Happy Changes

Happy Changes!

Yes, I realize that not all changes are happy. That's not the intention of the title. The idea behind the title is this: What makes us happy changes as we go through life!

Wouldn't you agree? Think about this in your own life by going back to your childhood and what it was that made you happy then. Most likely it was very simple things like riding your bike until dark, eating watermelon and homemade ice cream, catching fireflies and swimming in the creek.

Simple pleasures.

Now, my guess is that, if we were to take the time to do some of these again (maybe not riding the bike and chasing fireflies!) we might find that these still have the ability to bring a smile to our face.

Life seems to be cyclical, does it not? The simple things brought happiness to our lives when we were young and, it seems, as we get older we return and understand that simple things can still bring happiness into our lives.

But it's that "middle part" of our lives that seems to get us in trouble sometimes! It's that part of our life when we tend to get into the "pursuit of happiness" to the degree that we miss those things that actually DO bring happiness into our lives WITHOUT the pursuit! It's right there in front of us but we miss it due to the perceived notion that there is "something out there" that will make us happier - IF we can just "catch it"!

So, what makes you happy? Did you work on your list yesterday? What did you find and, hopefully (because you're not done yet), what are you still discovering?

Now, here's the thought that can confuse us at times: can anything or anyone actually MAKE us happy?

That's a tricky one, isn't it? Yes things and people can bring happiness into our lives, but can they MAKE us happy? The other side of that which I have discussed briefly in the podcasts is this: if they can MAKE us happy, what happens when they are gone?

Is our happiness left to the whims of people that come and go or in things that come and go as well?

When you think of it that way it's easy to see that we do not want to allow this in our lives, right?

So, what do we do with this? How do we approach this in such a way so that we can come to a satisfactory conclusion about happiness in our lives?

We'll try to begin looking at that a little closer beginning tomorrow. Be thinking about it and see what you come up with. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas via e-mail (mike@futureyouuniversity.com) anytime!

Until then be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike