Are You Happy?

There has been times in my life when I have been asked if I was happy, and this has often been followed by me feeling somewhat perplexed. When I have been asked this, part of me has felt as though I should say yes, while another part of me hasn't wanted to say anything.

The reason for this is that I don't aspire to be happy, far from it; that's not to say that I do everything I can to be unhappy, though. For me, the purpose of life is to live a fulfilling life - that's what matters.

Meaning

As time has gone by, this is something that I have said when I had been asked this question. And if I am asked if my life is fulfilling, after I have said this, I will usually go into the areas of my life that are fulfilling.

For example, once I have finished writing an article, I usually feel happy. The reason for this is that I will have done something that is deeply meaningful to me - I will have fulfilled a number of needs.

Two Types of Happiness

Soon after this my mood will probably drop, but that doesn't mean that I will go from one extreme to the other. I will return to the middle ground or the middle of the emotional spectrum.

This type of happiness is then what is called value-based happiness, as opposed to sensation-based happiness. The first type of happiness will be the result of me doing something that matters to me and second type of happiness will be the result of me taking something or having a pleasurable experience.

Way Back

Before I started writing, I was more inclined to seek out certain experiences or to consume things that would allow me to feel good. The perfect example of this was when I would go out for the night and get drunk.

During this time I would feel great and I wouldn't want it to end, but this experience wouldn't last and I would often wake up feeling rough. I soon came to see that the cons outweighed the pros.

Beyond Happiness

I think it might have been through reading books by Osho that I came to see how futile it is to want to be happy. In some his books he talks about how pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin.

Pain follows pleasure in the same way that night follows day. Not only this, the more we want something the harder it is to attain it; therefore, if we set out to be happy, we are likely to experience more of the things we are trying to run away from.

Avoidance

It was also around this time that I came to see that if wanted to be happy, it was usually because I was trying to avoid something. This may have meant that I was in pain, or it could have come down to how I perceived something.

Once I had worked through how I felt or changed my perspective, the need to experience life differently often disappeared. I remember speaking to a therapist called, Vijay Rana, about this, and he said that to him, being happy was all about knowing that he could handle whatever like threw at him. This is all about being resilient.

A Unique Outlook

While this is not necessarily going to mean that he will always have a smile on his face, what it will probably do is give him a sense of belief and allow him to let go and to trust that he will be OK, no matter what.

When he said this, I thought that this was a good way to be. Instead of trying to chase something that can't be caught, he was more interested in being present; along with doing the work that he found fulfilling.

Final Thoughts

Coming back to what I said at the beginning, I think the reason why I felt the need to say yes came down to me needing approval, and saying yes was seen as a way for me to fulfil that need. I also feared that if I said no, I would have to talk about why that was.

This would have caused me to experience anxiety and shame, and that was the last thing that I wanted to experience. Over time, I have come to see that being happy is a by-product of having a life that is fulfilling.

Never Taking Gratitude for Granted Again

TAKING life for granted is something we've got down to an art form, especially in the West. Yet, there are myriads of blessings showered upon us daily, many of which sustain our lives; that we never quite think will fade... until they do.

Take a walk along the wild side and imagine the Procurer of Life doing what only He can do:

God's love breathes down when our lungs swell up.

God breathes His love into us when our lungs fill with air. Every cell He engineered and built and sustains. Every cell He fuels and maintains. Every air molecule purpose designed to catalyse creative effort. And as we exhale that air is purged into air that's safe to re-breathe.

God supplies the next breath. He, indeed, is breath - YAH... WEH - inhalation (YAH) and exhalation (WEH); the God of all. His name is the only two syllable word that can be simply breathed. By breath He is. He is ours as we live to breathe. We are His, for we cannot survive without this precious mix of compound gases for our lungs, for our cells and our being; for our existence. He has given us that 20 or 21 percent oxygen that we need - beautifully and intelligently designed in fresh air.

He invents the senses, energises us to feel them, and grants us the capacity to perceive.

From atoms to the astronomical this God of love has loved through cohesive creation.

He touches us through the oddest, worldliest thing, a fascinating narrative, the expression of emotion, yet we know He is behind the wondrous mystery that captivates the moment.

He opens His mouth and speaks life and hope into us. Especially, mostly, when we have waited, impatiently, impetuously, for a Word before its time.

Satisfaction - How to Find and Keep It?

Do you ever find yourself wondering "Is this all there is? This home? This partner? This job? Shouldn't things be better?" The popularity of the song 'I can't get no satisfaction' by the Rolling Stones suggests that a certain element of impatience with life, even futility and disillusionment, is not uncommon.

"I can't get no satisfaction

'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try

I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm drivin' in my car

And that man comes on the radio

And he's tellin' me more and more

About some useless information

Supposed to fire my imagination

I can't get no, oh no no no"

(Rolling Stones)

So why can't we find and keep that feeling of satisfaction?

A perspective from positive psychology
The field of positive psychology suggests some obstacles to satisfaction.

The first obstacle is a hedonistic attitude. This is mistakenly assuming personal satisfaction only comes from 'wine, women and song'. The sensory pleasure of the moment may come from any number of things e.g. watching exciting sport or letting your hair down at a party, or enjoying good drink and food. But by prioritising pleasure one neglects engagement in meaningful activity and personal relationships that furnish a sense of satisfying purpose to your life.

A second obstacle to satisfaction is being focused on possible dangers around us. This is having a negativity bias. For example being more likely to remember and take seriously a putdown, criticism or insult than a piece of positive feedback or compliment. No wonder you are unhappy if this is preoccupying your thoughts.

A third obstacle is the attitude of 'Keeping up with the Joneses' Comparing oneself with others often results in feeling diminished e.g. if our furniture, car, holiday, or clothes happen to be less smart than theirs.

A fourth obstacle is having low self-control. The assumption is that satisfaction results from giving in to our natural desires, We are prone to taking the view of wanting something now rather than later. However, controlling impulses leads to happiness in the longer run. Putting off pleasures until later is necessary if we are to consistently pursue goals. For example if one's aim is to repay a debt, then one many never achieve this if one spends money when one feels like it. Otherwise we just create problems and frustration.

A spiritual perspective on satisfaction
I would suggest that a deeper appreciation of who we are profoundly influences our state of happiness. The obstacle here is our natural minded tendency. We each have a strong natural sense of self-awareness as a self-contained individual. We think 'I am myself.' 'This is my body'. 'This is my mind'. So we each seem to have a separate consciousness and life of our own. We live as if we were each an island unto ourselves. Out of contact with the notion of being connected to something bigger.

Subjectively, my sense of self is crucial. It gives me a sense of individuality and thus an important feeling of freedom and responsibility for personal choices. We feel full of life, we have the experience of feeling and thought. So it comes as a bit of shock to hear it suggested that we're actually more than we think we are. That all our feelings and thoughts come from outside of ourselves.

Yet this is exactly what several spiritual traditions maintain. They say this perception of oneself as independently real is a mistake. Instead, it is suggested that there actually is only one Self. Not myself but rather the Self that is my creative origin and spiritual source. The higher power of the Alcoholics Anonymous movement which has the ability to transform and heal the addict.

The mystics speak of the One as the only reality. The one goodness we can all learn to experience. Buddhists have a doctrine of no-self. The self hood that is an illusion. Christians say we are made in the image of God. Our life is God's life in us. This in contrast to the idea that the God of religion is invented by us and created in our image.

The spiritual philosophy of Swedenborg teaches that the only real life that gives happiness and satisfaction comes from the Divine Itself. If life on earth is created by the source of life, then it follows that we have no life of ourselves and are merely receivers of life from a higher source. This is not an argument for saying we cannot accept responsibility for how we lead our lives. As of ourselves we have been gifted the freedom to choose. To turn one way or the other. Nevertheless, if all goodness comes from the Source of Goodness then it follows that of ourselves we have no power to do good.

Illusion as an obstacle to satisfaction
This natural fallacy of the senses - that we possess life, abilities, strength and goodness of our own - can lead us astray.

Because of the illusion of having life of oneself, we are at risk of falling into self-orientation with its dangers of self-serving and self-interested behaviour. We are liable to forget the needs of others, of the principles of living we have learned, and lapse into a state of feeling alone, empty and dissatisfied with life.

