Happiness is your right
One of the greatest pursuits in life is happiness. Happiness is such an important need that it is declared as one of three unalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The pursuit of the things you love will start each day with happiness. Find your happiness, it’s what you deserve and it’s your right.
Every story has meaning, but none is more important than our own life story.
We are in a position to be the author of our own life story. Distractions, misfortunes, bad decisions, and circumstances beyond our control contributes to our story. Our story is also affected by good decisions, circumstances we can manage, the realization of dreams come true, and the motivation to be the best we can be in all we do. The content of our story will never be perfect, but the ending can be perfect. Our story is being written, the author is us, lets make our story a good one.
Helping people.
I see so many good people struggling each day to overcome perplexing situations which create emotional duress. The never ending bombardment of challenging circumstances each moment of every day saps our compassion, our spirit, and our willingness to conquer the challenges life presents. We all need someone to come forth to be the light in our life when we need help or when we need a little boost to make our day better.
Daily struggles can go unnoticed if one chooses to keep them bottled up, but doing so creates a myriad of emotional distress. Anything from depression, disgust, anger, or withdrawal from society is likely to happen. Other times we have the motivation to seek help to overcome the problems we face in life. Thats where you come in, I encourage you to become the light in someones life whether they are shy about discussing their troubles or whether they share with you the challenges they need help with. Let me talk briefly about three opportunities to reach out and be the light in someones life. 1) Embrace the opportunity to personally know the people in your life and listen carefully to what they say. 2) Embrace the opportunity to notice how one presents them self, are they depressed, are they confident, are they faced with a life long malady that has translated into withdrawal, are there other noticeable behaviors that beg for help? 3) Embrace the opportunity to make a genuine effort to smile and greet others with heart felt enthusiasm. All three scenarios offer the opportunity to take action and be the light in someones life.
Our first opportunity to help others is to reach out and put forth the effort to know people and to listen to people that we come in contact with. We are all aware of the people we work with, the people in our friend circle, acquaintances we occasionally come in contact with, and our family. What if we developed an attitude of compassion and took the steps necessary to learn a little about each person. What if we offered to help each other when we face struggles? Life would become much happier if we offered compassion and help to a person we know who needs a little boost to overcome their challenges. We all have strengths which lead us to excel while interacting with others if we just let our intuition flow naturally with kindness and sincerity. Never be afraid to step up to help someone in a way that brings out the best in you. Always believe in yourself and let the opportunity to know people and to listen to people be one of your strengths. Listening to a person can often be the remedy for helping them get back on track. I venture to say we all know someone who is struggling with challenges which begs us for an opportunity to help. Opportunities are endless to help a person gain a little confidence, to help them get back on track, and to help them understand and develop a personal relationship with an all knowing, ever present power called God, who loves them, who encourages them, who takes their burdens, and who guides them with inspiration and knowledge to conquer any battle life brings. Let your light shine by taking a genuine interest in knowing the people in your circle whether they are friends, acquaintances, or family and let your light shine by sincerely listening to what they say.
Our second opportunity is to observe how people present themselves. I’m not talking about social status or personal appearance, I’m talking about how a person presents them self in regards to confidence and compassion for others. Are there subtle changes about how a person presents them self and are there drastic changes in a persons life that begs for an opportunity to help? Many people lack the confidence to overcome challenges in their life possibly due to circumstances beyond their control, or due to not being recognized, or due to not being appreciated by others. Life and individual choices have a way of knocking people down. Anxiety takes over and their ability to function at an optimum level is compromised. Its our duty to help someone overcome their challenges and to share knowledge which can instill confidence and give them the tools to navigate a fulfilling journey. Of course a person has to be receptive to receiving help or otherwise they cannot progress in life. However, never give up on a person for they may be the one who helps you in your time of need. Always strive to be a great example of how to live life and get along with others. Remember, someone may be impacted by your actions who you are not even aware of, so always put your best foot forward. The opportunity of observation can lead to lifting a person up so they are able to cope or resolve the way they present them self. If we commit to the opportunity to bring forth our light for others to aspire to, we will have made someones life a little happier.
Our third opportunity is to present an enthusiastic smile and a warm greeting which can initiate a wonderful difference in another persons day. An enthusiastic and sincere expression of compassion indicates we care about someone and most people recognize that. Even if they do not recognize your compassion, never give up because eventually they may mellow and be much happier. It doesn’t take much effort to smile and say hello like you mean it. Be sincere, speak from your heart and be sure to show enthusiasm when speaking. There is something magical about a person who exudes happiness and enthusiasm for life. They are the people most of us want to associate with. I’ve had days I thought would never end until someone smiled and ask, “how is your day going”? Feeling uplifted that someone genuinely cared about my day encouraged me to make a nice change of my attitude. Sometimes all a person needs to make their day is for someone to recognize them with sincere enthusiasm. Happy people have an aura about them that says, “join me in happiness and put your worries aside”. We are here to help others and to bring a little sunshine into their lives for we are the light of the world.
