Love the life you live. Live the life you love.
Bob Marley
Almost two years ago now, I wrote about the top five regrets that people have on their deathbed.
I don’t know about you, but the most excruciating thought is to imagine myself at the end of this lifetime, wishing I had a do-over. This is where my journey began – my journey to live this life as best I can, as well as to bring as many people along with me as possible. To shine the brightest light possible.
It’s what led me to Tony Robbins, which then led me to NLP, and then to Hypnosis – finally here today, integrating the Magic of the Mystical to my Love of Psychology. I love anything metaphysics, mystical, or spiritual. Talk about anything that explains or adds more color to what I know about life beyond my five senses, and I’m all ears.
And the biggest lessons that I’ve learned on this relatively short journey thus far, is that life is about living your fullest day with each morning that you get to wake up – that life purpose turns out to be a verb, not a noun.
If doing life right means living your fullest day, everyday and that life purpose is a verb, then there are two simple “laws” of life we must remember and remind ourselves of every day our feet hit the ground:
- Happiness stems from context, not content. If you want to be happy, it’s about the mindset. Do you see the lessons in struggle, i.e., the opportunity for growth, or do you just see hardship and barriers? You can be happy with $100, or you can be miserable that you only have $100. It’s all about context – your mindset. How do you focus on shifting your mindset, if it hasn’t been serving your highest good? Habit. Become more aware of your feelings, as the collection of your feelings become your state (how you are, overall). When you notice feeling a certain way that isn’t pleasant, note where your thoughts are. Note what you’re telling yourself about life in that moment, and change it. Talk back to your mindset – once, twice, three times, over and over again. All day. Like learning to play an instrument, mindset doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a daily practice.
- Happiness is great. However, if you want more than day-to-day smiles and giggles, focus on integrity. There’s more to life than being happy from one day to the next. It’s not about letting life’s currents take you where it wants to take you, and being satisfied with that. As a Spiritual warrior on this assignment of human experience, it’s your responsibility to living life with intention and integrity. A life of integrity is what gives you fulfillment, not just simple happiness. You can find happiness anywhere – gambling, goofing around, and eating lots and lots of chocolate – but it’s also momentary. How do you live a life of intention and integrity? This is the simplest way I’ve found to create intention and integrity in my life: as soon as I wake up, I note what I’m grateful for, and how I want to see the day go. Throughout the day, I also have an alarm that reminds me who I am (my three deepest values of personal character), and I make sure my habits reflect these values. I journal, workout, and meditate daily. I also play music and have dinner with family at least three times per week. Of course, there are weeks that I’m not perfect. But that’s what makes this life fun.
Now it’s your turn. Do you want Happiness? Is living a life of Fulfillment important to you?
What will you do, knowing what you know now,
to make sure you put the important things back where they belong?
Live with intention. Lead with inspiration.