"In this negative state we are open to all the evils that accompany it. And closed to all that is good and true" (Michael Stanley, spiritual teacher).

Egotistically, believing in only ourselves, we come to assume that happiness can only come from bodily comfort, social status and power.

Conclusion
This is only my point of view. But I would say don't fall for the illusion of the senses that says we each are alone; that we can find happiness in our own strength; that there is nothing beyond the material world. That leads to prioritising pleasure seeking, looking for threats, comparing oneself with others, and having low self-control - all obstacles to satisfaction.

One won't find satisfaction if one relies on oneself for happiness, on one's own intelligence, one's own abilities. Instead, when we turn towards deeper concepts about our spiritual source then will we find hope and inspiration. It means having a certain humility in wanting to see the possible personal relevance of the true Self to our daily life.

I am arguing that this Divine Self is the only source of lasting satisfaction. Finding this presence gives you hope, trust and guidance to escape from the life with which you now feel dissatisfied.

As a clinical psychologist, Stephen Russell-Lacy has specialised in cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy, working for many years with adults suffering distress and disturbance.

The Secret to Happiness Is to Give Happiness Away

SEPTEMBER 25, 2003, a Thursday, was the day, even in the pain of a loss I could not yet contemplate, that God gave me a gift.

I was attending my eldest daughter's school sports carnival. It was only three days after my first marriage had collapsed. I was in deep pain, yet I still had responsibilities to fulfil as a father.

But something else was also working within me that had been dormant for thirteen years; something that I had not experienced before. It was the power of the risen Christ in me. Suddenly, almost as if it were overnight, I began to live a reality that I hadn't yet even conceived.

I recall feeling moved to return home briefly to pick up some items to give away. I was being moved by the Holy Spirit. In the act of giving these things away - and not looking one bit for approval or appreciation or thanks - I knew that I knew that I knew I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

Finally I was giving away what I could not keep in order to gain what I could never lose.

I had been Christian for all those thirteen years and had never even conceived that that was the true Christ-life. In no time at all, at the worst time in my life, I was given the precious gift I could not have otherwise received. I had to be plunged into the abyss without hope for rescue to ultimately understand the premise of the Christ-life. If that isn't good news I don't know what is.

That precious gift I refer to is the gift of understanding this: the more we give away with a heart that seeks nothing in return, the happier God gives us to be.

We can understand this in another way. Imagine materialism and spiritualism as opposites. The more life we give to one, the more death is in the other. The more we crave to retain the things of this world, the less content we'll truly be. But the more we give away in this life, the more God gives us in this world of His to come. And that world truly enters our world through peace, hope and joy when we give our lives away for others.

Two things that need to be necessarily stated are that the practice of giving my life away was sustained throughout that early season, but in truth, there have been aspects of my life since where I've found it hard and possibly impossible to give away. Thankfully God is gracious to remind us that it's okay that we have not yet ascended to perfection - and that that standard is not required of us. But we're still blessed to aspire to it.

Who's Your Momma?

As a young man, I would always love hearing those golden nuggets of wisdom, masked in the form of clever one-liners.

For instance, if my friends ever sensed I was being timid in asking for something I wanted or thought I needed, invariably I'd hear someone shout... "The squeaky wheel gets the grease man."

This one was often tossed my way when fear or laziness was obviously keeping me from moving forward. "Billy boy... it's not going to just happen. You have to make it happen."

For years, this little ditty's been ringing in my ears motivating me to pick up the phone, with a smile in my voice, when a customer calls at 2:00 in the morning, or 8:00 in the evening on a Saturday night, needing help. "Twenty percent of all salespeople get 80% of the business."
Here are a few others I really like.

• If it were easy, anyone could do it. 
• The more you learn, the less you know. 
• Everything in moderation. Side bar... this one has always gotten the best of me. 
• Gravity is holding you down, what's holding you back? 
• Plan as if you're living forever and live as if you're dying tomorrow. 
• Surround yourself with the best... I love, love, love, love this one. 
• The more I drink, the better you look... or is it the other way around?

The longer I live, the more golden many of these nuggets become... but there's this one I feel outshines them all.

Trumpets please!

"When Momma's happy, everyone's happy."

Every family has that one special someone with the biggest heart, the widest smile, and the most compassion, who will anywhere or anytime, drop what she's doing to love you through any blood, sweat, or tears you may be spilling at the moment.

And it is no secret who that person is in our family; every one of my kids knows who I'm talking about. She's the nurturer, the counselor, the nurse, the motivator, the listener, the one you want to laugh with, the one you want to cry with. Get the picture?

Yes, in our world, Momma's my wife, Leslie. She's the one who makes our world go around... and sees to it that it continues to do so. Not to mention, she's also hot. But that's just icing on my cake... and boy do I love that icing!

So, as I said... when Momma's happy, everyone's happy. Guess what my primary mission is?

Now before I go any further, I have one disclaimer. I'm a Gemini... in every sense of the word. Just ask Momma... she'll tell you. As a matter of fact, if you look up the word Gemini in the dictionary, it says Bill Peak and Bill Peak. So, perfection for me is being able to carry out a mission... half of the time.

Seriously, I'll do anything to make this woman happy. I'll choke down and swallow my pride when it gets in our way.

I'll give her flowers or other small tokens of affection for no particular reason. I'll trip over myself opening doors she's about to go through.

When we have a difference of opinion and we both know we're right, I'll take a breath, chase that other half of myself away, allow the dust to settle a bit, and then try to make her laugh. You see, when she laughs... I know we're good.

She gets at least a hug every time I see her. Wait a minute... that's one of my perks.

If I sense there's something she wants, she will get it... period amen. Truth is, she doesn't ask for much.

Believe me... in no way, shape, or form am I patronizing her... not a chance. Honestly, when you live with a giver, expressing affection is something you look forward to.

Wow, you say... you must be the perfect husband. Well, if that's what you're thinking... you'd be thinking wrong. Have you already forgotten my disclaimer above?

Here's the bottom line, and it's the only thing that matters. She absolutely 100%, without a doubt, knows where she stands with me... and believe me, its way up there.

Here's the beauty of it... and it's probably why it's so darn easy to give to this woman of mine. No matter what I do or how much I give... it always, without exception, flows back to me... correction, flows back to us... in SPADES!

You see... she just can't help it. Giving is her nature. In fact... what I have learned from living with her has enriched every facet of my life.

This world is made up of givers and takers, and up until I was 17, I was, you guessed it, a taker... and one of the best I might add. It was "My way or the highway." Most everything I did, every decision I made, every chance I took, was to benefit me. Sad but true.

Then one day, out of the blue, comes this gorgeous brunette with hair down to her waist, and legs up to her neck... of course, that was the first thing I noticed. I was a 17 year old male for goodness sake.

Everything about this girl, from her good looks to her magnetic personality, was 180 degrees out of phase from mine. To put it bluntly, she was completely out of my league... but that didn't stop me.

I knew I had to gather what little composure I had left, stop staring at her legs, and do something drastic if I was going to have any chance at all to win this girl over.

As I collected my thoughts, reality began to set in like a cold London fog. I suddenly realized I had only one chance... at the most two, to make this happen... Slim and None. I needed divine intervention.

So I prayed... "Lord, if you grant me just this one blessing, and believe me, I realize it's a biggie, I promise I'll never ask for another... ever!" I went all in.

Yes, I know the prayer was shortsighted... but I was desperate. Let me tell you, I had this wheel of mine squeaking like a rusty broken down tricycle. Lord, I need some grease!

Blessings are gifts from God you don't deserve.

Fast forward 40 plus years, 6 kids, 11 grandkids, and 1 fabulous blessing later.

As I sit here in this moment, reflecting on how my life has transformed from living with my bride, it almost brings tears to my eyes.

All I can say is that the Lord must have taken me at my word when I promised I would never ask for anything else, because within that one gift was everything I would ever need. God is awesome!

Love fuels the fires of joy in our lives... and the hotter it gets, the more it spreads. Givers understand this.

When a chronic giver loves you... you have two choices. You can take, take and keep taking until the fire burns out. And make no mistake... it will burn out.

Or you can wise up and toss a log or two on as well. And if you go ahead and take it to the next level by continually stoking that fire, it will spread to everyone in its path. Again... "When Momma's happy, everyone's happy."

