On the first day of March, everywhere we turn, we see change and signs of a new world emerging. That depends on us. And seeking a happy life sounds pretty good now.
Sometimes we get good insight (about what to do and pursue) and make better decisions from our gut intuition than from what we see. And that’s our clearest point of view if we’re flying in the dark.
Living a happy life today means leaning into change. But years ago, that’s not how life was or how I started. I learned the adaptable ropes mostly in the job roles I held. I started out as a planner. I was more like a hard doll than a flexible Gumby as a toy visual.
I think doing corporate work is a good training ground for life, reality, and how to deal with tough situations that don’t require physical survival skills. But you do learn life skills. And they require patience and getting along.
These can make you resilient and adaptable to change as you’re never fully in control. No one in corporate really is the boss. Even the boss has a boss. They could be customers or a Board. And once you get the hang of what you’re doing, something changes.
So leaning into change is the best thing you can do. It starts with changing your perspective on change.
Just knowing that what you’re temporarily going through will not last, helps.
Some things you wish would, but then some you’re glad didn’t. So it usually comes out in the wash.
But, our brains want us to focus on the negative stuff. No matter how positive we’re wired, at the end of the day, we all have the same human construct.
If you let your mind just wander to where it wants to go and stay, that’s where the unhappiness comes from. It’s like when you want to leave an unhappy physical place and arrive at a better place (or the steps in between) to get to a better place.
The happiest place on earth is really inside you and your managed feelings that start from your thoughts. Not Disney Land or a favorite place. If you’ve been around long enough or are a wise soul, you know those changing feelings never last.
If and when you become change-nimble, you don’t hold onto the past or what could have been. You let go and focus on today, but dream about tomorrow. And you use history and your past as good reminders, happy memories, and to recall your happy life.
And in your today situations, you learn what you can do. Sometimes it’s wait-and-see without active response, and sometimes it’s taking a step in a bold stance or in another direction. You’re wise to use healthy internal discernment as a guide and rational facts as checks and balances.
We all get thrown curve balls at some point. We also get varying opinions and smartly we can know that even those you honor or look up to don’t always have the best advice.
I have found the easiest way to take the best advice is to give the same advice. And to make a radical bold shift in the way that makes sense, can require a whole new attitude. That begins with a motivation to want to change even if you don’t know-how. You learn in the desire.
You start over like a kid wanting to learn how to take on a new challenge, adventuresome sport, or hobby. Learning to change your thoughts is not nearly as exciting. But if you manage your thoughts, you’ll get to the activities you’re really good at a lot sooner and not spend years on time-wasting ones.
Say, for example, you want to stop blaming or criticizing so much but that’s not the way it is or has been. So then you would find how to shift the situation so you become part of the solution. You seek change with peace and not tension as part of the goal. You do this by catching yourself and your thoughts.
This I believe is the truth to happiness and having a happy life.
When you learn how to jump straight to changing attitudes and perspectives, you bypass the messy middle… where even with best intentions, our brain design can get stuck there in the clouds.
And sometimes you may not even know your invisible perspectives. I had a victim mentality and lens I was operating from that I didn’t even know was there. Only until I was aware and observed my thoughts, could I change that.
With awareness in any area, you move towards a happy life.
If nothing else, believe that a better world and your better, happy life is in the process. Because your beliefs make up your perspectives and attitudes. With all three in alignment, you’re destined to be unstoppable.
That’s how I transformed a victim mentality into an abundant one. And you can too, or any other area you become aware of that you want to change and transform. From a caterpillar existence to your butterfly happy living. 🦋