When we inspire others to be happy, we inspire ourselves. Every situation becomes an opportunity. Children allow us to see the happiness option and the unhappiness option in action. They demonstrate an amazing power to turn switches on and off at will. As adults, we are no less powerful.
How often have we seen children in the supermarket crying and screaming for something on the shelf or in the cart and mums trying to appease the kid under the watchful, glaring eyes of other customers as if the child were being beaten to death, with embarrassment we give into to the glares and give in to the demands of the child. Immediately the child will stop screaming and will smile happily through the tears as she gobbles the goody and the customers stand looking approvingly. I’ve even heard some people applaud at such a scene………the child soon learns that to be unhappy pays off. If you scream and cry you get candy. I wonder if that little girl did the same in the next store!
Illusion #1: Unhappiness now gets us happiness later. Not so.! Using misery to fight misery just adds to more misery…..pure and simple.
Illusion #2: Unhappiness is a natural, unavoidable characteristic of the human condition. Not so again! Unhappiness follows from certain beliefs and judgments, which we choose and which we can change.
So often we hear ourselves and others make statements like the following: “She made me angry!” “He got me upset!” “If my parents would have been more supportive, I would have been happier.” ‘Balancing my check book makes me crazy.” “Your questions about our relationship make me feel insecure.” “Their proposition got me excited.” We talk as if our (emotions, anger, upset, happiness, craziness, insecurity or excitement) are caused by people, places or things.
Events are events and each of us chooses our response by how we decide to view them and by what beliefs and judgments we engage during the process. No one can be inside of our heads pulling our strings. We do that for ourselves.
Maybe someone might make a derogatory remark about us, so we can choose to take it as the insult that it was meant to be or we can choose to say that perhaps the person making the remark is prejudice or well……that’s just his own opinion and we can dismiss the remark and not give it any power.
Maybe someone might make a derogatory remark about us, so we can choose to take it as the insult that it was meant to be or we can choose to say that perhaps the person making the remark is prejudice or well……that’s just his own opinion and we can dismiss the remark and not give it any power.
We could take such self-empowerment and see it as depressing and feel unhappy and miserable over situations or we can be more liberating by choosing to make ourselves feel happy. If we have the power to make ourselves feel uncomfortable, miserable and angry, then we must also have the power to give ourselves the experience of comfort and peace of mind. Rather than be emotional victims to circumstances or blame other people for what we do and feel, we can take charge! We choose our state of mind. We are the belief makers. In this universe, happiness is a choice and misery is optional (Not inevitable.)
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