Listen, I fully realize I'm not telling you anything you don't already know... I get it.

But guys, you also know that if you were to come home from work tonight with, let's say... a single rose and a heartfelt I love you babe, you would not only bring joy to the moment, but it would also have a good chance of making her entire day... and yours. But... do you do it?

It's not because you don't love your wife. The question becomes... with all the chaos in your life... do you have the presence of mind to stop and actually purchase that rose. You sure did when you were pursuing her... I'm just saying.

I don't know about you, but I often need to turn off the noise in my life, take a breath, clear my head and just linger in the moment. And if I'm patient, more times than not, life's fog slowly dissipates as the things which truly matter begin to come into focus.

That one-liner I love so much is a beautiful example of one of life's undeniable truths... You get what You give.

And what we are giving is manifested by our dominant thoughts. And those thoughts, whether we like it or not... we choose... pure and simple.

I believe if we set our mind to it, we can actually attract, from our thoughts through our actions, everything we desire. In fact it's automatic... we are constantly attracting everything that we are currently setting our mind to... whether we truly desire them or not.

I can't be happy while in a bad mood, feeling sorry for myself, holding grudges, having the blues, being jealous, fearful, or being in any other self-defeating mindset.

Unfortunately, this mindset is what my mind believes I desire. And the longer I think this way, the more engrained it becomes.

No wonder it's so difficult to forgive someone, shake off the blues, or overcome a fear after it festers for a while.

The bottom line is... when the mind's busy sowing such negative feelings there's no room for the good stuff to take root... motivation, love, inspiration, healing, joy, productivity, and above all... happiness.

Life is too damn short for anything less than the good stuff... and the only way to get the good stuff is to give it away... like Momma does.

Now here's the part where I need to come clean. Although everything I said about how I treat my wife is absolutely true, the fact is... she doesn't need me to motivate her to be happy... it's the other way around. It's always been the other way around... 180 degrees if I recall.

Showing Kindness and Compassion To Yourself and Others

Two things that come naturally to me and to most people around me are kindness and compassion. You can say the same thing and feel exactly the way I feel right now when you read this line Showing Kindness and Compassion To Yourself and Others.

Did that bring a smile on your face? It brings a smile all the time to me.

Showing Kindness and Compassion To Yourself and Others is an empowering feeling but many of us often don't feel the necessity to talk about it, preach about it or even express this wonderful emotion. The perception that these two words are for people who are innocent, ignorant or for someone who is weak at heart shows the self-centeredness and the narcissistic quality of a person.

It is a common challenge that we all face when it comes to expressing our emotions to others especially any form of love an affection to strangers. People tend to hide their emotions with the fear of being judged.

Understanding our challenges:

Here's an example. Let's say you have set out to achieve a goal and you are struggling with all the challenges, distractions and temptations that fills your day like the traffic on the road, the worthless news on the television, the negative people at your place of work, the caffeine/alcohol habits etc are all the things that you feel are not in your control and don't add any value to you either. It might be true, it might seem that for you to be focused on your goal could be impossible with all these daily noises around you and maybe they are in your way to stop you for moving forward, to make you spend on things that you will never use, to keep you restless, to suck you into the idea of being debt and to make you feel miserable.

Taking control of your situation compassionately could stir you in the right direction. You can acknowledge that the external factors that show up in your routine as distractions are unavoidable but understanding the problems we face can help us to move away from self-blaming and begin to help ourselves in a more compassionate and responsible way.

Every time we are kind and compassionate to ourselves and knowing that we being the victim is not always our fault, we can turn things around with a little bit of self-control, take responsibility for our actions and also be kind and compassionate along the way. Kindness is not about spending heaps of money on ourselves or our loved ones, but rather making sure we are addressing our emotional needs for real. I believe this is a fundamental principle of a healthy and a happy life.

To be a compassionate person, we have to accept the kind of person we are and embrace our good values. The very essence of being compassionate is the eagerness to show empathy, to feel and help others with their suffering. This feeling helps us to generate more positive thoughts, real emotions and acts as a starting point for developing happiness within ourselves.

So how can we develop a kind and compassionate mind?

It's going to take a lot of practice, but you will come around. Start with feeling compassionate for yourself every day. It might sound uncomfortable to imagine this. But try and tell yourself loud so you can hear yourself say at any point of your day, every day "I am a kind and compassionate person".

Create an environment that is quiet, where you are relaxed, pause, slow down and spend at least three minutes every day to take deep breaths and get your headspace. Think yourself to all the wonderful qualities you would like to have as a person who is kind, loving, compassionate and someone who is full of life.

Now, understand each emotion and find an opportunity to express that emotion. Imagine the kind person you are, feel it and do something as an act of kindness. Imagine the loving and compassionate person you are and feel it. See how your thoughts change, how your body reacts, what sensations you feel, how you see the world around you right when you feel these emotions. Take each quality and imagine being a person who thinks, feels and act with this quality.

What would this be like for yourself and others?

Without Ego

When reading philosophical teachings and writings, I often wonder why the body and the ego are seen so negatively, as if they somehow are antithetical to spirituality. Although ego, body and mind are not all we are, each is part, an expression of the whole self, included in our precious gifts from God, the Universe, Life, Spirit. It would be as sensible to hate or degrade a mathematical problem given me by a teacher for learning purposes. Of course I can be frustrated in my efforts to solve a difficult problem; that is merely an expression of myeagerness to achieve. How much easier on me, however, to enjoy the puzzle, to marvel at my reasoning processes and their growth and development as I draw nearer, bit by bit, to the solution. Even so, frustrated or not, I learn.

There are those of us who love school, and those who hate it. Nevertheless, we are all in school. And the ego, the mind and the body are our major learning tools. Through them, we learn the concepts of attachment/detachment, freedom/responsibility, joy/pain, wisdom/ignorance. These concepts, once grasped and mastered, are our prerequisites for the next level of learning in which we are (perhaps) freed of body/ego and introduced to new tools.

If I reject my body, my ego, or my so-called negative emotions, I am rejecting myself. If I reject myself, I am rejecting a holy creation and gift. If I reject or denigrate integral parts of my self, then I am split, dysfunctional, not whole, and not comfortable in my body and with my sense of self. How much more joyful it is to regard my life as the finest Montessori School of all time, where the sandbox and mudpuddles offer learning experiences equally as rich and essential as do the books of poetry and lofty philosophy.

Without body:

We couldn't enjoy the many sensory and sensual experiences of this life

We wouldn't learn the invaluable lessons of getting obsessive about those experiences, and learning the self-control they teach us.

We would miss out on learning to love and cherish our brief moments on this planet, the fleeting nature of which is reflected back to us by the body's aging process.

We wouldn't be able to interact on a cellular level with the air, food, minerals, water, and the other beings, literally becoming one with the planet on a daily basis.

We would miss the powerful lessons we're learning right now, that if we pollute our environment, we pollute ourselves - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

We would not have the viceral (gut) experiences of the physical components of our emotion - the hormonally driven ecstasy and agony of emotional joy and pain.

We'd miss out on so much of artistic expression - dance, the musical beat that originally was born of heartbeat, sound, light, color, poetry, theater and all the rest of that exuberance.

Without ego:

We'd have no control over our emotions, and be battered around by them, like a ship in a stormy sea with no rudder.

We wouldn't be able to protect ourselves against others' emotions and feelings, and every little thing others said and did would cut us to the quick.

We wouldn't be able to make plans and follow through to reach goals

We couldn't keep ourselves going in a productive direction when obstacles come along

We'd have no sense of who we are, how we are the same or different from others, and we'd never learn the lessons of shared humanity.

As a psychologist, I seek to help people integrate all the components of ego, body, emotions, mind and spirit until they all work together in a healthy human way. Perfection is not the goal - healthy living is. When your body (with all its human flaws and imperfections) functions well, all its many cells, organs, hormones, fluids, muscles, bones, nerves and sinews cooperate and work together to help you experience and express your life. When your body, mind, spirit, emotions - and yes, your ego -- work together, spirit doesn't have to work against ego, ego doesn't have to work against spirit, and there's no internal fight - no struggle for supremacy, no inner denial or right/wrong battle. Each component does its part, and all work together to help you become the most shining example of who you are. That's what the old gospel song about "this little light of mine" and "inner light" or "inner spirit" means - when all of who we are works together, we are free to be the best of who we were born to be.

