Happy New Year! Or is it? Are you happier than last year?
Happy New Year is an expression that EVERYONE extends to others. Almost as a courtesy. Wanna try something new? Say it to yourself – and MEAN IT!!
What’s your plan to be happy this year? Or are you just going back to the “goal” and “resolution” process that really hasn’t worked that well over the past decade? Or should I say past two decades?
There are fundamentals to follow to make your resolutions and goals a reality. The secret to achievement is the unspoken aspects of the process. And many of those elements revolve around the word “happy.”
Here are a few things to consider as you look to “put” and “be” HAPPY in your life in the New Year. These elements will give you the freedom to find internal happiness:
- Be happy about yourself.
- Be happy about your life.
- Be happy about your relationships.
- Be proud of what you’re doing.
- Love what you’re doing.
- Desire to be the BEST at what you’re doing.
- Know the purpose (your REAL WHY) behind what you’re doing.
To help you get started, I’m going to share some gold from my Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. It explains the urgency of self-imposed happiness as it relates to your success. Read it and apply it to your life.
The truth is, the fact is, the reality is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now.
If not now, when? After the economy gets better? You may not be able to wait that long.
Your life will always be filled with challenges, barriers, and disappointments. It’s best to admit this to yourself, and decide to be happy anyway. Alfred Souza said, “For a long, long time it had seemed to me that I was about to begin real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”
There is no “way” to happiness.
Happiness is the way.
There is no “after” to happiness.
Happiness is now.
HERE’S THE ANSWER: Happiness is inside your head FIRST and everyplace else second. Happiness is a treasure. Your (potentially missed) opportunity is to treasure every moment that you have.
Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until you quit smoking, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get your new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until the first or the fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you’ve had a drink, until you’ve sobered up, until you win the lottery, or until the cows come home to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.
And treasure the happiness of now more because you share it with someone special enough to invest your time in.
Happiness is:
Not a sale or a commission.
Not an economy or a budget.
Not a yes or a no.
Not a game winning hit or a last second touchdown.
Happiness is a way of life that is inside you at all times. It helps you get over the tough times, and helps you celebrate the special times.
Seems pretty simple to define on paper, but real difficult to manifest when the chips are down. My experience has taught me the difference between resign and resolve. You can resign yourself to what is, and hope or wait for a better day. Or you can resolve that you are a positive person who finds the good, the positive, the happiness, the smile, and especially the opportunity in everything.
Happiness is now, not a goal or a destination.
It’s not an after. It’s a before.
It’s an attitude – your attitude – about what was, what is, and what could be.
And it’s up to you. All you have to do is: decide.
Please decide to have YOUR Happy New Year.
I’m gonna have mine.
