Someone asked me the other day about the keys to happiness. What a personal question...and the range of answers can vary depending on who you ask and even differ on the weather, mood, and what's going on that day! Oh if I had the answer too I might be a billionaire!
For me and for now, four simple things that keep me moving and can get your week going!
I'm an extrovert, so listening has had to come with extra practice (a journey I'm still on). I open my mouth and mind more than my ears sometimes. But, listening is a key skill and core to the second "L": Learning. Listening is about truly understanding where others come from...everyone wants to be heard...so listen! What are some of the things you do to truly listen better? Are you avoiding something your heart, mind or head is trying to tell you? Be still. Listen.
If we are not learning, we are not living. Let's face it. We're born, we grow and some day we die. If you're not learning, what ARE you doing? Learning new things, meeting new people and trying new things when old ways might not work is central to progression. Who are you reading? What new skill can you be developing? What are you learning? Who do you admire? What new experiences are you putting into your life to breathe new beliefs?
Cancer gave me serious pause in my 20s and more recently this year. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how precious our time truly is. We get stuck chasing the wrong things, socializing and spending time with the wrong people, working in the wrong roles, and doing things for other people. When you are truly living (work, life, friends, family etc), one can be in the zone! For me, if I had my last day on this earth today I can truly say I've lived a blessed life. That, my friends, for me is happiness. I woke up many years ago and began living when I started to focus on my health and taking better care of myself. Not too long ago I took off a few months to get a few neat and exciting projects off the ground. I stopped thinking about what I had to do that day and started asking myself what was missing? What are you doing to truly live? Did you have a wake up moment that got you on the path to living?
This is my favorite L. Sometimes life gives us pain while at other times it gives us joy. But laughter along the way is the best part. I like the kind of laughter where it hurt at first but when you look back you've been able to look at the situation differently. If I cannot laugh, I'm not living or learning. Laughing allows me to LOVE! Love is one I've come to know more now that I have found passions to put to good use: writing, blogging, travel, meeting new people, understanding culture, marriage, my family, running marathons....love is a very subjective word, but it means you care about something or someone so deeply that nothing else really matters! Life is too short not to laugh or to love.
So as your Monday and new week begins I dare ask ...
So what do you love about your life?
What new thing can you learn today? tomorrow? by Friday? How can you share that with others?
Are you laughing and if so what's that all about?! (Share!)
Are you living every day to the fullest?
I'm listening ....and await your feedback.
