Today, I want to Spark Your
Happy by encouraging you to let go of your BUT.
Do you ever think you could
be happier if your circumstances were different? You’d like to be happier,
except that you tense up at the thought of just letting yourself be happy. You
blame your unhappiness on a crappy childhood, a horrible break up, or the
people who have convinced you that you have a lousy disposition. You accept the
idea that you’ll never be as happy as you think you should be. You wish your
life was better in some way then you could feel happier. You tend to set your
happiness based on something in the future.
- I will be happy BUT I have a boss, spouse, or partner who makes my life miserable.
- I will be happy BUT first, I have to land my dream job or take my dream vacation.
- I would like to be happy BUT people have told me I was born this way and take after my SOB of a great grandfather.
- I will be happy BUT first, I have to lose weight, get fit, conquer this disease.
- I will be happy BUT I’ve got to keep working this job I hate in order to get my kids through college.
- I will be happy BUT first, I have to make more money, be more successful, make a will. Retire. Die.
Stop a sec. Think of your own
or someone else’s newborn baby. Think about how you feel toward that infant.
People are naturally drawn to babies. They begin to talk baby talk and make
exaggerated facial expressions. Doesn’t that memory make you smile? When the
baby wiggles, smiles, blows bubbles, or coos, we all go gaga. Right? Even watching
a baby sleep makes us feel happy.
I believe we are born happy.
Happiness draws people to one another. When we keep ruminating on some
unfortunate event or get caught up in the busyness of our lives, we tend to
lose touch with our natural state of happiness. Once that occurs, we simply
need to rediscover and reconnect with that natural state.
How do I do that you might
ask?
Well, what would happen if
you let go of reaching for happiness at some unknown time in the future and just
allowed yourself to be happy now? Right this minute. What if you stopped for a
moment, released your big BUT, and let yourself feel that happiness which is
your natural state?
Stop again for another
second. Think about a time when you felt genuinely happy. It may have been a
special birthday or holiday celebration. Perhaps it was the birth of your own
child. Your happiest moment might have occurred when you conquered a fear,
reached a goal, performed a loving gesture, or caught the sunlight creating a
rainbow in a dewdrop.
However you arrive at that
moment in time when you felt deeply happy, feel it again. Hold onto it. See how
easy it is? Every time you feel down, stressed out, or miserable, pull up that
memory and practice feeling your natural state of happiness.
Release the hold on your BUT
and be happy now.
