Justin Wisor has some suggestions for finding happiness in your daily life.
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While all health starts with food, there becomes a time we must all acknowledge our emotional wounds. And for some reason, we let those wounds scab, we pick them, they fester, they get infected, and seem to kill us slowly but surely.
We all die, so why bother holding onto things that wound us? There are two actions we can all take in a path to better healing. Practice forgiveness and express gratitude. The former is not possible without the latter. You can’t be truly grateful for something without letting go of things that are blocking those emotions from being expressed. Human’s are social, emotional creatures.
Our growth as humans is because we can perceive an action’s future consequence. That is an intelligent act. Positive emotions will help us produce.
Think about the reasons why people bring a product to market. Money is an obvious factor, but most people with an idea want to give it to their peers. They perceive the future reaction to their product as positive, driving them to act. Whether or not it actually happens, believing it will keep them positive, forward-looking, and ultimately help them achieve their goal, regardless of the world’s opinion. They did it. That’s why I emphasize positive thinking and meditation as a tenant of health. I use self-affirmation. When negative thoughts begin to spiral out of my control, I do what I can control: speaking out loud and affirming myself to only me. I repeat until negative thoughts leave. I do it alone.
Why is this necessary? Because ultimately, life boils down to letting yourself be happier. If you haven’t seen this video before, it discusses the top five regrets of the dying, observed by a nurse who cared for the dying. We meander through life holding on to things because we think we deserve to be right. We believe we deserve justice. And we believe we deserve to have the other person suffer because they make us suffer. But that’s a fallacy. Who’s suffering? And what have you spent all that time doing? Picking at your festering emotional wound instead of letting it heal. Why should you let it heal instead of getting your justice? Because in the process, while you think you deserve justice and the feeling of being right, happiness is waiting for you. It won’t find you because you don’t want it. You have to drop the bone, and go find it. Happiness does not deal with resentment, grudges, or negative frequencies. Happiness prefers to hang out at the local coffee shop where forgiveness hangs out, gratitude often makes a guest appearance, and people don’t get held up on the little things. When you find that, you’ll let yourself be happy. Do I want to die miserable, satisfied I was right? Nope. Count me out.
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So why forgiveness and gratitude? Because those are the foundations of happiness. Regardless of being right, let go of the small and big things, and forgive people. The smaller things should be easier and happen quickly. Forgiving for large transgressions can take time, but at least tell yourself you’re going to work at it. By not even trying, you’ll be miserable.
Now enter gratitude. After you’ve dropped your bones and burdens, realize the world is abundant with things to offer. We all live in the same world. The same Earth that has granted thousands of highly successful people with success and fulfillment has the ability to do the same for you. If you don’t think so, it’s because your perspective is skewed. You can’t focus on the bad things. Realize the world has abundance to offer, and go find it. The first step is expressing gratitude and thanking the world for what you already do have. This can be done internally. Externally? Thank those around you. We’ve all had “that feeling” that comes from truly thanking someone. It’s a good feeling. It transcends all of our emotional baggage for a fleeting moment, making us feel great and grateful.
Be grateful for all that life has given, and then tell those in your life you’re grateful for what they do. If you have something holding you back, drop it, and focus on the positive things.
There are times I wonder if I am irresponsible for thinking this way. Should I ‘grow up’ and realize the world isn’t all great? Well, I do realize that. I also realize that my perception of what the world is offering me is really what matters. There is more good in the world than evil. As the bible said, you don’t light a candle to be placed under a table, but to place it on top and light up the entire room. So I’ll view the room as illuminated and choose happiness.
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Photo: ♫ joyousjoym~ Blessings♥/Flickr