Things to Give Up to Become Happy
Here is a favorite list that I like to meditate on. It is a list that will help you live a happier life. If you give up on these nine things you will have a more peaceful life and bring more peace to the people around you.
You can spend a meditation session for one day on each of these on the list.
The Need for Approval. If you are looking for approval outside of yourself you will never be happy. Just think about it one thing that you did will be approved by one person but not the next. "What other people think of you is none of your business." If you feel what you did aligns with your spiritual self then that should be enough. You will never find the correct approval from outside of yourself. If you try to get approval from other people to make them happy you will never be happy yourself.
The Need to Impress Others. Why do people do this? Most of the time people do this because they do not think too much of themselves and have low self-esteem so they want to take the easy way out and get quick recognition from others to make themselves feel better. The only trouble with this is that recognition does not last long and does not really solve the problem. You would really need to become a person that naturally impresses other people and you will find that when you are you will have no desire to impress others and are whole/complete inside.
The Need to Always be Right. Wayne Dyer has said, "Would you rather be right or at peace?" One time I remember in high school I have gotten into a big argument with someone over the lyrics of a song. I started jotting them down and another student recognized the lyrics and said he liked that song but corrected me on what the lyrics were. But I was 100% positive what I wrote down was right, he was 100% right that his lyrics were right and what started out as a bonding experience turned into a heated argument that left bad feelings on both sides. Was it worth it to be right? I don't think so.
Dwelling on the Past. This is a bad one for me. Some people can handle it better than others though. Really, it happened in the past. It is done with, nothing can be done anymore about it except learn from it and move on. Read the Time and Money Quote to help you conquer this inner demon.
Resistance to Change. When I read of this one I immediately thought of the book "Who moved my cheese?" by Spencer Johnson. One instance in this book a group of people were discussing their lives and one shared a story of the encyclopedia business his family was in where they were resisting change from paper to CDs and because of that they almost went out of business. Unfortunately, resistance to change is a common human reaction. This book has a duel story of two mice named Hem and Haw that go through the maze with their reactions to blocks along the way. The other part of the book is a group of people discussing the book and how it compares to their own lives. An excellent read to help you get rid of stumbling blocks.
Negative Self-Talk. Why! Why fill yourself with negativity! Garbage in is garbage out. People do this on a constant basis and never feel fulfilled in life! Worse yet there are many people that do this out loud and are looking for self-pity.
Limiting Beliefs. This reminds me of the quote from Michelangelo, "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." If you have limiting beliefs you can never achieve personal greatness. Do not think poorly of yourself but instead think of all the things you would be proud of what you have done, what you are capable of and you will get rid of your limiting self-beliefs. Focus is the key here.
Blaming Others. Blaming others is a classic shift of responsibility. All this will do is keep you from fixing yourself and create anger and negativity with those around you. Especially the one that you blame. If you cannot accept responsibility and look inward you will live an unbalanced life and never take care of the true source of the problem.
Complaining. Yes, you may want to vent to someone and complain to them and hope that you will find someone that is a good listener. In a Barbera De Angelis tape program about relationships the mistake men make when a woman comes to them with a problem is that they try to give suggestions on how to fix their question but all the woman really wants is somebody to listen to. They are not seeking answers. Yes, you may want reassurance and that will help you but sometimes complaining can become more strong than what it should be. Instead of complaining try thinking of what is good about this situation? It will help you focus on the positive and eventually help you solve the problem. Too many times people complain to others without looking within and realizing how minor it really is in the grand scheme of things. This inner-awareness will help you tremendously.
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