Project Happiness Articles — attitude

Our oldest left for college last fall (yep, that was about a year ago). It has taken me this long to process how such a milestone affected me, and to understand that even the departure of one child can turn a household sideways. Notice I didn’t say upside down (like the dark world in Stranger Things). That’s because I don’t think an Empty Nest is a bad thing….it’s an adjustment.

The more I read about how social media has become the new playground for bullying, the more inspired I felt to help spread kindness instead. Children were not only being bullied at school, but now had to deal with bullying long after they got home, because of social media. I came up with the idea of a kindness challenge so kids had a reason to turn to social media for a positive experience.

Thoughts precede action! But the key word in that phrase is action. If we have our “ideal” life only in our heads and written out as lists that we look at occasionally throughout the year-we most likely will never reach our “ideal” self. 

I've developed a simple rule over the past couple of years which initially seemed somewhat self indulgent - and I was sure would need to be knocked on the head after a short time. But two years on, it still seems to work incredibly well. The rule to live by was quite simply to: "Stop doing things I don't love".

And so it begins—the willingness to subsume our own will because of the uniquely uncomfortable feeling that comes from saying no. This phenomenon is by no means confined to youth. All of us, at some point or another, have found ourselves coming up with excuses of our own. 

‘Should’ is an interesting concept. Where does it come from? How do we know what we should and shouldn’t do? Well (and I’m just taking a stab here!), most of us learn basic right and wrong from an early age. But the thing is, ‘should’ won’t always lead where I want to go. ‘Should’ won’t bring me happiness.

We all have relationships that fade over time, where someone is more invested than the other. Or times when we begin to want more out of an existing relationship. One of the greatest opportunities to deepen a relationship is sharing how much the relationship means to you and the gap in the relationship you’ve observed.

I HATE MY LIFE!!! Have you said that before? So have I, but I found a story that personally helped me and I want to share it with you. Once upon a time there was a farmer. The farmer complained about the lake on his property...

I now see my life with only physical limitations. I can write in bed even if it’s a paragraph at a time. I want to succeed, but this time I will do it. No more being scared of the future. Cancer is often the hardest thing people go through. But the way I see it, feeling negative with cancer will only make you feel worse.

Our work often puts us down, bringing stress, suffering, and pain into our lives. However, we’re intellectual and spiritual beings. Our mind is not subject to our thoughts while our thoughts are subject to thoughts. Simply put, use your WILL to change the way you think, and you WILL achieve harmony and happiness even if your work is pressing you harshly.