Feb 18 2009
Happiness is a State of Mind
After having a very stressful week at work I was talking to a friend of mine about our lives as a whole. After discussing this for a while the conversation migrated to a time period last year when a mutual friend was literally fighting for his life — and frankly we both thought we might lose him to the battle. At that point we had stated that too much time and energy was spent stressing out about the things that we can’t control rather than focusing on the things within our life that we should be concentrating on……our relationships with others.
After all does it really matter in the scheme of life whether or not you made five digits or six? Whether or not you drove a Lexus or a Toyota? Or if you had the magical VP or CEO initials following your name?
In the end, I want my kids to have memories of me and us as a family. I want them to think of me as more than just a financial provider…but rather as a parent who took an active participation in their life.
Having said all of this, they can only have those memories if I let go of the STRESS. If I let go of all of the little (and not so little) aggravations in my life long enough to have the ability to enjoy my time with them. So, with that, forget about work…forget about the bills….forget about your ex….forget about the laundry…..
Go have fun with your family!
I enjoyed reading this entry. Happiness really is a state of mind. It’s something that took me a while to realize. Yeaah…sometimes it really is difficult to be happy but I’ve met people who live in constant struggle yet they are so optimistic and happy than others! I have friend who strongly believes in this mantra.
I think in general, women struggle more than men because most of us have been conditioned to think that taking time out for ourselves is a selfish thing, like we’re abandoning our family and friends if only take 15 minutes to be in our own company. So when it comes to distressing and forgetting about that pile of laundry or picking up the grocery or whatever, we feel guilty and it adds more to our stress because we’re not taking a break! Sadly, it’s kinda hard to make some people understand these things.
I truly bellieve that we are only as happy as we allow ourselves to be. If we keep beating ourselves up because we didnt do 20 unimportant things we forget about the things we did do that our children are remembering. They grow up to fast. It is hard to stop and remember that. Thanks for the reminder