Why do you care to be happy?
Incremental Improvements: 3 minutes until a better you
Last week in my newsletter, we talked about relationships and how to best leverage your time and connections with the world. Making time for the people who help grow you is an easy solution towards self-improvement.
This week, this round, I want to shift inward. I want you to take a moment and think about the closest relationship that you have, the person you know best. Is that person you? It should be. Truly knowing yourself is going to be the key to many doors.
This week, we are going to work on you. I want you to date yourself, know yourself, love yourself. I’m asking for you to spend time with your mind, thoughts, and words. Below is a series of questions on which I want you to reflect on. Too often we are distracted from the path and standards we have set for ourselves. You don’t want to reach the end to find that you never stopped to reevaluate the milestones you were hitting in life. Here is your chance to make sure you’re on track.
Grab a pencil and some paper, or just sit on the couch and spend a few moments reflecting on the questions below.
What is happiness to you? Is happiness success? Wealth? Maybe it’s reaching a balance between certain areas in your life. What is happiness to you?
Write down the top 3 attributes to success from your perspective
What drives your happiness? What do you wake up thinking about? When you have these morning thoughts — the day ahead of you, the challenges of the day — are you stressed, or excited?
Write down the first feeling you wake to and the last feeling before you go to sleep at the end of the night.
What and who do I appreciate? What qualities do I admire? Do I share these qualities with others? What am I doing today to make these qualities a part of me? What is it about these people and ideas that I appreciate?
Write down the 3 people you admire the most, and the 1 thing you love about them the most.
How much time do you spend daily focusing on your happiness? Is happiness an afterthought to you? Do you let your actions be dictated by happiness?
Write down the last time you thought “I am truly, genuinely happy.” Write down how long ago that was.
Where is my focus? Am I centered on the future, or do I look back to the past too heavily? If happiness was currency, how successful would you be at your current position in life and work?
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being “not there” and 10 being “completely there,” grade yourself on how good you are at being in the present moment.
The most important question of all:
Why do you want to be happy?
Write down your goal. The biggest, most daring, far away goal you have.
It’s easy for us to become distracted and to move away from the happiness that really should be the center of our lives. Happiness means something different for everyone, and it’s up to you to tune and refine the perfect mix for your life.
Go through your answers again. Is the person on the paper aligned with the one in your head? If you’re saying, “YES! It is!” right now, then congratulations — you’re living a well-balanced life. If your answer was a big ole “Nopeeee!” then now is the time to commit to this evaluation. Do it as often as you need to keep yourself centered. Especially today, our gifted extra day, do not hesitate to make every day a little special, a little better. We are already short on time, so there is no reason to waste it being unhappy.
Focus on you. Grow you. Be the best you.
Til next week, dudes.
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