We may have
grown up trying to emulate our favorite heroes,
wishing we were as strong, as beautiful, as smart,
or as self-sufficient as they were.
Because our
role models in the home may have been poor, we
learned to look outside ourselves for people to
copy. Yet we can never be anyone other than
ourselves.
We may desire
to have what someone else has because we don't like
what we have. We can change those characteristics we
don't like in ourselves, or we can learn to accept
them.
But we cant
disguise our true selves by trying to be the carbon
copy of someone we
admire.
By striving
for imitation, we are ignoring the wonderful person
inside.
We may not be
a great artist like Renoir, a celebrated writer like
Shakespeare, a brilliant singer or actor or great
athlete or superb politician.
We can only be
ourselves. And that means we need to write our own
book, not copy another's.
A
great obstacle to happiness is to expect too
much
happiness.
--
Fontenelle
How happy is
happy? When we're laughing and joking, are we happy?
Or is
happiness doing an activity we really enjoy?
Perhaps
happiness is a feeling we get when we see a
beautiful sight or a happy child.
Who
knows what happiness really is?
Like
love, happiness can't really be defined, for what is
true for one person isn't for another.
Happiness
really comes from within.
If we feel a
sense of contentment, peace, or joy, then we can bet
were feeling some form of happiness.
As long as
were satisfied with that happy feeling, then well
feel happiness.
It's when we
expect happiness to feel differently that well lose
our happy feelings.
To be happy we
need to feel the happiness that exists, even if it
isn't the way we've fantasized it to be.
Failure
is an event, not a person.
--
William D. Brown
We may find it easy to
blame disappointing circumstances in our lives on
the people in our lives. We might think we wouldn't
be so angry with ourselves if we could change bosses
or co-workers or partners.
We might believe our
inability to stay in relationships is caused by the
family that brought us up or the circumstances now
in our lives.
If were angry at one boss,
chances are we'll be angry at another no matter what
company or job we have.
The co-workers at a new
company can't guarantee our happiness or peace of
mind any more than a new relationship will bring us
the love we've always searched for.
Once we realize our
dis-satisfactions come from events, rather than
people, well be less likely to place blame on people
or make them the targets of all our failings.
