“ Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven’t fallen asleep yet. “ – Anonymous
As a friend of mine told me, you have to “catch” happiness — that’s why it’s the “pursuit.”
Whether you’re pursuing happiness or wanting to lead a better life, things go wrong along the way.
But it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond.
And how you respond depends on how you look at your life.
One of the best little gems I read on how to look at life is from the book, Fat,Forty,Fired: One Man’s Frank,Funny,and Inspiring Account of Losing His Job and Finding His Life, by Nigel Marsh.
Enjoy the Struggle
Nigel writes:
“Life is hard, and as far as I can see it will always be hard. The vast majority of us will always have to struggle — whatever lifestyle choices we make.
Admitting this to myself was liberating in its own right.
I then started to focus on enjoying the struggle rather than attempting to create a mythical stress-free nirvana.
I started to praise myself for small victories rather than beat myself up for the bigger failure of not having a perfect life.”
Robert Burns may have taught us, “The best laid schemes o’mice an’ men, gang aft agley”
… but Nigel Marsh teaches us to focus on the small victories and enjoy the journey along the way, struggle and all.
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