Almost two decades ago, somewhat as a joke since she tutored me throughout grade school, I asked my grandmother to sign my yearbook. This was her closing paragraph:
“The best thing you can do from this day forward is to follow your intuition. Take risks. Don’t just make the safe and easy choices because you’re afraid of what could happen. If you do, very little worth remembering will ever happen.”
Years later, as I grew interested in the psychology of happiness, I realized how pertinent my grandmother’s words were. Risk is an inherent part of living a good life. Without taking risks, you cannot truly live—you merely exist—which is why the happiest among us take small risks every day. Let’s take a look at XXX examples, and examine some ideas on how to implement them in your own life.
As you grow up, you will learn that even the one person who wasn’t supposed to ever let you down probably will in some small way. You will have your heart broken probably more than once. You too will inadvertently break some hearts, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You’ll occasionally argue with your closest friends. You’ll blame new loves for things an old one did. You’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and you’ll eventually lose someone you thought you couldn’t live without. This is what happens when you open your heart and mind to the greatest joys of life.
Chuck Palahniuk once said, “The only way to find true happiness in life is to risk being completely cut open.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. Anybody who is capable of living and loving is bound to get hurt at some point, but that’s a risk that’s well worth the reward. The result is a life filled with honesty and love.
So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you’ve never been hurt. Don’t be afraid that your days will end in pain, be afraid they will never begin with honesty and love. Life is too short to let it pass by. Open your heart andmind and live it to the fullest!
You don’t need everyone to like you. You are a piece of art. Not everyone is going to see your beauty. Ultimately, it’s YOUR opinion of yourself that matters, and if someone doesn’t like it, forget about them. Stop being a people-pleaser all the time, because when you go around pleasing everyone but yourself, you are the one that gets hurt.
Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth. It’s their loss, not yours. So be careful not to give so much of yourself to others that you end up completely losing yourself. In the end you will know who truly loves you; they’re the ones who respect you for who you are, and no matter what, they stand by your side. Surround yourself with these people. (Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the “Relationships” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)
You will always be missing out on something. You simply can’t have it all. Thus it will always seem like something wonderful might be happening elsewhere. And that’s OK. Let it go, and realize you have everything right now. The best in life isn’t somewhere else; it’s right where you are at this moment. You have to accept that some things will never be yours, and learn to value the things that are only yours.
What you take for granted, someone else is praying for. Happiness never comes to those who don’t appreciate what they already have. Don’t wait until what you HAVE becomes what you HAD. Pause and appreciate all the good things you have in your life right now, as they are happening.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The purpose of life is not to simply be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
Happiness doesn’t come through selfishness, but through selflessness. Everything you do comes back around. Greet people with a smile. Encourage them. Compliment them. Notice their progress, cheer them on, and help them smile. Smiles are contagious. The more happiness you help others find in life, the more happiness you will find.
Remember, happiness comes from your own choices and actions. Waiting for someone else to make you happy is the best way to be sad. The more you take responsibility for your past and present, the more you are able to create the future you seek.
So stop blaming others for what you have or don’t have, or for what you feel or don’t feel. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility and perpetuate the problem. Stop giving your power away and start taking responsibility for your life. Blaming is just another sorry excuse, and making excuses is the first step towards both misery and failure. YOU, and only you, are responsible for your decisions; make a good one right now that your future self will thank you for. (Read Buddha’s Brain.)
This is just the beginning; there are five more important risks that happy people choose to take every single day. Read them on our blog by clicking here. We look forward to seeing you there.