Success

I read an amazing article comparing successful and unsuccessful people. It pointed out the basic differences between these two types of individuals. Clearly, success means different things to each of us but I took it at face value and analyzed the points made.

Successful people have a sense of gratitude while unsuccessful people have a sense of entitlement. I wake up every morning with a grateful heart. It might sound cheesy but it has transformed the way that I view life. I am happy to be alive and to have the opportunity to experience another day. I've heard people on the opposite side of the spectrum always say things such as "why is this happening to me?" "why can't I catch a break?" "it's his/her fault that I didn't get X".  I'm not expert but this is not a healthy mentality. I believe that success means that you can own up to your own mistakes and failures. You can find the beauty in everything even though it seems that your life has become a constant abyss of darkness. I'll get in to this more later. I am in NO way stating that this is an easy thing to do.

Successful people exude joy and embrace change while their counterparts fear change and constantly criticize others. I could see why this would make someone happy or unhappy. If you are always putting other people down and are unable to move forward in your journey then you are holding on to some sort of resentment and fear. Exuding joy is infectious. People love to see smiles and hear laughter. There's always something to smile about. ALWAYS.

Successful people keep a to do list and a journal that helps them to set goals and develop life plans. Unsuccessful people don't set goals and think that they know it all. I'm beginning to see a theme here.

It looks like successful people know what they want, are willing to accept change and failure and pick themselves back up again. This is not to say that a successful person is an automaton. They can embrace their feelings but also let them go! Unsuccessful people on the other hand have difficulty letting go of the past, hold grudges and want other people to fail. They are hard on themselves and on others. How can anyone be successful if they can't be happy on a very basic level?

You Are The Maker of Your Happiness

Over the years I have read many books, articles and seen movies that tend to show that happiness is something that is external. These characters fall in love and find their "soul mates", which creates an abundance of happiness in an otherwise sad existence. It's fantastic to find someone to love or to have a family that loves you. Love is a powerful thing!

But did you know that you yourself can be happy without any external stimuli? You don't need a lover to tell you how fabulous you are or to mend your broken wing. I never liked the phrase "You make me happy" because it implies that I can't make myself happy. How about we change it to "You add to my happiness"?
That is a far healthier claim. I think that it isn't a good idea to put so much pressure on another person to bring us happiness. We have the power to be happy and rejoice in ourselves. You don't need another person praising you or telling you how wonderful you are. You are alive and have the ability to change your situation at any moment.

Love the one you're with and adore each other. Enjoy the moments you have with your family and remember the happy moments. Let go of the frustrating ones. Instead of allowing the dialogue to go something like this "you're alone, you must be unhappy" or "I'm all alone in the world"; change is to "I'm never alone and it is my choice to be happy".

The word "alone" tends to terrify a lot of people and it shouldn't. Even if you are physically alone there are millions of other humans and animals who share a connection with you. We all share this planet and globalization has allowed us to reach out and communicate with people we would never have met without such technology. Even if you decide not to use that technology, breathe in the knowledge that you are made of energy and that we are all connected by energy. You are never alone and the word should never scare you.

Find your happiness in whatever form it comes in but make sure that you are happy with yourself and by yourself before you find another person to share all that elation with!