When I think of my body with all its billion miracles and exquisitely effective methods of expression both conscious and unconscious; with all its components of which I approve and those for which I have enough self-denial to disapprove - I am suddenly reminded to regard my whole self (body, mind, spirit, emotions, and ego ) with the awe,gratitude, and gentleness I deserve. I know I can count on all my component parts to help me through my lessons for when my body, my ego, or my feelings you insist I focus my attention I cannot deny them.

My Ego has a sharply focused viewpoint; boundless pride; a fine-tuned sensitivity to others' egos; and the ability to keep me focused: on my uniqueness (often auto-interpreted as weirdness); my responsibility to me; and my essential human aloneness. It is a precious, irreplaceable tool. When I can manage to see myself, not as a disparate collection of separate parts, but as an amazing, cohesive design of interconnected, finely designed components working smoothly together, I am filled with awe at the miracle of each one of us, myself included. When I stop trying to resist, resent, overpower, deny or ignore parts of myself, and instead seek to help the whole human package be the best I can be, I find myself as peaceful and joyful as I have ever been.

I sense that when the time cones to exchange my body/ego for new tools, I will feel bereaved. Let me not waste a moment of this opportunity to learn with such companions as I may not know again, my ego, my emotions, and my body!

Achieving Happiness in the Face of Misfortune

In the words of Dr. Robert Ford, played by Anthony Hopkins from the up and coming American thriller series, 'Westworld', we hear Ford give an accurate explanation for humanity: "Evolution forged the entirety of sentient life on this planet using only one tool, the mistake". No one is born perfect, we all come into this world with different sets of skills, some make use of those skills and some don't. Some of us were gifted with good health, others not. Some of us must navigate severe learning disabilities, and others not. At the end of the day, happiness is something that can be achieved by anyone as long as we embrace authenticity.

Life is a struggle; it is filled with extreme highs and incredible lows, but the sum total of these emotions defines the state of our happiness. As I've come to understand over the course of my lifetime, it is hard to accept who we are sometimes. It is hard to accept the level of our intelligence; it is hard to acknowledge that we may suffer from severely impairing learning disabilities, hard to accept the fact that we may struggle with depression or anxiety. Yet how are we supposed to find joy in life when everything seems to be going against us? We only get once chance at life, and yes some of us are more fortunate than others in this regard, but for those who aren't as fortunate? Embrace who you are. Everyone serves a purpose; find your purpose.

Joy and happiness comes from the small victories in life. As I've also come to understand, everything takes time. We didn't get to where we are in a split second, although for some that may be the case. For most of us, success and fulfillment comes with time and appreciation. It is difficult to speak for everyone as we all come from a different set of circumstances and we all experience life a different way. But for those who struggle to see the meaning in life and for those who are stuck in the throes of despair, we simply cannot abandon life as we know it. The first step comes with acknowledgment, because wishing you were someone else will take you nowhere. It will do nothing for you, and it will simply break down your already low sense of self-esteem.

The moment we are born on this earth, we are given the unique opportunity to make something of our lives. It is easy to give up, but with hard work and the mentality of acceptance, we can make big strides in life. We can become who we never thought we'd become. In the words of Thucydides, the great Athenian historian and general: "The secret to happiness is freedom... and the secret to freedom is courage"

Practice an Attitude of Gratitude

While standing in the kitchen this morning, I randomly blurted out how grateful I was for our warm home and the awesome family within it. It came out of nowhere for my husband and kids, but I'd been thinking about gratitude recently and couldn't help noticing all the goodness in my life. I also noticed how great it felt to start off the day thinking about what I am most thankful for. It was like a shot of dopamine with my morning coffee.

I've always been a firm believer in the power of positivity, and expressing gratitude seems to fit in nicely with this theory. What if, instead of sinking into dysphoria over long and cold winter days or feeling completely helpless about the current state of world affairs, we focus instead on things in our lives that we have control over? Things such as our home life, work life, family and friends.

I once wrote a letter to my husband to express my gratitude for all of the things he does for me and our family every day. I shared it online and it sparked a whole lot of love and positive comments from many people and demonstrated that openly showing and sharing gratitude is a really good thing.

An attitude of gratitude means making it a habit to express thankfulness and appreciation in all parts of your life, on a regular basis, for both the big and small things alike.

Begin cultivating an attitude of gratitude by keeping a short, daily list of things you are grateful for. Share your thoughts with your family and friends, and take time out of your day to think about gratitude. Have your kids practice too, because grateful families talk about what they are thankful for and practice gratitude daily.

Make a habit of expressing gratitude year-round as opposed to seasonally because studies show that consistent positive interactions, particularly ones that involve gratitude, increase happiness and decrease levels of depression. That shot of dopamine I mentioned? Some say that expressing gratitude can indeed create a surge of "feel good" brain chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, so for generally happy people, that's a great thing, but for clinically depressed people, it's a game changer.

Developing an attitude of gratitude is healthy for you and your family, so make it a part of your family's daily life and watch as everyone adopts more grateful behaviours and transitions away from cynicism and negativity.

10,000 Reasons To Be Happy - 100 Per Day for 100 Days

"You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger, Your name is great, and Your heart is kind; for all Your goodness, I will keep on singing; 10,000 reasons for my heart to find."

MATT Redman's song is an anthem for so many. God ushered something into my ungrateful spirit recently - 'do 10,000 reasons!'

I knew immediately what He meant, and I did not like it.

What, I am being tasked with 10,000 actual reasons for my heart to find; why I love you; why I'm grateful?

I've done 100 Reasons to be Happy twice. It really only took about ninety minutes each time to count those blessings. But is God asking me to do that over one hundred consecutive days?

Is it a punishment? No. It's about Him giving me an assignment as I reinstall a gratitude habit.

The truth is the busyness of life is wearing me down. It's only three weeks into a new year and I'm wearing out already being there for everyone else but myself - it's not the full truth but that's what it feels like. I feel like I've been under sustained spiritual attack for over a month. My life is far busier than I wish it were, and a big part of that is the season we're in, and it's not bad. I'm not achieving my personal health and exercise goals because I'm dining out on comfort in an uncomfortable season. Feeling devoid of hope has become normal. My light shines dimly. But none of this is anyone else's fault but my own. Two things make life easier when it's hard: 1. work hard and 2. take responsibility.

I'm taking God up on His challenge, even though I resent it at present, and feel it will only load me up even more. But I do have faith He will show me something over the next one hundred days as I wrestle with my frustration and exhaustion and gradually replace them with perspective and thankfulness through the simple practice of gratitude.

So, 10,000 reasons for my heart to find... why? Because I'm not living a Christlike life at the moment.

22 Things God Taught Me About Gratitude

HERE below is a developed list of attributes God gave me to understand gratitude better:

1. There is therapy in work - don't resent it. Find the purpose in work. It's good for us. It's good to be grateful for the work we've been given.

2. Gratitude is a process - it's not as simple as it sounds, which is why I have committed to finding 10,000 reasons for my heart to find why God is good.

3. Expectations are important in the process of gratitude - the higher the expectations, the more difficult the process of gratitude. Humility works with low expectations, of others especially.

4. Grief's burden is lightened by gratitude - gratitude is a key practice to be nurtured from as early in the grief process as possible. Particularly regarding finding ways to serve. Serving puts our mental emphases on others in a season (of grief) where there is already plenty of mental emphasis on the things we're dealing with. Emphasis on others is light relief. Serving others grows us in many different ways.

5. Gratitude sown reaps patience. Powerful, is that not? From patience comes a whole heap of other virtue.

6. It simply must become a habit - making a list of 100 things per day means I am forced to look for items to be grateful about. Engaging in the practice for 100 days facilitates the formation of a habit.

7. Fear creeps in insidiously - the good thing is the inbuilt gratitude monitor puts out early alerts. Check what the fear is about. Attend to it, then get back on with the gratitude list.

8. 10,000 Reasons is forcing me to look, to see, to discover, to find - there comes to be a craving to discover. A positive compulsion.

9. Gratitude helps me realise life's a challenge for all people - that life for every single person is a faith journey. Life is easy for nobody.

