This artile in the Nassau (Bahamas) online paper gives a great simplistic view on how to be happy! Choose to make your holiday weekend a great one!
Many readers have commented on my optimistic outlook on life and relationships. When anyone asks how I developed this attitude, I share this story about a “university study.”
Two preteen boys, one pessimistic and the other optimistic, were put in different rooms.
The pessimist was in a room with the latest toys and gadgets, and the optimist was put in a room with a huge pile of horse manure.
When the researchers returned an hour later, they found the pessimist in a corner. He had pushed all the toys and gadgets to the side and was whimpering that he was afraid he would break something and get into trouble.
When they entered the room with the optimist, they found him enthusiastically digging in the pile.
When they asked him why he was so excited, he exclaimed, “With all this, there must be a pony in here somewhere!” All the cliches you’ve ever heard – “Every cloud has a silver lining,” “When one door closes, another opens” and so on – have been created and maintained by people who have lived them.
The hard part is in believing that things will get brighter when all you see is the darkness.
Your perspective about this may have to grow over time. If you have never experienced a low time that has been followed by a time of joy, then it’s hard to perceive that it could happen to you.
The truth is that for most people who are willing to make the effort and take a chance, most obstacles can be overcome. Luckily, the next phase is often much better than the one that ended.
If you feel that you’ll never be in love again after a breakup, take heart. Most people do find someone else to love.
If you’re frightened for your survival because of a job loss, believe that your next job most likely will be a better one than the last. The trick is to not allow yourself to wallow in self-pity and instead take some practical steps to help get what you want.
I promise that if you sit around waiting for good things to come to you, the only thing you will receive is disappointment.
It may be hard to see when life is standing on your neck, but there are millions of people who will tell you that they got where they are by putting themselves out there.
It’s true that you run the risk of someone saying no or of getting your heart broken yet again, but that’s my point. You have to take a shot if you want to change your life for the better.
One of the most powerful positions you can take in life is to know that if you were to lose everything, you could find happiness and success again. I pray you never have to go through anything so difficult, but if you do, you need to trust that you have the inner strength to make your world whole again.
