Simple keys to Happiness and Success in life

 

Simple keys to Happiness and Success in life

Everyone craves happiness and success in their lives, but do they even know how to be happy and successful? Usually, they don’t. Everyone’s definition of happiness seems to be different. To some, happiness is nothing more than being financially secure or worry free or simply being with someone they think loves them and these will make them content in life. But not really. Others think that by being successful will make them happy because they will have an over abundance of funds to buy what ever their heart desires. But money doesn’t buy happiness, only anxiety and more fear and a lot more stress.

If you are surrounded by negative people or negative emotions from worrying about a relationship or about work, you will never be happy, therefore, you must think positively because every issue has a positive side or outcome and you need to find it within yourself in order to become happy in life. It doesn’t matter if you have problems with your finances, your career, maybe health issues, or your goals aren’t aligning with your aspects in life, you must overcome those stresses associated with these issues in order to become successful and live a happy life.

Many say they can’t be happy until they’re out of debt. So, if you’re steep in debt, then look at your spending habits and cut back and start saving instead of spending. Don’t tell me you can’t, because we’ve all been there and have gotten out of that debt and so can you. You don’t need those fancy cups of coffee you buy along your route to work. Try investing in a coffee machine and thermos you can carry to work in the morning, you’ll not only save money, but you’ll also cut down on your coffee intake. If you don’t have a coffee maker at work, invest in a one cup coffee maker to sit on your desk and a jug of water, bring in your own coffee, sugar and creamer and you’re set. A friend of mine complains all the time that she doesn’t have money at the end of the month, but she spends $50 bucks a week on Starbucks coffee because it’s the in thing to do in her office. Geez give me a break, stop with the keeping up with the Joneses and think for yourself and save that $200 a month on just your coffee in the morning. You’d never catch me spending $10 bucks for a cup of coffee unless it was made with gold and served in a gold cup, not some throw away cup and tastes like burnt coffee beans. Wake up and start saving your money.

Goals are another thing you can change in your life. If you want to succeed you have to set goals that are achievable not something that is totally out in left field and can never be achieved without millions of dollars and the help of 100 people. Happiness is achievable, but it must be worked on in order to be achieved. First get rid of the negative as I said before, think positively and stop allowing others to turn your world upside down and cause you pain. Many find happiness in their religion, finding God in their life for others, some find it in their music, other in their cooking. Find your happy place and make it work for you.

Many people believe that the more money you have the happy you will be. Let me tell you that is the farthest thing from the truth. True happiness comes from within you, not based on the amount of money you have or the possessions you obtain in your life. I’ve known millionaires who were miserable because they couldn’t find someone to love them for themselves and not the amount of money they have in the bank, or the size of their yacht or the car the drive. They have always said that money brings more problems than it’s worth at times. What problems you ask, lets see, gold diggers attach themselves to you because you can buy them Gucci or Versace clothes or handbags, Tiffany jewelry or Rolex watches. 

When we talk about success it is quite different from happiness because what makes you happy isn’t the same as what makes you feel successful. Some say that if they had a lot of money, they could be successful and happy at the same time. Trust me when I say that’s not true, because all your saying is that you’re not willing to work hard for your success or the money that might come with success. So, you have to ask yourself two important questions: 1) what truly will make you happy? 2) How successful do you want to me in life? Then ask yourself a third question, are you willing to work hard enough to be successful? If you can’t answer these questions with absolute clarity, give up now or change your way of life and thinking right now.

I tell everyone the same thing, grab a pencil or pen and a note pad, a glass of wine or soda, maybe cup of tea or coffee and sit down and do some heavy thinking. What do you want to make you happy? Write it down. What do you need to become successful? Write it down. Continue the list for as long as it takes for you to get it through your thick skull that you are looking at things the wrong way in life. Look for the simple things to make you happy. Someone to enter your life as a romantic partner who is trustworthy, honest, funny, honorable, giving of themselves, respectful and caring, not an abuser or someone who will verbally or mentally abuse you and take you for all your hard-earned money then disrespect you to your face and in public then cheat on your because you’re working to help both of you survive. Don’t choose someone who will cut you down and prevent you from being a success in life because they are jealous of your ambitions and ideas.

Be grateful for what you have in life thus far. Always remember that success doesn’t come from being happy, success is a byproduct of happiness. It goes back to being positive in life and surrounding yourself with positive people. If you crave the ability to travel the world, then become a minimalist and live your life with very little while you save your money for more important things, like travel, because travel will make you happy.

If you’re always sitting around thinking of the past and wondering why you didn’t do certain things, or if you’re worrying about the future, stop it. You need to learn to live in the present, because what you’re doing is destroying any opportunity you have to build a new life and you’re not going to see the opportunities that present themselves in front of you if you are always looking to the past or worrying about what will happen. Live in the presence and make it work for you.

Have you ever heard of the saying, work smarter not harder? Well, if you haven’t you just did. What that means is if you manage your time effectively, get rid of bad habits your life will begin to turn around because you will be working smarter rather than harder and things will begin to turn around for you, maybe you’ll get that promotion you’ve been after, or you’ll have extra time in your day to do something you’ve been wanting to do, like a craft, a new workout routine, or read a book. Work on your long term goals maybe? It’s up to you what you do with that free time, but you’ll have found that free time because you are working smarter and not harder.

We all have a bucket list we’d like to accomplish by the time we die, well start your bucket list now but make it your goal list, not a death bucket list. Don’t just say on New Year’s Eve that you want to do this or that, make that list a goal list of what you want to accomplish in your life, then make it happen. If you want to become a lawyer, check out schools and see what you need to do to get into that school. If you don’t write down your goals, define them into actionable details of how to achieve that goal, you’ll never achieve it. However, if you do, you’ll give yourself a roadmap to obtaining it and you will achieve it in due course. This is called the smarter way, just like work smarter and now harder phrase, this is plan smarter and achieve more phase of your life. So get to it.

You can begin making these changes tomorrow morning. Wake up a bit earlier and while waking up, eat a good breakfast and have that journal and pen on the table waiting to be filled with your goals and aspiration ideas. If you want to succeed, start a new routine every morning and stick to that routine. If you’re a writer, use an hour each morning to begin a new story and write for an hour, then start your day. New habits each day can start you on a new journey of discovery that can make all the difference in your life and future. Again, new habits and routines allow you to work smarter not harder. It could be put a load of laundry in the washer and turn it on while you eat breakfast. Or fold yesterday’s laundry while you think of what you have to do that day. How about running the vacuum cleaner over the living room rug to save you time when the weekend comes around and you have to clean the house, leaving you extra time to work on cleaning up your own life and future, It’s the little things that add up all week that take up your weekend and away from creating that new life or achieving that goal in your life.

Always remember that changing your lifestyle is going to take time, so don’t get discouraged if you faulter one day, just be sure it’s only that one day and not an entire week. Set yourself a plan of action and make it happen. Remember it’s your life that will suffer and your future will also suffer if you faulter to much. So make it happen and best of luck to you.

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, and creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.