10. Gratitude alleviates negative emotions - each person has anxieties to manage and emotions to contain and express.

11. Seeing failure through a different lens - I'm glad of my failures, because without them I wouldn't have seen my responses.

12. Being grateful works best when it's stimulated - it helps if we do something or interact with someone, which causes us to be grateful.

13. Gratitude is forward-focused - we don't need to look back anymore if I don't want to.

14. Waiting invites patience - delays are good. They train us in waiting, and in considering what we can do or think about while we wait, even to practice stillness and contemplation.

15. The power of ONE - in a world in love with numbers, gratitude is perfectly content in anonymity. It needs to prove nothing to nobody.

16. An antidote to frustration is gratitude - it is never good being overwhelmed on a regular basis. The more gratitude, the less frustration.

17. Busyness facilitates frustration - when efficiency blurs into busyness, frustration is never too far away.

18. Patience reminds us to slow down - this fruit of the Spirit causes us to do what we need to do to remain grateful; to slow down and remain under control.

19. Gratitude is the antidote to many ills - start in this positive area and realise many spinoffs, including better mental health outcomes.

20. Gratitude wards against worry - it seems impossible to be worried and grateful at the same time.

21. Gratitude rewires the brain appreciatively - especially through the practice of finding 100 things per day to be grateful for.

22. Realising that to seek is to take the journey forward positively - to capture the present and keep looking in the recent past through reflection for anything to appreciate propels the present positively.

Gratitude - License to Reframe Everything

HERE is a test. Can everything be reframed - every negative thing converted to something positive? I wonder. The jury is still out, but the verdict isn't far away.

For so long I have craved a spiritual renaissance. I sensed the need for it. I sought the Lord, and, because God speaks cogently and often, I never knew what it would look like.

At present I'm testing things. One thing I feel convinced of in my experience at present is the ability to reframe everything. It's nothing new, it turns out. It's biblical. It's the gospel; the good news. Where reality is reframed, seen through a different lens, giving views from another world.

Reframing occurs in the mind and needs to happen quickly, for our thoughts influence our feelings and drive our behaviours. Like when overcoming a fleeting temptation to leer at another driver on the road for doing something incorrect when on a different day that would be me. Like recognising the therapy there is in work. Like speaking words of life instead of criticism when you look at your naked body in a mirror before showering. Like seeing the need of being patient to be grateful. Like being thankful for a gratitude project, because you don't feel grateful. Like bodily pain as a reminder of the body's ability to move. Like being delayed by a collision further ahead, and feeling grateful it wasn't our accident.

I believe it's a commitment to gratitude that challenges our perspective. It's such a commitment that it challenges us to reframe everything. It forces us into a fresh understanding of what is possible.

Gratitude is a license to reframe everything, where such a reframing holds open possibilities that may be fitted in the place of despairing complaint.

God at the root of his heart seeks to challenge everything we think, say and do. The moment we see the truth in the power he gives us to do just that, we believe and walk by faith, not by sight.

Gratitude Is a Process

Simple things can also seem elusive. Gratitude is a good example of this enigma.

We never seek to be more grateful when we're grateful - we engage in such a pursuit when we lack gratitude. And the trouble is we can be thwarted at the start of the process and become disillusioned well before we reap some of the fruit of the gratitude we're sowing.

In sowing in gratitude, we reap in well-being, which is fully expressed in joy.

But how are we to just be grateful? Again, we come to the place where we crave gratitude because we know that that is what is missing. We crave what we don't have. And we don't really know the way to acquire it.

Here is what I have found.

Gratitude works in the minutia. It works when our mindset is open and observant enough to see the many things that we ought to be grateful for. As we work into the nodules of time's moment in the crevices of our senses we see things we don't normally see. God opens the eyes of our hearts.

Gratitude is a habit, and more than that; it's a habit that initiates and supports other good and godly habits. The reason we find gratitude hard to sustain is we don't engage in the process of change long enough. We enjoy the fruit of gratitude and then rest on our laurels. But even in a sustained campaign, our passion for gratitude wanes. It must become a lifetime commitment; something we keep coming back to, one day at a time. It must become a chief virtue with humility and compassion.

As a process, gratitude grows in accordance with our journey into it. As God multiplies blessings, gratitude grows like a tree the more we feed it and light we give it.

Gratitude is a journey into seeing the everyday wonders of life God cannot show us unless we seek them.

The Fleeting Nature of Happiness

There are couple of things that a great many people in this world can concede to. Contrasts in culture, instruction, childhood, and a few different variables make it difficult for some, individuals to even exist together with each other. You could state it is astonishing that individuals with numerous contrasting points of view can shape kinships by any stretch of the imagination. Be that as it may, there is one thing that every single person need in their lives: bliss.

Everybody from the teacher to the architect to the drifter needs to be cheerful. The vast majority of us make discovering joy the essential target that inspires the greater part of our activities. Diverse individuals require distinctive things to influence them to rest easy. A few of us require loved ones around us always while others like to keep social association to a base. A few people need to feel like they are influencing a one of a kind commitment to their groups while others to mind not what work they do as long as they are involved. You know superior to any other person what makes you cheerful.

Something else that you should know is that bliss, similar to the various feelings, is brief. In the long run you need to separate yourself from your loved ones to complete something or you are compelled to blend with individuals you would rather not address. The day may come when you are laid off from your activity which abandons you needing for both cash and reason. The cheerful inclination can be supplanted with tension, outrage, or hopelessness. These sentiments are not wonderful and you wish that you could feel glad once more. Tragically, the universe does not mind what you need and you keep on being despondent. You realize that you will rest easy and inspired at some point later on, however would it not be such a great amount of better to dependably have that inclination?

No it would not. Have you at any point had excessively sustenance to eat or refreshment to drink? Did you remain up late one night and experience difficulty getting up toward the beginning of the day? Nourishment, water, and rest are fundamental for your survival. Notwithstanding, a lot of those things can adversely influence your life. Expending excessively nourishment will influence you to feel debilitated and keeping in mind that dozing in does not cause you physical agony, being late to begin your day could even now adversely influence you. Your boss will rebuff you on the off chance that you are late regularly or you could miss essential course content by being late for a class.

Your bliss works comparably. Your bliss just feels 'great' since you recognize what it resembles to feel 'terrible'. I for one am extremely cheerful on any day that I wake up and not feel physically sick. I can recall the sentiment having an icy or influenza and those recollections make me appreciative that today my throat isn't sore. Would it be smarter to have never been wiped out for even one day of my life? Perhaps it would, yet that variant of me would without a doubt welcome it less. One doesn't just acknowledge things that are dependably there.

I am not attempting to state that individuals should quit seeking after satisfaction. My point is that inclination down now and again does not imply that you are fizzling. Being on a high all the time is the same amount of a psychological issue as being discouraged constantly the time. Delight must exist together with torment. On the off chance that you comprehend that then you are more averse to lose trust as you advance. Good fortunes.

What Have I to Be Grateful for?

Inquiries like this are an incredible method to begin quickly. Explanatory in nature, such an inquiry should influence us to delay and reflect. Genuineness would announce an answer in the confirmed.

As we reflect, and not only for a transitory second, but rather to work on it, we may even go so far as to make it a topic for the day. That is uncommon.

In any case, what is amazing is to make it a day by day subject forever.

For what reason would we do that? For what reason would we contribute huge snapshots of concentrate, possibly every single day for whatever remains of our lives, on such a worldview? These are great inquiries deserving of their own appearance.

Replying 'for what reason would we do that?' to begin with, we should envision the arrival. What conceivable favorable position?

A string of other ethicalness is associated with appreciation. It requires quietude. It draws out tolerance. It expands empathy. It communicates graciousness. Its association is goodness. It brings peace. It encourages satisfaction. Every one of these ideals and numerous more discover articulation in appreciation.

Appreciation guarantees to enable us to think about others, take us facilitate into ourselves, more profound into the core of God.

In case we're at all keen on mental and enthusiastic prosperity, and otherworldly essentialness and development, we will admirably take part in such a basic practice as ending up profoundly appreciative. Appreciation is dependably a fitting reaction to life for our lives.

The essential inquiry is left open - what have I to be thankful for? This is a throbbing inquiry.

There is never a particular response to this inquiry. It resembles the inquiry, 'What is love?' There are multitudinous responses to the two inquiries.

