Wait for happiness to arrive and you’ll likely be waiting for a while.
Chase happiness and you’ll likely end up running way more than you’d like to.
Make happiness…? Now, maybe that’s something we can do.
Tune in to this LIVE group audio discussion as my Co-Host, Samantha, and I dive in!
(Can’t see the audio link? Click here to view it in your browser.)
There’s plenty to complain about.
There’s also plenty to *not* complain about.
Which list is bigger?
…Whichever list we make bigger.
They are not the same thing.
Both have to do with acceptance, but in completely different ways.
Being content is accepting that what’s here is enough *and* taking a step forward along the hiking trail towards growth.
Being complacent is accepting that what’s here is enough *and* avoiding the hiking trail altogether to sit on the couch and watch TV.
It’s completely possible to be content *and* travel forward on a journey. Not because what’s here isn’t enough—but, because traveling forward on a journey is precisely how growth happens.
When you let content turn into complacency, you start to regress. Your awareness fades. Your comfort zone collapses in around you and suffocates your brain.
And eventually, because of a lack of growth, what’s “enough” will start to turn gray, dull, lackluster, unappealing, and unfulfilling.
And what will be left is not a lack of “enough,” but a lack of awareness that allows you to truly appreciate all that you have.
It’s precisely the challenge associated with growth that gives you the contrast needed to appreciate the enough.
And don’t take my word for it.
Take yourself through a really hard workout—one that’s harder than normal. Make it so that you’re truly exhausted by the end of it. And then take a sip of water.
It’s the same sip of water you always take—but, I guarantee, the sip after that killer workout will taste a helluva lot better than the other.
P.s. Today, I hosted a LIVE talk on Creating (not waiting for) Happiness and it was amazing. Listen to the playback here (~2 hours long & worth every minute).
I think happiness is a recipe.
One that is unique to each individual person.
Wait for the ingredients to cook themselves and you’ll be waiting an awful long-time.
Rush the cooking process and you’ll burn, contort, abuse, and otherwise mess up the meal.
There’s an art to cooking just like there’s an art to happiness.
And just like a chef would bring a level of presence and care to the kitchen when prepping meals, you too need to bring that same kind of energy to the preparation of your happiness in life.
One of my personal favorite recipes for happiness is:
With 3.5 cups of space left (in the day) to work with.
Mixed altogether and served with some sprinkles of spontaneity on top.
And it’s a formula that I loosely follow each day.
What you have to figure out for yourself is, what does your recipe consist of?
And are you preparing your batch of happiness fresh every day? Or are you trying to eat from stale batches of happiness that was prepared long ago?
Are you waiting for the ingredients to combine themselves? Are you rushing as you prepare your meals? Or are you taking your time and approaching your craft like a chef would?
Of all the recipes you have memorized in your life, this might be one of the most important to not only memorize—but to internalize.