Opportunities abound, there are literally countless opportunities every second and I encourage you to be aware of what you can do to help others. Its easy to become self centered and concerned with our own lives while fostering an atmosphere that builds and feeds our own selfish ego with little regard for others. Fight the temptation to become self centered, because that thought process eventually leads to an island of loneliness. One of the most valuable assets we all possess is the ability to help others. Ability alone is not enough though, we must possess the willingness to step forward and be the light so many people desperately need. Lets not let others down by being darkness and showing an attitude of defeat, worthlessness, hatred, negativity, or any behavior that is not productive. Lets be the bright shining light that radiates help, love, and calm to others. So many people are in need of a shining light in their life and so many people depend on us to be the bright shining light in their life, let us not let them down.
Never give up.
Never give up on anything positive you want to achieve, for the moment you do, someone else is waiting to pounce on the very thing you gave up on.
Why give someone the opportunity to prosper from from anything you are considering giving up on. Stay focused, drive on, push through, stay determined, and seek help to achieve your goal. Sometimes its helpful to step back, take a break, then jump back in and pursue your goal. A timely break can refresh the mind and evoke new ideas about accomplishing a goal. Sometimes we can bounce ideas off others to get their perspective on how to proceed. Sometimes we experience failure on the way to accomplishing a goal, this is not quitting, its merely a setback and fine tuning the plan we are pursuing. Once a goal is realized, doggedly stay on track and don’t let anyone steal your thunder or lead you astray. A positive outlook and visualization of accomplishing a goal will help move one toward realizing their goal. Remember, all things are possible with the right mindset.
Consider for a moment, If one was to give up on their goal who would prosper and how would they benefit. Imagine someone taking your idea and seeing it through to the end, then realizing all the benefits of an idea you gave up on. Imagine how one might feel in light of giving up on a goal that was originally seen as achievable. The resulting sense of quitting can become a habit that rears its head in our everyday endeavors. Just the thought of giving up can be the tip of easing the drive to accomplish a goal. Don’t let quitting become the easy way out accomplishing things you thought were not possible. Don’t let negativity stop you from going forward. Hard work and a passion for what you want will be the driving force which propels you forward.
Are there times when quitting is prudent, I would say yes. When we are being self destructive through negative habits or behavior, it may be time to revaluate ones direction in life. It may be time for an intervention to start anew with fresh goals that contribute to behaviors which nourish our body, mind, and spirit, as well as behaviors which benefits mankind.
If your goal is positive and its outcome is something that contributes to self improvement or to the betterment of society, never give up because someone else is waiting to step in and steal your dream.
The end is a beginning.
Today is a new day, let go of yesterday. Today is not like all the yesterdays regardless of how we perceive time. Each new day of our life is a day for a fresh start, a new beginning, a time to put new thoughts and ideas in motion. The excitement of waking up with a fresh start each day should propel us to initiate actions that fulfill our purpose for living. The opportunities in a day are endless, why waste one minute on boredom or self pity. Many folks suffer from circumstances they feel are out of their control. Never put off seeking help to overcome times of difficulty. Seek out friends or professionals who have the skills to help cope with difficult situations. Strive hard to ignite the desire to overcome that which causes great pain and despair. It is never to late to pull ourselves up by the bootstrap and go about our day seeking to help others, to be kind, to gain one small slice of knowledge, and to keep in mind that in each minute of every day an opportunity is there for us. Every ending has a new beginning that sets in motion something new. The end is never the end unless we give up, even then there is a beginning. Let nothing stop you from a new beginning today.
Age releases barriers.
As I mature in life, I find the barriers we put between ourselves and others whether perceived or real are less prevelant. I notice people are more willing to seek a common and meaningful connection with each other as they mature and disengage from the rigors and stress of maintaining a lifestyle. No longer is status, age, gender, race, degrees, rank, position, wealth, or lack thereof a hinderance to building great friendships or a hinderance to converse with people from all walks of life. Maturity brings forth the desire to pursue fellowship and a genuine interest in people regardless of their journey in life. We all share common interests of friendship, love, and a sense of belonging. I know as we mature, we truly realize that people we have known and people we have yet to meet offer wonderful blessings in our lives. The progression of life seems to lessen the notion of feeling socially inept. One’s ego becomes less important and a sincere focus emerges about sharing our journey of life, listening to others, acquiring new friends, and developing the desire to become a better all around person. Most barriers that keep us from accepting others were put in place by ourself.
Realize your talent
Everyone is born with a special talent just waiting to flourish. Sometimes talent is recognized and developed at an early age. Other times talent takes time to recognize and develop which presents itself later in life. Either way, we all have something special to contribute to society, to friends, or to family. We are all offered many roads to travel throughout life, the road that brings forth your best asset is the road that reveals your special talent. How do you know when you have found the right road? It’s an instinctive feeling of realizing your flow of natural ability, it’s a feeling of ease for what you bring to the world, and a feeling of harmony that comes without a struggle. It’s a feeling of love for what you are doing and the realization of being self motivated for the talent you have found within yourself. If you’ve found your talent, great keep rolling. If you’re still searching, never give up because everyone has a talent that is special.