I don't think about you, yet I need my heart changed. I've been Christian about 30 years, and a pastor (of various sorts) for almost 15 years. However, a few sections of my heart have not changed. Appreciation is something that will naturally challenge these parts in an operational way.

God's integrity to all of us welcomes us to react in gratefulness and to take part in appreciation.

The Good News of God's Gift of Gratitude

NOTHING commendable in this life appears to seek free, however really the best things are free. We simply require hands and hearts sufficiently enormous to get and hold them.

With hands and hearts sufficiently bold to approach in confidence for appreciation, hearts are lit, and hands are filled.

About blessings

God gives in no little part. Every evident blessing are otherworldly and are genuinely from above, and each of these is impeccable, which means they are loaded with plenitude and altogether great in more routes than a human personality can consider. Furthermore, God's endowments are not subject to devaluation nor deterioration:

"Each liberal demonstration of giving, with each flawless blessing, is from above, descending from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variety or shadow because of progress."

- James 1:17 (NRSV)

In guide difference to our human delicacy for being "driven and hurled by the breeze" (James 1:6), God is entirely solid all around. The way that God gives endowments along these lines is in itself a blessing.

About appreciation

In case we're thankful all whatever is left of our psychological, enthusiastic and profound life falls into suit. Appreciation is about the right-fitting of our viewpoint. Our prosperity is in arrangement with whatever might be; appreciation prepares us to hold up under reality.

The endowment of appreciation is seemingly just accessible through God. Just when we completely value humankind's cutoff points do we really comprehend the need to acknowledge God for everything for everything.

About the endowment of appreciation

This applies as God gives us the present for appreciation. Of the considerable number of blessings we're appreciative to get, the endowment of appreciation is worth as much as anything, since it springs up inside us the product of happiness and peace.

Appreciation is a blessing, similar to every one of the endowments of God, that continues giving.

A blessing that continues giving is a blessing that is managed. No one but God can give us what we should be really appreciative, in light of the fact that it is in following Jesus that the appreciation comes.

What Drives Happiness?

It is frequently said that fulfillment and satisfaction prompt enduring joy.

I oppose this idea.

In the event that anything, the inverse is important to be upbeat throughout everyday life. The need - the drive - to be more, accomplish more, encourages the completion of a stunning condition of enthusiasm.

The 'condition of enthusiasm' characterized as joy.

Satisfaction isn't in having all the more, rather is a side-effect of the procedure, the exertion, the work that one puts in to improve oneself. Joy that originates from the acknowledgment of an objective is brief, trailed by a vacancy, a yearning, just to be satisfied by the delight of the self with the acknowledgment of another objective. A temperamental circle that we frequently stall out in.

Joy isn't in the acknowledgment of the objective it's in the interest.

Bliss doesn't originate from owning things, it originates from the encounters they empower us to have.

The individuals who construct their bliss with respect to having more than others will never be upbeat on the grounds that there will dependably be somebody who will have something more than you. That something is frequently characterized as cash. The problem isn't whether this theory is correct or wrong - for a few, it is, for some it isn't.

The problem is the manner by which that 'something' wound up being cash in the all around acknowledged social system.

Of the considerable number of things you can pay for bliss, cash is by a long shot the least expensive.

Likely, on the grounds that as people we have a tendency to characterize everything in the most minimal conceivable denominator and for this situation (joy) - it was cash. It's clear, simple to quantify, look at, and so on. However, comparing plentifulness of riches with prosperity is an extremely trifling/rough way to deal with translating the human instinct.

A more profound test would uncover, in any case, that we individuals have finish control over characterizing this MacGuffin. Every individual can characterize and seek after their own particular goal - one that will to a specific degree influence the impression of joy they have raised around themselves.

So now the inquiry is

How would we characterize the prime order for our own bliss?

How would we relegate qualities to the factors in our lives?

Pursuing which objectives will make us the most joyful?

I accept there is no widespread answer. Every one of us needs to characterize their own particular and afterward get bliss from its interest.

Determining this objective and characterizing the interest is something that will originate from searching internally, relating to the self and isolating that one voice from the clamor that is the uninteresting of regular daily existence.

The Great Antidote to Entitlement

I sincerely abhor it when Millennials are assaulted for being entitled. The basic actuality is we're living in an entitled world. None of us, regardless of our age, is invulnerable to feeling entitled.

Take me as a 'for example.' One of my most noteworthy epiphanies came because of perusing John Townsend's The Entitlement Cure. I had what Dr John calls a 'pocket privilege' - it's lined up with my identity. I'm a partner, so I get a kick out of the chance to be valued. When I'm not in a decent place I can tend to feel I merit appreciation. This isn't beneficial for me or any other person so far as that is concerned.

I found that the word 'merit' sits at the core of qualification. In case we're straightforward, we recognize we as a whole have holy aspects of our lives where exceptional tenets of privilege apply - symbols of the heart where, when others transgress, it summons outrage inside us. These are risk zones where sin sneaks needing to stay concealed, holding up to be shielded, justifying security. We ensure symbols to our inevitable risk.

Be that as it may, I have discovered the long haul, economical cure to privilege... Dr John rambles in his book about what are the side-effects of this thing. What's more, there are such a large number of! Its majority could be summed up in the idea of assuming liability, however there is something more hyper-pertinent.

The colossal antitoxin to privilege is appreciation. 

It is difficult to merit anything when we're appreciative. 

Truly, obviously, that we don't merit anything. We really merit not as much as nothing. (Truly, obviously, God knows we have necessities and He gives.) But in our entitled age we don't care to peruse that we don't merit anything.

10,000 Reasons - It's Not About the List

SET an errand, an overwhelming one at that, something is being constrained into my character - to look for, to seek out, to investigate as the Spirit beseeches, to lay hands on, and to accomplish, appreciation.

One hundred purposes behind one hundred days - 100 x 100 = 10,000

To discover 10,000 Reasons where I'm appreciative to God for His decency can appear a useless exercise expending so much time - presumably a few hundred hours will be contributed. About two entire long stretches of exertion over a three-and-a-half-month time span. Be that as it may, it's not about the rundown. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The rundown is an unfortunate obligation.

Consider what God could be accomplishing in me as I agree to His ask.

He wishes to complete a work in me, and I should simply allow Him consent and access.

That is discipleship. It's the bludgeon of impact the Lord needs to have in and through our lives. Christ's asking through the Holy Spirit is constantly about the closures of Him who lives in us who cherish through Him. The strategy is insignificant, even superfluous, insofar as it is heavenly - separate to Him. God is intrinsically inspired by me and in the 'me' in you.

It's the manner by which God identifies with us; about how we relate with ourselves.

The rundown is about this, as an end: a change in perspective where every single unholy idea are constrained into expulsion, where, to an ever increasing extent, God has His direction. Where His central goal looks for satisfaction through me.

Protestation can't flourish while my mind consumes to be thankful. I require appreciation since I gripe. Tension crashes and burns when I'm excessively caught up with being appreciative, making it impossible to fuss. I require appreciation since I get restless. Disappointment hasn't a possibility when I see I'm getting behind my amount. I require appreciation since I get disappointed. Qualification is an undeniable habit when God continues giving hundreds over many motivations to be grateful. I require appreciation since I feel entitled on occasion.

The greater obligation I take for infusing bliss into my life, the more opportunity I appreciate. The less space I make for what is profane, the more God swells what is going in. The more appreciative I can be, the more persistence and humble I am.

It's not about the rundown. It's about what the rundown is doing in me as I aggregate it.

Areas Of Your Life That Are Key To Living A Balanced Life

What are the keys to carrying on with a healthy lifestyle? How might we carry on with our life minus all potential limitations in the event that at least one aspects of our life go unfulfilled or dismissed? For instance, possibly you are fruitful in your profession. Be that as it may, enable your family life to endure? Or then again perhaps you are an exceptionally educated individual. Be that as it may, you enable your wellbeing to shrivel away.

To carry on with your life bounteously, I accept there are sure territories of life you have to produce for adjust in your life. Those territories would be mind, body, Belief framework, profession, and relationship.

Psyche 

Your mind manages your want to learn. In this quick evolving world, your capacity to ingest new aptitudes and data turn out to be perpetually critical. You need to assemble your scholarly appetite by building your self-improvement administration. This won't be simple, yet it should be possible.

