I have always been intrigued by what makes people truly happy.
I am a simple kind of girl that needs little, materially speaking, to feel fulfilled.
Just give me four walls and my family, I’m happy. Oh, and maybe some cheetos.
I don’t feel the need to surround myself with things in order to feel satisfied. Things, as far as I’m concerned, are such a momentary thrill. Before long, the short-term boost wears off, leaving us feeling no happier than before. The new thing becomes an old thing. Then you are back to square one.
I thought it was interesting that after a visit to North America, Mother Teresa observed that she had ever seen such an abundance of material wealth. But she had also never seen such poverty of the spirit, of loneliness, and being unwanted.
How can this be? In this glorious country, filled with all the luxuries of the world, the people living in it are not very happy. Maybe because because people are so preoccupied with pressing deadlines, that we rush past the homeless on our way to work. Stuck in a crowd at rush hour, we brush by the woman who struggles to lift her baby’s carriage onto the bus. In a sprint for material wealth and our relentless efforts to fulfill our own definition of success, we often leave others behind. Probably the greatest casualty in this is our own personal happiness.
Here there is such a gap between our society’s soaring monetary wealth and the true wealth of happiness and well-being that all of us deserve to enjoy.
One striking thing I read yesterday completely reiterated what I’ve always felt, even from a very early age. “Money itself doesn’t necessarily lead to happiness and neither does what it often takes to obtain it: time. The fact is, we only have so much time, and once it’s gone we ever get it back. When we get caught up in the race to get ahead, taking time away from our spouses and our children, we risk falling victim to an overwhelming emptiness.” The authors of “Me to We” call this the “rich-but-poor phenomenon.”
Your life is your journey. We only have so much time.
Once it’s gone, we never get it back.
Say this over and over to yourself.
In the struggle to meet deadlines, impress clients, and advance through the ranks, it’s easy to become so focused on accomplishing specific tasks that we lose sight of how our actions impact our personal well-being, not to mention that of those around us. Don’t fall trap and work long hours because of the responsibility to others trying to provide “only the best” for your family. Because at the end of the day they are not the best for your family, or yourself.
If you’re like me, you want to play with your kids, get a good night sleep and spend quality time with family, loved ones, or get together with friends. But sometimes you can’t because you have a project to finish, emails to reply to or a deadline looming. When the choices you make in your life leave you with no time, energy, or incentive to focus on anyone but ourselves, there’s a problem.
My challenge to you?
Make some changes now that will move you in the direction of happiness.
You only get one life.
Let me know the changes you will make to get happy, and link up to this post.
The Haus of Girls Get Happy! challenge starts now.
Little changes make a big difference…Ready, Set, Go!
