One of my daughters recently emailed a quote to me that read, “Happy people are those who continuously evaluate and improve themselves. Unhappy people are those who continuously evaluate others.” What this means is that happy people are focused on personal growth–trying and learning new things, going to new places and making new friends. For them, life is all about the journey and they take the necessary actions to make sure the scenery is constantly changing. As a result, life for them is fun and exciting. Unhappy people, on the other hand, avoid opportunities for personal growth–they are content to remain stuck where they are and they attempt to make themselves feel good by finding fault in others. The problem is that without personal growth, life is neither fun nor exciting. Rather, it’s like being on a journey where the scenery never changes.
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RE: Being Happy.
Thank you so much for forwarding on these thought provoking comments and ideas. This topic is one that everyone would have some input on because it is a very personal thing. Where does it start?
We have the whole nature (genetics) vs nurture debate. Then you add other things to that such as your station in life, income, where you live. We know more about this than we used to but one of the things that Psychologists have never resolved is, there are issues, situations, stresses that build some people up and crush others. Why?
We can create our own heavens and hells on earth and I believe to a large degree we do where we have choices to make. There is another famous quote that says something like, “I do not understand why I continue to do the things that I do even though I know they are wrong.”
Clearly we all have a choice everyday. How can we help ourselves and others make those better choices and choose to be happy everyday?
Thanks for reminding me that I have a choice. I am lucky!
Dear Fred,
Thank you so much for your excellent comments. Sorry I didn’t get back sooner, but I have been on vacation. I hope all is going well for you and am glad to hear that you are staying happy. All the best to you.