I’ve caught a nasty flu and as I’m writing this post, my body is doing everything it can to become healthy again. Looking on the bright side of it all, I have quite a lot of time to catch up with my blogs, to read some great books and to come up with more self improvement ideas.
Keep a positive attitude towards life, no matter how negative the situation may seem.
Despite my sickness, I try not to think about the state of my health at all. I know very well that I’m improving and that by Sunday I’ll be in perfect shape, so there’s no reason to concentrate on my problems.
Choose on what to focus your thoughts – on problems, on important issues or on solutions. But always try to maintain a positive attitude, as it will help you stay calm and make the right decisions.
Just wanted to share an amazing presentation at TED with you. Cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff looks at happiness, the ways we try to achieve and increase it, the way it’s untethered to our real circumstances, and its surprising effect on our bodies.
It turns out that antidepressants leave you in a never ending cycle. Once you’ve started taking them, you’re bound to need them again so as to feel happy. I’m glad I’ve never resulted to such type of happiness boosters.
Money can buy happiness as much as income causes satisfaction when it’s higher and depression when it’s lower. But love of money leads to forgetting the real pleasures of life. Quite a nice insight into the world of happiness in our bodies and minds, isn’t it?
I’m bringing a new habit into my life. Each time I want to buy something, I’ll be asking myself the question if I really need it. To memorize the question, I’ve placed it as a note on my monitor, so that I can see it all day long.
Do I really need to ask that question?
The idea behind my new initiative is simple. From now on, I’ll be buying only what I really need and what I deeply desire. Only what I will use and enjoy after my purchase.
I really recommend you try the same thing. We often get involved with buying too many items that we don’t really need or even use. So by limiting our own possessions, we focus on what’s important.
Quite a long time ago, I stumbled upon a speech by Guy Kawasaki given in Palo Alto High School in 1995. What he shares is amazingly inspirational and true. One particular part of it, the one on happiness, really impressed me. So let me share his wise thoughts in today’s post:
Pursue joy, not happiness.
This is probably the hardest lesson of all to learn. It probably seems to you that the goal in life is to be “happy.” Oh, you maybe have to sacrifice and study and work hard, but, by and large, happiness should be predictable.
Nice house. Nice car. Nice material things.
Take my word for it, happiness is temporary and fleeting. Joy, by contrast, is unpredictable. It comes from pursuing interests and passions that do not obviously result in happiness.
Pursuing joy, not happiness will translate into one thing over the next few years for you: Study what you love. This may also not be popular with parents. When I went to college, I was “marketing driven.” It’s also an Oriental thing.
I looked at what fields had the greatest job opportunities and prepared myself for them. This was brain dead. There are so many ways to make a living in the world, it doesn’t matter that you’ve taken all the “right” courses. I think only one person on the original Macintosh team had a classic “computer science” degree.
You parents have a responsibility in this area. Don’t force your kids to follow in your footsteps or to live your dreams. My father was a senator in Hawaii. His dream was to be a lawyer, but he only had a high school education. He wanted me to be a lawyer.
For him, I went to law school. For me, I quit after two weeks. I view this a terrific validation of my inherent intelligence.
Thanks for taking the time to read this great quote of Guy Kawasaki. I would really appreciate if you share your thoughts on persuing joy, not happiness.
The really happy people I know put remarkable diversity into their lives. One friend plays golf and currently is one of the best in Bulgaria because he loves it. Another one likes winter sports and goes to winter resorts each time enough snow falls to go skiing or snowboarding.
The list of the things that smiling and cheerful people do never ends. They always find something new to do. Something to devirsify their everyday lives. Something that makes them feel like a conqueror of new continents.
So? What’s the lesson I learned today?
Always search for something new to make your life exciting. It could be sports. Or going somewhere new with family or friends. Or finally going to a date after your divorce. Or creating that new blog you feel excited about.
Whatever you do, always bring diversity into your life.
