Happiness in a Bottle
How do we make the transition from complaining to finding motivation? From feeling stuck to feeling that familiar rush that brings endless ideas and positivity. Gosh. If I had the perfect answer, I’d be chilling on my yacht south of France. I’d hopefully still be blogging too, only after a blissful morning mimosa.
We are all blessed with the ability to have a choice. An opinion. If you’re an American, like me, we are so very fortunate with this daily reality. Too often we fall into ruts whether it be at work, at home or with our own health where our opinions and choices in the day ahead fall victim to the rigor of our daily routines and environment.
LIFE CAN GET BETTER, THOUGH! HERE’S HOW!
Leighton’s Six “Things” to Remember:
DREAM: Take off the shackles of your current responsibilities at work and at home. Carve out 10 minutes of your day after reading this. Put it in your calendar. Sit down with pen and paper and write out what you want to say YES to and what you want to say NO to. Say “YES” to being happy, to making good money, to having balance at work, to being good at golf. Whatever you want. Say “NO” to always coming home stressed, to feeling stuck to whatever the hell is making your life less enjoyable. You are not a victim of this world or your job. You have control. You are not stuck. And if you don’t agree at least dream, for now. Try to come up with 5-6 on each side of the page!
BE AWARE: Just know where your attitude and mood are as you move throughout your day. Don’t strive to be happy and perfect. Happiness will be a result of the actions you take. Give yourself the grace to feel awful and stressed. But after an hour, a day, a week…you will have to…
MAKE A CHOICE: If you’re in a rut you, whether you realize it or not, you’re actively making a choice. Being in a rut is a part of life. I’m not saying you have to be riding high. I’m saying, if you’re in a rut you have to make a choice to a) not do anything or b) freaking do something. That something you do can be as dramatic or minimal as you want. Walking one degree off of your intended destination when you are 100 miles away can dramatically change your journey. So can constantly be making a choice to go where you want to go. What are you in pursuit of? At work. At home. In golf. Mistakes and lack of judgement happen… but making a choice to pursue your dreams in good times and in bad will always have value.
RELATIONSHIPS: Take this how you want, but relationships matter. Friendships, work relationships, marriage, sadly even being the owner of a cat is a relationship in a weird way (clearly a dog guy). Invest in your positive relationships. Say YES to working to be happy around the people you enjoy. Relationships are messy and can often suck at times. That being said, being happy in your relationships comes with…
SACRIFICE: We must sacrifice something if we want to stay balanced in our pursuit of our independent versions of happiness. In relationships we can’t take, take, take. We have to give. Give time. Give attention. Give beer (prob my fav). Give a second chance. Give whatever the heck your gut tells you to give. Then, when you give, you…
RECEIVE: In most days we have a choice to look at the glass half empty or half full. So in a sense, choosing to look at the glass half full is receiving the good things from your day. Maybe it’s a phone call from a friend. Maybe it’s a bonus or maybe a its acknowledging that you made good choices today. No matter what we must allow ourselves to receive the good from our days despite our cultures attempt to tell us that we aren’t enough. That we should be happier. That we should have more likes on Instagram. That we should be better at golf or happier in our relationships. It’s hard to receive when you don’t give. (this may be why my kids toy box is overflowing. Insert thinking emoji. Noted).
In closing, I’ve done my fair share of complaining. I haven’t always had this fresh perspective. Not even close. Heck, I may wake up tomorrow feeling completely deaf to this blog I’ve written. Then I’ll have a choice to make. But, they didn’t they make a movie called “The PURSUIT of Happiness” for nothing. It ain’t called “Happiness”!!! It’s the pursuit, friends. Hopefully these 6 things can help you find some traction as you continue to strive for happiness.
PS. Since this is a “golf blog”. Try taking these 6 things to the course and I bet it helps your mental game.
Peace!
Leighton Smith, PGA
Copyright, 2018, Leighton Smith Golf LLC
