Hello Friends,
Life is an adventure to be lived not a problem to be solved.
Live the adventure for your happy life.
Perfect is the enemy of the good.
Appreciation is a wonderful thing:
It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
Voltaire
I had a movie moment this week- like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she discovers she can go home simply by clicking her heels together. The McMillin family has been working hard to find the perfect car to make us happier. In the process, we have found a car that meets our all our needs, but does not make any of us particularly happy. I decided to step back from the process because this is too big a purchase to squander on something that does not make us happy.
When I stepped back from the search for the perfect car, I got my flash of insight. I saw I did not need the perfect car to be happy with my car purchase. I just needed to appreciate and be engaged in the selection process to happily know I had made a good decision in this moment. Like Dorothy, I already have my over-the-rainbow life.
When I jokingly said that John was looking for the holy grail of cars- the perfect car for us- I unwittingly set us up for failure. In our search for perfect, we lost sight of how many really good options we have. We forgot to appreciate how blessed we are to be able to purchase a car and to use it as much as we do to give ourselves more time, better job opportunities, and more leisure opportunities. I stopped noticing how good it felt to work together as a team as we made our family decisions. Not all our family endeavors go that well.
As soon as I started appreciating the process, and started participating in it instead of waiting for John to present me with options, I felt a rush of happiness and satisfaction. I felt the very feeling I was looking for in finding and owning the perfect car.
It is so easy to get caught in the trap of thinking that success comes first and happiness follows because short term focus and engagement in pursuing a goal does bring happiness. The trouble comes when we focus too hard or too long. Then, we lose perspective on why we were pursuing the goal. Unless we step back with an attitude of gratitude once in a while, we may strangle the happiness we pursue by over focus on the pursuit of happiness. Life is an adventure to be lived, not a problem to be solved.
The research team behind the best-selling business book, Influencer, found that we could change anything personally or socially when we identified the vital behaviors that lead to result we wanted, and we set up a structure to reinforce those behaviors personally, socially, and structurally. You can regain your enthusiasm for the adventure of life, and keep it high with these
tips.
Adopt the vital behaviors that keep your energy and enthusiasm high because-
Life is an adventure to be lived not a problem to be solved.
Live the adventure for your happy life.
Help someone else live their own happy adventure. Pass along the Happy Life Tip of the Week!
Affirmation
Even when I am focused on meeting an important goal, I take time every day to step back, look at the big picture and count my blessings.
Journal or Meditation Question
When have I pursued a goal only to find I achieved it by giving up the reason for going after the goal in the first place. Have I ever had a conversation where my need to make a point, hurt the relationship I was enjoying before my point? Have I ever chased success to find happiness only to get success and not happiness?
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