Stop Pursuing, Start Being

ByMatthew

On the heels of yesterday’s post, I thought this would be a good follow-on.

* * *

Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. – Guillaume Apollinaire

Happiness is really just a feeling-state.

We have different names for it: peace-of-mind, cheerful, cheery, merry, joyful, jovial, jolly, jocular, gleeful, carefree, untroubled, delighted, smiling, beaming, grinning, in good spirits, in a good mood, lighthearted, pleased, contented, content, satisfied, gratified, buoyant, radiant, sunny, blithe, joyous, . . . .

But it’s really just a feeling; and feelings almost always come from thoughts.

So, if feelings come from thoughts, and we can choose our thoughts, then we can feel happy by choosing the right thoughts.

Take a break from the pursuit and think a carefully chosen thought.

Just be happy.

Similar Posts

  • How To Measure Yourself

    ByMatthew

    Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. – John Wooden Your greatest – and longest lasting – growth will come from you regularly examining the gap between what you do and what you were capable of doing. By continually examining your results, your honest-to-goodness output against…

  • Identity > Action > Feelings (and not the other way ’round!)

    ByMatthew

    I was just watching a class promo video by Brian Johnson and needed to quickly share a point he made about one way we develop greater trust/confidence in ourselves. He talked about how the Identity > Action > Feelings (IAF) progression works in helping us to develop high levels of confidence (and skills, etc.). When…

  • Learn To Say No

    ByMatthew

    Don’t do what you sincerely don’t want to do. – Ernest Hemingway The trick to saying “No.” when you should and “Yes.” when you should is clarity. Clarity about who and what you are (and that you do not derive your worth from the opinions of others). Clarity about your values (and that focusing on…

  • Do You Have a Plan?

    ByMatthew

    When you’re going somewhere you’ve never been to, what do you do? Do you just wing it? Do you just start driving and figure it’ll all work out? Of course not, but that’s what so many people do with their lives. Sure, they might have a vague plan, likely a mash-up of family and social…

  • Actions Speak Loudest

    ByMatthew

    As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do. – Andrew Carnegie Recently I wrote: Talk is cheap, but action is priceless. What we say (/think) matters to what we do, but what do is what really matters. What are you doing, that doesn’t serve you?…

  • All You Have Is What You Do

    ByMatthew

    My actions are my only true belongings. – Thich Nhat Hanh Your legacy, what you truly leave behind, is what you’ve done. All your possessions are fleeting and can be lost in an instant — and will fade and decay anyway. What endures are the choices you made, the work you’ve done and lives you’ve touched….