Body 

Your body is a zone that arrangements with your physical wellbeing. Since your body is the methods through which you lead your activities, it is critical to keep your body fit as a fiddle. Not exclusively will a solid body keep you from being debilitated, it will likewise enable you to flourish at an abnormal state to enable you to achieve your obligations with speed and enthusiasm.

Conviction System 

Your conviction framework is a territory that arrangements with your respectability, qualities, and philosophies. It likewise manages your association with the unbounded. Your conviction framework is the place your life reason and significance originates from. As I would like to think, the way that it gives reason in life is imperative to your reality. In any case, it doesn't imply that you should center around just building up your conviction framework. Regardless of whether your conviction framework is solid, you won't carry on with your life minus all potential limitations on the off chance that you don't adjust alternate regions throughout your life specified in this article.

Vocation 

This part of your life manages your profession and accomplishments. This territory needs to do with the efficiency in your life; your profitability is estimated by what is proficient amid your vocation. On the off chance that you need to be a gainful individual, you should build your generation around there.

These basic zones should fill in as the reason for you to fabricate your life on. You will need an adjusted development in every one of these zones. You will need to dispense your opportunity to every region similarly. You should influence timeframes for your conviction framework, to mind, body, relationship, and profession.

On the off chance that you feel that you are immature in a specific territory, you will need to put more exertion into that zone. I have utilized this system for a considerable length of time and I feel the advantages of doing as such. Once more, the key is adjusting all aspects of your life.

Relationship 

This territory manages your associations with your companions, family, and partners. Connections are what make your life lovely. The best sentiment satisfaction doesn't originate from your accomplishments; it originates from your connections. You are just in the same class as the connections you sustain, develop, and keep up.

Happiness Quotient

As of late we composed a gathering discourse in our Yoga Philosophy class at Rishikesh and the theme of exchange was, "how would you characterize bliss?"

When I saw the energy and excitement on their appearances while talking about this theme, right then and there itself I understood, how imperative bliss is, to every one of us. And furthermore I could see, the way toward communicating and sharing was fulfilling them so.

At that point I asked them, which is that one subject, they might simply want to talk over and over. Again curiously, such astounding answers began coming - Food, Health, Music, Yoga, Travel, Adventure, Fun, Family, Relationships, Politics, Science, Statistics, Love, Life, God.

At the end of the day, these are a portion of the things which we truly appreciate throughout everyday life and give us joy. We as a whole have diverse needs in our lives and the vast majority of those necessities fall for the most part into four classes - sexy, mental, scholarly and otherworldly. When we address those issues of our own, we discover satisfaction throughout everyday life.

Addressing erotic needs mean, fulfilling our tongue with flavorful nourishment, eyes with delightful sights, ears with resonant music, nose with fragrant articles and skin with an uncommon touch.

We as a whole are searching for extremely fulfilling connections in which we need to love and trust and at a similar need to be adored and trusted. Enthusiastic satisfaction is a standout amongst the most imperative parts of our psychological needs.

A large portion of us are excessively invested in our own self and regularly this self-assimilation prompts despondency. Mentally, most miseries are a consequence of reasoning excessively about one's own particular needs, interests, and concerns. When we begin concentrating on what will truly make others glad, we are left with no opportunity to think about our own particular satisfaction.

We have to get the hang of offering bliss to others, when we think about on the requirements, interests, and worries of others, we leave our self-ingestion. Mentally, most discouragements are a consequence of reasoning excessively about one's own particular needs, interests, and concerns. Indeed, the individuals who live reasoning about the necessities, interests, and worries of others move toward becoming symbols for the world.

Our little endeavors in offering bliss to others, come flooding into our lives as joy that others attempt to give us. It's precisely similar to a little tsunami of the sea turns into a wave outside the sea.

When we center around others' satisfaction, individuals get defenselessly drawn toward us and what we get is a lifetime of an exponential development of shared bliss.

This is Happiness Quotient - HQ, it is about how much joy we provide for others. The more the HQ, more joyful we will be.

COMMITMENT! The Gateway To Happiness

When I was youthful, I figured joy was something you were conceived with... you either had the quality or you didn't. It appeared that the individuals who were honored with the blessing could by one means or another discover euphoria in most all that they did, while others, who trusted they weren't so fortunate, gradually figured out how to stop looking, consequently satisfying their own self-prescience.

I trust it was some place in my late teenagers when I at last understood this feeling frustrated about myself-state of mind was putting me on a most optimized plan of attack to no place. I was not just tired of passing up a great opportunity for the great things throughout everyday life, except I was likewise reprimanding conditions and others for my absence of ability to confront the genuine issue... the fella in the mirror.

So... I chose to stop agonizing and bring matters into my own hands. What's more, coincidentally, this one stage, all by itself, was sufficient to stir the dozing mammoth inside... Hello!

This was the first run through in my life I detected bliss spilling out of the back to front, instead of from the outside in... an epiphany of strengthening!

From that minute on, I diverted my whole mindset. I quit depending on outside conditions, others, and blind luckiness for my proportions of bliss, and started developing my own particular from inside... also, trust me, I was COMMITTED!

Duty! Presently there's one capable word! I found that if utilized with reason... I mean just when you're level out genuine... also, given the regard and train it requests, it conveys without fail.

I had at last found that figurative quality I was deficient... Responsibility! What's more, the minute I did, my whole outlook changed from simply giving things a chance to happen to deliberately getting things going.

• Negative/Positive

• Hitting the nap catch/Watching the sun rise

• Crying in my brew/Toasting an achievement

• Smooth hands and a fantasy/Calluses on my fingers tips and a tuned guitar

• A clear page/A work in progress

• Spectating/Participating

• Letting it happen/Making it happen

• A smoke soften/A stroll up the recreation center

• Head in the sand/Bleeding and swinging

• Fearing the honey bees/Smelling the roses

• Sad/glad

We face a daily reality such that moment delight is advertised and sold relatively like an opiate. In spite of the fact that its guarantee is inebriating, its double dealing is annihilating.

For dreadfully many, this desire for a convenient solution supersedes the teach for satisfaction... Duty.

Teach... I made an effort not to utilize that word in the above articulation... it threatens such a significant number of. Simply its prospect invokes this vision of a perpetual, frightful labyrinth keeping them from what they need... one which they would never potentially move through.

Affirm I concede, it is somewhat of a horrendous labyrinth... be that as it may, as opposed to prevalent thinking, it's not unending. It's not even that extreme once you begin arranging it. Trust me, on the off chance that it were, I wouldn't be here expounding on it.

Despite the fact that it is valid... Responsibility can't exist without train. The enduring delight it conveys far exceeds its sting. Only a little confidence is all you require.

Consider it thusly. When you resolve to set sail for something you need, there's a window of time, in the absolute starting point of your voyage, which requires daze confidence. This period will last until the point that you begin really feeling the delight from that which you are looking for. Your hardest activity is to get to this point.

As you continue pushing ahead, enlivened by your newly discovered happiness, an awesome change starts to occur... your satisfaction blooms as your visually impaired confidence wilts. On the off chance that what you were looking for turns out to be all that you envisioned, it will end up being your better approach forever.

Presently, basically supplant the expression daze confidence with the word teach.

Here's a true blue genuine case:

When I focused on getting into shape, there was a time of around three months where I needed to depend on this visually impaired confidence to get me to the exercise center for a 30 minute exercise, three days seven days. Trust me, it was troublesome, yet I really overcame it.

After three months I started resting easy and getting more grounded, which persuaded me to continue onward. Amid the following three months that change I was discussing step by step occurred. It came to the heart of the matter where leaving the exercise center after an exercise compared to feeling like another individual. I regularly strolled in worn out and left brimming with vitality which would keep going for quite a long time into the night. Keeping it up now was an easy decision. Today, after 35 years, regardless i'm dependent. Wild steeds couldn't drag me away.

Add up to profit: 35 years of ideal wellbeing and vitality, with not a single end to be seen.

Aggregate sum of train contributed: six measly months.

Presently, supplant getting into shape with whatever else your heart wants. To the extent I'm concerned, your creative ability is your exclusive impediment.

Once again... I can't exaggerate this. Duty can't exist without train.

