The Pursuit of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happiness?
Begin the process of designing your life and discovering your
dreams and the pursuit of happyness will become your reality.
Life happens…and rarely according to plan.
If that is true, why plan?
We are at the beginning of a new year. This is the most popular time of
the year to set goals, make resolutions. Our obsession with the “new
year” is not actually new. The ancient Babylonians were observing New
Years Day 4000 years ago!
Resolutions aren’t new either. Ancient Babylonians were obsessed with
returning borrowed farm equipment. Ancient Romans sought forgiveness
from their enemies. Today our focus is on more health related goals like
losing weight, exercising more, and quitting smoking.
As a coach and trainer, the beginning of the year has always been the
peak time of the year to encourage my clients to craft a clear and
dynamic personal vision, set goals, and then together we’d clearly define
a series of actions to support the achievement of these goals. Sound
familiar?
Then I would talk about the fundamental need of creating a “blueprint” or
a “roadmap” to follow.
Anyone ever hear the phrase
“without your own life map, you’ll
end up part of someone else’s life
plan?
Today while I agree with the basic core principles of the value of creating
a good plan, I think it is so much more important to learn to ask yourself
the right questions first.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Socrates
Many times over the years, I have participated in self development
seminars with well-known gurus advising us to write out 101 life
goals…can you imagine writing 101 life goals in an hour or two? I can’t
even remember what I wrote down– and I’ve done this exercise at least
three times! Too rushed, no reflection, therefore not much meaning
attached to the list of goals.
Today? Well today, I sent out an email to my team and kept rewriting the
content a few times before I just wrote the truth. I wrote…”These first few
weeks of the New Year, have been very busy for me, I’ve been busy
thinking.
Thinking? Busy thinking? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
I can just imagine the perplexed expressions on their faces as they read
that sentence over a few times!
People don’t take the time to
really think about what they want
to create in their lives.
Statistics prove this point; I just heard on the Oprah radio news today,
that on January 24th each year, more people have the blues than any
other day. January 24th is also known to be the gloomiest day of the year!
Why?
Many people start the New Year with great intentions, great optimism
and great resolutions. January 24th is the day that 80% of Americans
have already broken their resolution. They realize it just isn’t going to
happen, so they give up trying because they believe nothing will change
in their lives.
This is only the 3rd week of January! What a startling and very sad
statement of the current reality facing millions of people in their lives.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint!
To enjoy the journey, start over
each time you have a “false
start”!
If you are one of the 80% who are disappointed by your performance
since you rang in the bells of a new year– don’t give up! Decide today
that February 1st or even March 1st, is the beginning of your new year.
In previous articles, I have mentioned that I have recently started
in a Guild- collaborating with Richard Leider, of the Inventure Group and in
partnership with the University of Minnesota. Together, we are involved in
the “Working on Purpose Project.”
For a fascinating read by one of the greatest thought leaders in the world today, I suggest you read moe about Richard at www.the inventuregroup.com.
Richard refers to the “hurry sickness” engulfing our society today. I
heartily agree with Richard’s premise that many people today will
immediately improve the richness of their journey in life when they start
asking themselves the right questions.
Next month, in part two of “The Pursuit of Happyness”, I will discuss the
questions to start asking yourself… here is one of them:
“Are you having fun?”
Take the time to reflect on and answer the questions, then you will begin
the process of designing your life, discovering your dreams and the
pursuit of happyness will become your reality.
“A dream is a wish your heart makes.”
Disney
2-20-2007
EH
