5 Super Simple Steps to Get What You Want
I recently read a quote that said, “You will be exactly as happy as you decide to be.” It didn’t say who said it, but it’s so true. For example, I could be super rich, have a decent family, and all the trimmings and still be miserable. We see it all the time. Or, I could be a super poor orphan with bad health and be totally happy.
Maybe you think someone is more optimistic or just naturally a happy person while others are not and you would be right. Having a positive outlook might come naturally to some but it’s a mindset that can be learned by all with practice.
You can just decide to be happy. Happy is a feeling and our feelings are fed by our thoughts. You can practice positive thinking and feel positive emotions or you can let you mind go dark and practice negative emotions. I think deciding to be happy is a great plan, who doesn’t want to feel more happy?
The Nature of It All
I have to interject here by pointing out that we humans are meant to experience it all…ups and downs, rights and lefts…everything. The nature of ALL that exists is about contrast…expanding and contracting, dark and light, up and down, in and out, male and female, hot and cold, yin and yang, even life and death. Seriously everything has an opposite. We humans and our emotions are no different, it’s what makes life sweet and interesting. We should be experiencing half good and half not so good emotions, with a lot of that time hovering close to center.
Happiness 100% of the time is a pretty unattainable goal but if you’re feeling down a lot or life has lost it’s luster maybe it’s time for you to practice a mindset shift. Practice mindfulness and pay attention to what you are thinking. Practice thoughts that are more positive, literally look for the bright side, the silver lining.
The beauty here is we don’t have only happiness to attain we can decide to feel more fun, more love, more joy.
What if you looked at that family member who usually annoys you and decide to love that annoying thing about them? Say to yourself I love their habit of telling me all the doom and gloom in the world, I just love that quirk about them.
Possible vs Impossible
I recently spoke to someone about editing their life and possessions and they said I can’t do that task in day, are you kidding? For me it seemed easy to get done in a day. You know the difference between us? I decided that task could be done in a day and she decided it could not. That’s it. I decided it was possible.
If we both set out to do that same task it is likely I would succeed and she would not. Not because I’m faster or better but simply because I decided it was possible and set out with that thought guiding me rather than being led by the thought of how impossible the task is. Which mindset do you think would be more productive?
Do you see how powerful it is to make decisions? I could decide to have certain level of education, income, savings, or socks and make it so because I decided.
The 5 Simple Steps to Get What You Want
1. Decide, which is much like setting a goal.
2. Then think about how it is possible. Think about what you could do to get there. Think about how great it will be when you do.
3. These thoughts will fuel your feelings and you will get positive, inspired, motivated, and determined.
4. When you’re inspired and determined, you are so much more likely to do all the things that need to happen to get what you want. You do the work, You get it done. You learn, grow, and blossom.
5. You reach the goal, achieve the result, you get what you decided you wanted.
It really is that simple. I’m not saying the work to achieve your dreams will be easy but it will be much easier when you are thinking creatively and solving problems and growing rather than being stuck and mired in problems that seem insurmountable.
Don’t Do This
You never decide anything and you never get the life you daydream of. You never get the tidy house, the healthy body, that awesome relationship, or the new job.
Are you talking yourself out of everything? I don’t feel like working out, I don’t feel like going to work, I don’t feel like washing the dishes. If this is what you are telling yourself, of course these things are either not getting done at all or they’re getting done with much unnecessary misery and suffering.
Do This Instead
Follow the 5 simple steps above. Replace “it’s not possible” with “how can I make this happen?” Decide what you want and then go get it.
Do you want a tidy house? Decide to BE tidy.
Ask yourself: How can I be more tidy? How can I get these chores done - today?
Practice thoughts: I do this task now. I am tidy. I can do this. I always put things away. Do I need to buy this? I can let this go.
Do you want to lose weight? Decide to BE lighter.
Ask yourself: What does my lighter self eat? What choice does my lighter self make here? Will this nourish my body? Am I truly hungry? Am I thirsty?
Practice thoughts: I eat healthy foods. I eat until I am satisfied not stuffed. I eat to nourish my body. I feel amazing in my healthy body.
Whatever it is you want, this is the process. No matter how big or how small, it’s just Decide, adjust your Mindset, and Practice.