I've been blamed for being far excessively shortsighted and even judgmental on occasion with my state of mind. I really think everything depends on individual COMMITMENT... your joy, your prosperity, your chances, and yes... indeed, even your good fortune.

Let me know sincerely... In the event that you don't get it going... who will?

This is the place that little voice in my mind is whispering... Charge, you might need to back off somewhat here. I assume if you've perused this far, you might need to hear my whole interpretation of the subject. So... little voice... quiets the hellfire down!

Here's the way I see it, and trust me, what I say here is absolutely out of affection. On the off chance that it's actual, that the absence of individual responsibility is the main thing shielding you from being upbeat, well at that point, that implies in case you're hopeless... it's your own damn blame.

Bill... how might you say that? You're an unfeeling lazy pig. Possibly life has recently been simple for you!

Here's a little silver hair theory... for my situation, make that a little no hair rationality:

Living doesn't really make you savvy, yet it will unquestionably give you numerous remarkable chances to witness the individuals who are. How you process that data... all things considered, that is dependent upon you.

For me, I have thought that it was intriguing throughout the years, watching companions and partners from all kinds of different backgrounds, running from secondary school dropouts to CEO's of real organizations, arrange their way through their own conditions.

What has been most enlightening and advantageous to me is watching the individuals who have had the most astounding mountains to climb, grumbling less and getting a charge out of the voyage more than a large number of the ones who have had the greenest knolls to walk.

I have taken in the seeds of joy are rich... they lay torpid wherever we turn. For the ones who have taken the time important to figure out how to develop its organic product, they are driven, only by the likelihood of getting only an essence of its sweet nectar.

While, then again, other people who have never set aside the opportunity to sow a solitary seed are left scratching their heads, asking why there is never a collect.

Nothing disheartens me more than to see somebody who is genuinely troubled, and hasn't an intimation of how to be cheerful. It's an incredibly defenseless inclination for me since I'm a fix-it fellow, and satisfaction is the one thing you can't settle for others, regardless of how hard you attempt... not notwithstanding for the ones you adore. That is the terrible news.

The uplifting news is... there is a cure. Individual COMMITMENT.

You see... the $25,000 question never truly has ever been... how might I be upbeat? No, the genuine inquiry is, and dependably will be... is it worth the individual COMMITMENT?

No doubt is.

Simple Steps to Everyday Life Management

process. The point here isn't to characterize or challenge those restrictions, yet to know how to get the best from a person's lifetime assets.

Contemplation Could be Mindful 

Presence is the primary component that is includes in Metaphysics. Everybody thinks about their reality basically on the grounds that they are cognizant about it. As an individual spotlights on the breathing and ruminates profoundly, it brings about a feeling of prosperity inside the brain. It helps in defeating the lament for the past and the stresses over what's to come. The present all things considered has no motivations to make fear in one's psyche. Subsequently, the individual gets opportunity from the weight of negative considerations to a significant degree.

Be that as it may, this inclination isn't steady. The sentiments of uncertainty and suspicion will undoubtedly return sometime. There have been excessively numerous books about self-change and identity advancement. There will be a huge number of them later on. Be that as it may, what number of them have helped in achieving the guaranteed comes about? Subsequently, one can securely say, the appropriate responses are inside the subliminal personality of a person. S/he needs to investigate inside the self, as opposed to endeavoring to discover replies in the outer world.

By thinking about ones' breath it could be conceivable to quiet the brain and make it receptive to new thoughts and functional execution. The principal undertaking is to relinquish the EGO (that says "I" know everything) into a province of I don't have a clue. At that point one can encounter parcel of chances opening up on the way. Keeping the mind clear like a vacant canvas can empower a bit of craftsmanship to be drawn onto it. One can investigate inventive channels when open to learning. It is an unending procedure that requirements tolerance and determination.

The Conscious Vs the Subconscious 

The cognizant personality is wakeful amid the day and rests amid the rest. It is the window to the outer world through which experience and information enter the psyche. It is likewise the part which gets diverted and irritated effortlessly. On a normal each individual 48 to 50 contemplations enter a person's mind each moment. That is one idea for consistently! The cerebrum gets depleted too effortlessly and it can influence ones' heart moreover.

The intuitive is the piece of mind which is avoided the outer world. It's just contact is with the cognizant personality from which it takes sustains. For whatever length of time that the cognizant personality continues bolstering invigorating idea, it stays solid and dynamic. Once the refutation begins streaming in, the intuitive personality winds up numb and idiotic. It is the most capable gadget skilled to people by nature. It can push a person to the statures of the Himalayas, or it can pull the person to the nadir of life.

The Mean Path isn't Always Golden 

The brilliant mean way is for those, who have achieved the ideal adjust throughout everyday life. Blemished individuals have a tendency to go either to the pinnacle or hit the nadir much of the time. Confidence (or conviction) is the finest string that holds the mind clung deeply of life called presence and advance.

Conviction keeps the want to work more, procure all the more, live more, give more, and get more. Without this string life ends up useless and miserable. For those seeking to be their best (not contrasting and others, but rather with themselves) the way goes astray from the mean and climb. As one begins moving up the stepping stool of life, the impulse to turn back and look down assumes control over the brain. This is decisively when a large portion of the general population fall because of the dread of statures.

The way to advance isn't to think back over and over again. Obviously, pondering one's errors and accomplishments if required to coordinate the individual on the correct way. In any case, it ought not put the person into the trap of self glorification or self-judgment. This disposition can saturate the subliminal personality and spread its underlying foundations profound.

In the event that one continues going on the lines of the men way, the likelihood of descending to the negative side is more. Additionally, the individual is denied of the fulfillment in accomplishing higher objectives of life. Life has been a straight line to the vast majority of the effective individuals on the planet. It resembles riding on the ocean waves. Good and bad times are normal which must be experienced.

Whose Game is it 

At last, it is the subliminal personality that could win the day for a person. Subsequently, it is basic for the individual to participate in exercises that give a more profound feeling of fulfillment to the subliminal personality. It could be one's interest, calling, or some other mean. Obviously, balance and rational soundness are the two key components that keep an individual cognizant and certain. Once the balance is gone, the grasp of dread and vulnerability on the person's brain turns out to be more.

The grasp winds up serious in instances of addictions that can prompt extreme episodes of craziness. Overseeing regular assignments like showering, eating, and cleanliness can end up complex. Life at last winds up unmanageable. Thus, the individual may need to apply alert while getting used to any of the addictive substances.

Accepting 

As per the master analysts, accepting (in the science, innovation, pharmaceutical, or the higher power) in an option that is other than the self can work marvels. The subjugation with the self gets cut off and one can encounter unwinding. At the point when inspected firmly, every individual trusts in something (for instance, one may put stock in the presence/non-presence of god, trust/sadness, and constructive/contrary), paying little mind to individual characters.

The Purpose of Gratitude in Mental Wellness

God talked again as of late, saying, 'Think appreciative musings, and scan for approaches to be grateful, and that will occupied your mind enough that it won't meander into dull spots.'

I stated, 'Goodness!' Suddenly such a disclosure; to know I've figured both routes enough to know reality.

It is the Lord's train, that we catch each idea and make it faithful to Him (2 Corinthians 10:5). However, similarly, the Lord knows exactly how troublesome it is for us to do that with consistency.

The mind bounces from this thing to that thing to something else, continually falling foul of itself.

Equipped for awesome achievements that match and better the body, the psyche is additionally feeble, enticed by the heart to slip off.

Be that as it may, the psyche is likewise a powerhouse of quality - when we take our contemplations and make them hostage to obey Christ.

Appreciation is living in the light, recognizing reality in that light, as that light sparkles into our lives - lives touched by effortlessness - and outward into others' lives.

The more I have filled my psyche with seemingly insignificant details to be absolutely appreciative about, the less my brain has meandered into what isn't qualified to be considered.

The issue is straightforward. Leave our psyches to themselves they evoke a wide range of dreams - great now and again, however some dull, and the rest emphatically detestable.

Care saturated with appreciation is thinking indwelt with value. To utilize the witness Paul's words, it is thinking in respectable, simply, unadulterated, satisfying, exemplary, and phenomenal ways (Philippians 4:8). Appreciation is something entirely commendable for our considerations to lock in. It is a protected and positive approach to think.