‘factors’. Now, tally your list of happy and sad factors. Which list is coming out on top? That is, which list is longer? Are the factors in your life bending towards happiness or bending towards sadness? If your list is mostly ‘happy’, remind yourself of this fact daily. Say to yourself “the majority of my life is happy and I should be grateful for this fact”. Reminding yourself daily that the majority of your life is ‘positive’ might possibly rid you of your mental illness. If your list, however, is mostly ‘sad’, then identify enough of the sad parts of your life that you can do something about to turn sadness into gladness. By doing this, you will shift the emotional balance in your life to be at least 51% happy and then you are on the path to sustained happiness. The key here is to address a few things in your life, not all things as when we attempt to reengineer all aspects of our life we get quickly overwhelmed and we abandon the effort.
The key to maintaining a happy emotional state is to turn ‘happiness stealers’ (sad factors) into initiatives (part of a broader Personal Strategy) that uplift, inspire, and entertain. The arithmetic of happiness is clear: when we have more happy factors than sad factors defining our life, we are happy, alive, and free. When we do not, we are depressed, irritable, and numb. Therefore, if your life reflects placement on the wrong side of the happiness balance sheet, take action today to shift the balance, to get happiness back on your side. You can take comfort in knowing that many people have operated on the wrong side of the happiness balance sheet, but, then, through either daily reminders or through explicit action (i.e., a personal strategy for living) they were able to take control of their emotions and, therefore, their life. Decide TODAY to take your life back.
I wish you well.
Look forward to your reply.
Randall
LIFE COACHING: I’m available for one on one life coaching. Whether you want to acheive higher levels of success in business and life or feel you are moving on a random course without definition, direction, or control, I’d love to work with you. Together, we can determine your next steps. Together, we can identify and prioritize the appropriate actions needed to succeed. Together, we can make great things happen! If you are interested in developing personal strategy, establishing personal alignment, and/or maximizing the life experience, email me at randall@personalstrategy.org or leave a message on our voicemail hotline at 847-773-7505.
