I am not happy

Sadness and happiness each has its own length and strength. Wanting and wishing for change in our life is natural, but neither starts nor ends before its required time. Consider them your personal life experience.

If you are looking to make a difference in your life and in the life of others too — first and foremost —refrain from lying or being deceitful. When you stop doing those things, you become a more caring and responsible person and that lays the groundwork which sets into motion a sequence of events that benefits not only you, but others as well. Actress Lily Tomlin expressed this concept the following way: “The best mind-altering drug is truth.”

Since we are more preoccupied with our unhappy feelings than our blessings , here are two primary reasons why we may feel discontented and/or miserable, at times.

1. A) When we experience more health issues or hardship than our friend, family or neighbor.
2. B) When we feel jealous of our friend, family or neighbor’s wealth or perceived blessings.

Item “A”: Let’s look at our unhappiness originating from illness or hardship and examine them within the context of the statements described below.

• Author and motivational speaker Earl Nightingale said, “The few REAL evils of the moment can be either cured or endured”. Ask yourself, “Is my illness a real evil? “If it is, then consider his conclusion. If it has to be endured, you’ll have to come up with a game plan to deal with it on your own or with the assistance of others. With regard to your hardship(s), recognize that you are not a product of your circumstances —you are a product of your decisions. Recognize too that when you do the common things in your life in an uncommon way, you command and bring attention to yourself. Your investment here is the time and energy you put into it, everything else is just commentary. It is very important that you never lose sight of your roots nor bring dishonor to your family. Do as much as you can and put some distance between the people who distress you … but be polite when going about it.The result you want others to conclude is, “ The bad guy has been assaulted by a decent upright person and not the other way around.”
• Missionary and author William Ward ( 1769-1823) said, “Man, like a bridge, was designed to carry the load of the moment, not the combined weight of a year— all at once.”. Are you unconsciously carrying around much more load than is necessary?
• “It is not what you have lost, but what you have left that counts.”(Harold Russell 1914-2002). Now ask yourself , what’s still in your possession that you can still make good use of or perhaps give away, without discomfort or loss to yourself?
• Worry is just another way of trying to catch up with yesterday. This may be hard to swallow, but is nevertheless true. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its joy. When worry frustrates you, determine whether there is something you could do in the interim to “steer” the course of events more in your favor. The idea is to provide yourself with a reason to feel more hopeful — but it must be legal and not bring harm to yourself or others. Recognize hope always triumphs over fear.

Item (B) : Let’s consider the statements below within the context of those whose wealth and/or perceived good fortune intimidates you.

• Not everything in life is measured in cash. For example, a blessing may be disguised as personal health monitored and managed by professionals who continue to earn your trust. Friends and family who maintain a ‘soft spot’ in their hearts for you and are more forgiving of your faults and shortcomings. Do not allow quarrels with loved ones to destabilize the alliance you’ve nurtured over the years. Many outbursts are spontaneous, short-lived events that occur when we feel others have demonstrated a lack of respect toward us.
• Former US President Theodore Roosevelt had this to say: ”Do what you can , with what you have , where you are.” And if perhaps you are already doing these things you may be on sounder ground than you think.
• Do you compare what you have with what others have, and fail to appreciate what you already have? If so, chances are, you’ll never catch up with them.
• Magician and actor, Channing Pollock made the following statement. He said, “Recognize that happiness is a ‘way station’ between too little and too much? “

Now, ask yourself, “where do I stand on this scale?” Your goal should be to move toward the middle.

There are many things in life that we do not know, nor quite understand. Additionally, there isn’t any black and white answer book to explain why we feel sad as often as we do or why our happy moments appear so fleeting — although some believe answers to those questions are found in the sacred writings of their faith. What makes us different is our ability to decide for ourselves despite unmistakable truths , prevailing laws and established norms.

Our troubles take us onto a highway that leads to a destination that is best suited for us.Once we reach that destination, we may come to realize that it wasn’t destiny but our Biology and Perseverance that were responsible for our fortune and/or misfortune.  

To learn more go to: Pocketsofinsight.com