The Courage to Be Happy

Do you live as if your cup were half full? How cognizant are you of the fact that what you say is directly correlated to the outcome you’ll get?

If you continually speak of your life as if you never feel good, things never turn out right, or nothing positive comes your way, you’ll more than likely end up being right. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it takes courage to be happy. My great-grandmother Conchetta suffered many indignities and tragedies throughout her life, yet not a day went by without her announcing that she felt blessed with abbondanza: abundance.

You can choose to take all of your experiences and channel them into your own reality show based on fear and anxiety, or you can think of all difficulties as opportunities for creating something new. Negativity is like a big black hole with slippery sides. Once you fall in, it takes a lot of effort to crawl back up.

Many people like the security of the darkness. So if you’re down there, you’ll have lots of company. However, when you decide to come back into the light, the others there won’t help you. They’re stuck in the quagmire and want you there with them, too.

It takes a lot of vigilance to be the guardian of your thoughts, words, and deeds; and you’re often at the mercy of years of conditioning that make you operate as if you’re on autopilot. When you use language such as If only, I wish, or I can’t, you’re dismissing the possibility of today. Why maintain the familiarity of the past or nurse a fear of the future? You may think it’s easier to stay in an unhappy relationship or job or maintain habits that don’t serve you, but ultimately you’ll suffer. In fact, it’s easier and takes less energy to fell good than it does to feel bad.

Lighten Up Your Week:

Steve Jobs once said that every day he would ask himself the same question: “If today were my last day on earth, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” Try asking yourself the same question. It might end up being a huge wake up call.