Simple, but complicated.

Hi guys...

I have the simplest of questions for you to answer today: Are you 'happy?'

Regardless of your answer to that question, I can assure you that our unhappiness is mostly self-inflicted. We have the best gift from God - the human mind. It is capable of the unthinkable! We are stuck in a world where negative self-talk, horrible thoughts and the worst possible scenarios come to mind FIRST. Are we responsible for complicating our 'not-so-complicated' lives?

You will find all sorts of people in your surroundings. Someone you know may be self-destructing because they are too emotional or over-sensitive. You may find others worrying themselves because they indulge too much into people's business. There are over-reactors and exaggerators. Then, there are people who are strictly rational and fail to acknowledge emotions even when they should. There are those that are short-tempered. Those that are very patient. Those that are over-enthusiastic. Those that are introverts. Those that rehearse their answers to every situation in their head after an event has already occurred. There are those that place a lot of weight on other people's opinions about themselves. Those that are overly critical about everything in life. Those that don't give a damn about others and just live on their own terms. There are people who constantly worry for what the society thinks of them. There are people who will put their life on hold to help others, causing themselves grief. There are people who get hurt because they don't know how to say "no." There are people that are too controlling in life and want things done their way. Those that are constantly disappointed with everything and never grateful. The list simply does not end.

Have we become so accustomed to making our life difficult that it's become a way of life? This brings me back to our powerful minds. We have the power to believe! We have the power to pull a 360 in life at any given time. They say the same thing about weight loss. It's not that our bodies are unable to exercise, it's the mind that tells us a million things - "I can't weightlift. I am too weak. My muscles can't take it. I'll get tired." etc.

So, is optimism a skill that can be learned? Can we train our minds to think the positive instead of negative? Absolutely! Can we implement simple rules to NOT complicate our lives? Absolutely! I've learned one of them from my husband. It's to stop the 'unnecessary worrying and cribbing' and focus on the solution. I spend a lot of time crying over the problem rather than thinking of the resolve. That is such a simple but mindful trick. Don't grieve over something that is not in your control. All of us have many responsibilities, commitments and relationships to take care of. Living simply improves our happiness, productivity and satisfaction with lower stress levels.

Life is not like a multiple choice test. We don't get to pick one option at a time. It throws a load of bullshit at us from all directions. And we can't change that. The only choices we have our how to live life, our behaviour and our thoughts, as to what we want to focus on and the kind of people we want to be. Taking time to reflect, and making conscious steps to make your life happier does work. It may take some time to shift gears but it's worth it in the end. Because things don't matter in life - people do. The problems won't matter in the end, our answers to those problems will. I've also learned that over-thinking never helps. All I wish for my loved ones is for the anger, hurt, disappointment, anxiety, aggression, irritability, and the pain to go away. I wish for happiness, joy, peace, love and laughter in everyone's lives. I hope you all have a fantabulous weekend! :)