From today’s Healthy Reflections e-mail from Sparkpeople.com:
Happiness is a state of mind, not a way of life or a destination that you’ll reach one day. Bumps in the road of life are to be expected, and we cannot let them ruin our days. We often think that if a combination of factors would just fall into place THEN we would finally be happy. Satisfaction can only come from within, through truly accepting yourself, your life, and your circumstances. During this life you’ll have many hard days–long work days, sleepless nights, worrying about the future, etc. This week, think about the joys of your life. Find creative ways to enjoy the little bumps in the road.
I like to share these things with everyone, especially when I feel like others can relate to how I am feeling. I love inspirational/motivational messages and self-reflective readings. This particular subject brings me back to a class I took a few summers ago through the local community college. It was called “Coping Skills for Stress” and boy did it hit home. I remember the instructor telling us a story about the path to happiness and how most people can’t accept what they have and be happy NOW, and are always saying they will be happy when something else happens.
I’ve realized over the past few years that the way most people view life is really not a good way to live. You have to first be happy with what you have in order to succeed and grow happier with each passing day. If you constantly seek extraordinary happiness all the time, you will never reach that place. My life has improved mainly because of my ability to manage stress so much better than I ever could before. Exercise, diet, proper sleep, time to myself, a job I love, plans for the future, and being healthy are all things that have made an extreme difference in my feelings of happiness. By saying this, I don’t mean that I don’t have goals or plans that will ultimately improve my life and make me a happier person. I just want people to understand that attitude really is everything and so is finding the things that keep you feeling down and fixing them.
Does anyone else have anything to share? Stories? Self-Reflection? etc… Where has “the path to happiness” come into play in your life?
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A great obstacle to happiness is expecting too much happiness. – Bernard de Fontanelle, French writer