Motivation Mondays: BEING HAPPY

“The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.” Henry Ward Beecher

Motivation Mondays: BEING HAPPY

Want to be happy? Be grateful | David Steindl-Rast

The Ways – Khalid & Swae Lee ( Black Panther)
Lyrics

You can have flaws, be anxious, and ever angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you.
Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments.
To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity. Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. Being Happy: Author Anon/Attributed to Pope Francis

What does Being Happy mean to you? Recently, one of my best friends sent me a speech that was purported to have come from Pope Francis. It was beautifully written and touched on all the key elements we need to remember about why being happy is a CHOICE we get to make daily. I was thrilled yet, the researcher in me wanted to make sure it came from the beloved Pope before I could use it. When I couldn’t find it on the Vatican website, I turned to Google, and it became crystal clear that it wasn’t from the Pope; even the poet/author, Fernando Pessoa, some believed had the original attribution fell short.  In moments like this, serendipity kicks in… Why did this piece suddenly show up?  It was sent to me because I was meant to read it, consider its place in my life and then share it with others. I have done so throughout this post. (see above and below)  Give. Give. Give. Why wait for your life to be perfect before you enjoy sunrise and sunset? Our lives are perfectly flawed and that is what keeps us motivated to get up and start our day with hope, joy and promise. Like the water lily, we can be radiant in the midst of dirty pool water… life must go on

My personal journey to being happy has often included unpleasant events, health, personal and other challenges. Yet, every single harsh event has had its silver lining; a reminder to look around and find someone in greater need to help.  Sometimes, I could decipher the grace in the grind and at other times, it took friends, family and the occasional stranger to point me in the direction of the good ahead of me.  So, I wake up thankful for the gift of life, shelter, family, friendship and the grace that shows up in many other ways. It is easy to look around us and compare our lives to others and bemoan our lack of XYZ. But, what we tend to forget is that everyone has a destiny carved out for them and each of us face our own battles in small and large ways.

Even people we see as perennially happy have their demons they battle quietly. For some, it could be a feeling of insecurity and a need to be loved. For others, it could even be a fear of being found out to be a “fraud.” Until we walk in another person’s boots, we can’t claim to know what makes them tick… The goal then is to focus on our own lives, make peace with our regrets and fears, and choose to find even one person to help and one thing every day to be happy and thankful for.
READ: Happiness Haiku: What Does Happiness Mean To You?
Happiness: A to Z Ways & Words To Express It …

“We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” Barbara De Angelis

Motivation Mondays: BEING HAPPY

Pharrell Williams – Happy (Video)

To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny’s author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life.
Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. It’s to be able to talk about you. It is having the courage to hear a “no”. It is confidence in the face of criticism, even when unjustified. It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends, even when they hurt us. To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple.
It is to have maturity to be able to say, “I made mistakes.” It is to have the courage to say, “I am sorry.” It is to have the sensitivity to say, “I need you.” It is to have the ability to say, “I love you.” Being Happy: Author Anon/Attributed to Pope Francis

How do you fuel your Happiness Quotient? Unequivocally, being present in the life we have, being grateful, and helping others add to our happiness quotient on a daily basis. Instead of feeling side-lined by our desires, worries and wishes, when we focus on the grace in our present moment, we can make choices that enable us to move forward and not stay stagnant. Being present helps us get in touch with our inner voice and feelings and helps us connect with others in an honest way. When we are present in our interactions with others, we not only see them, we hear them and we connect to the emotion behind the words shared. I think we don’t spend enough time being present because it not only takes practice, it requires intention and  a level of trust that our inner guide will lift us up and open a pathway to clarity. That level of clarity adds fuel to our happiness quotient because we feel satisfied on a deep level.

Think about it. How often do we say: I will stay open to the possibilities in my life today? Staying open to the possibilities doesn’t mean abandoning our daily schedule. It means becoming acutely aware of our exchanges, effort and our thought patterns. Instead of judging everyone and everything that crosses our path, try honoring them. Send a kind thought, a healing word, a friendly smile, a helping hand and watch the outcome without expectation of how/what/when. Give it a chance and the results might surprise you.

