The next step which sort of ties into theory 1 is... drum roll.... living without your irrational fears (or at least their effect on you). That's for another post though...Generally if you search the Internet on how to be happy, you might come across two different ideas. One says that you should keep striving to be the best that you can be, and the progressive realizations of your dreams will make you happy. The other opinion is that you find happiness in the now, so stop living in the future or past and just live. Roll down your windows and feel the air rush past your face.
If you think about it tho.. don't these two ideas seem to completely contradict each other? How can you enjoy the present and not think about the future if you are trying to accomplish something for the future. Paradox? Not really...
See, when people read books or search the Internet for this sort of thing, they seem to have an all-or-nothing sort of mindset. They think that there is only one rule that they need to find and live by in order to be happy, when, in fact, there are many many ways someone can live his or her life in order to be very happy. The two I described above, though, are pretty much universal and have a massive effect.
I think that people should try to constantly strive to realize their dreams because when they do, they will feel empowered and proud. They will be happy. If they fail to do so, they will look back with many regrets and might be ashamed of how they carelessly allowed their life to turn into something other than what was wanted. Do you want to feel regret later on when you didn't accomplish what you want to, or because you didn't live up to your potential and be the best you can be? Or do you want to look back feeling great that you have learned, gained skills, and lived the life you really wanted to?
The most important part of this idea, though, doesn't come from actually achieving your goals, but from the process of achieving your dreams. People seem to underestimate the happiness they will find while striving for their dreams. This comes from all the pointless work that we have had to do throughout our lives. That kind of work makes us think that doing things or accomplishing things is not fun. However, if you really think about it right now, you might realize that when you are trying to achieve your dreams, you will be having tons of fun!
This first idea definitely has its time and place in your life everyday. However, when you are not doing this, you might want to start on the other theory: Live in the moment. Most of the time, even if people have done and been doing idea #1 (see above), they will start to worry, anticipate, become anxious, etc. when they maybe should be starting on idea #2. Stop worrying! You can prepare for your future in phase (or idea) #1; don't worry now! Live your life, smell and feel the air, and enjoy the world you live on. Recognize and appreciate all that you have and how fortunate you really are. Be grateful. I'm not going to go into much detail on this because it's pretty self-explanatory, but if you want more info. just search google for "appreciation and gratitude" or "living in the now/present".
The next step which sort of ties into theory 1 is... drum roll.... living without your irrational fears (or at least their effect on you). That's for another post though...
Live!
Sean Golden
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