For instance, yesterday, as I drove to work related appointments, I had two separate experiences of  other drivers making rather sudden and dangerous moves in front of my car. One driver pulled out from a side street without stopping at the red sign. Both times I was grateful that an accident was averted and that I was present, attentive and not distracted or impatient. In both incidents, I felt a burst of gratitude and joy that all turned out well. The same approach applies to other areas of our lives. When we turn our attention to a chore, a conversation, or an assignment, we perform better when we are present and our whole being feels the happy charge that comes from doing our best work. Even if the final outcome doesn’t bring a certain result, we know we gave it our best shot and being happy/grateful resides in that effort.
READ: Motivation Mondays: HAPPINESS
Happiness: The Candle Never Decreases By Being Shared…
Musings: Waiting To Be Happy…?

The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for MAR 2018/APR 2018 are:

MARCH

03/04 – Women’s History Month, National Nutrition Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, American Red Cross Month, 08 International Women’s Day, World Kidney Day, 04 Academy Awards
03/11 – 11 Daylight Savings, 14 Pi Day, 15 World Consumer Rights Day, 17 St Patrick’s Day
03/18 – 19 St Joseph, 20 International Day of Happiness, 21 World poetry Day, 22 World Water day, 24 Earth Hour
03/25 – Palm Sunday, 29 Holy Thursday, 30 Good Friday, 31 Passover

APRIL

04/01   –   01, April Fool’s Day, 02, Autism Awareness, 06, International Day Sport Development Peace, 07,  World Health Day,
04/08   –   10, National Siblings Day, 10, Equal Pay Day,  12, Holocaust Remembrance Day
04/15  –   17 Tax Day
04/22  –    22, Earth Day,  23, World Book Day, 27, Arbor Day
01/29  –   29, International Jazz Day

Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2018?

– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.

— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab

“My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself. I don’t use special creams or treatments – I’ll use a little bit of everything. It’s a mistake to think you are what you put on yourself. I believe that a lot of how you look is to do with how you feel about yourself and your life. Happiness is the greatest beauty secret.” Tina Turner

Motivation Mondays: BEING HAPPY

Motivation Mondays: BEING HAPPY

How to Be Happy Every Day: It Will Change the World | Jacqueline Way | TEDxStanleyPark

May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness … that in spring may it be a lover of joy … in winter a lover of wisdom. And when you make a mistake, start all over again. For only then will you be in love with life.
You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life. But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your losses to train patience. Use your mistakes to sculpt serenity. Use pain to plaster pleasure. Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence.
Never give up. Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show. Being Happy: Author Anon/Attributed to Pope Francis

What adds to your sense of Being Happy? Gratitude for completed tasks; this includes problem solving, service to others, hearing from loved ones, keeping my word, listening to music I love … and even taking a walk on the aqueduct adds to my sense of fulfillment/happiness.  Discovering new paths and learning anew are also satisfying. I made my way back to YouTube, after a lull, and found a bunch of new artists and music to enjoy. Music and dance have always been a great source of happy, joyful feelings for me and because they cut across all age groups, I find tremendous delight in hearing music from a wide range of creatives and dancing along to the music and learning new moves.  So what life brings daily into my space adds to my sense of happiness. What about you?

READ: Reflections: Acceptance & Our Happiness Quotient…
Inspiration: The Great Secret…

Have a happy, peaceful and productive week ahead!

Any Zen Antics stories via

Positive Motivation Tip:being Happy is a choice… choose wisely.

Motivation Mondays is open to anyone who wishes to share a motivational quote, photo, personal challenge or a post that encourages others to start the week on an upbeat note.
Basic Instructions: Each week, I will have a motivation word to help us create a response. (See listed words for the months above/below)
Email address: You may email or share your post as a comment and I will add it to the round-up of related posts. email it to: contact(@)mirthandmotivation(.)com
Category tag: – Share your post using Motivation Mondays
Twitter hashtag: – Use this on Twitter #MotvnM
Dedicated Page: There is a dedicated page for Motivation Mondays. It has the same instructions and will include other helpful tools and a link to the round-up
Facebook Page: MotivationOnMondays Join our page and add your post and/or any motivational piece you think will be helpful to others.
Facebook Community: We have a Facebook community forum to compliment the page. It serves as another way to share uplifting posts and thoughts. Please join in and add your voice.

Badge: – I created a fun badge using PicMonkey’s free photo editing tools. You can create your own, use WordPress’ integrated tool on your blog or you are welcome to use mine. (see dedicated page)
Tag: – Motivation Mondays
Hashtag: – #MotvnM

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PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos, Being Happy, Happiness, via Pixabay,  AND/OR  via  Wikipedia…

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet