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Life, Liberty and The Pursuit Of HappinessIt’s interesting that the Founding Fathers didn’t describe our inalienable rights as life, liberty and happiness, but the pursuit of happiness. They were onto something. It’s while you’re in the process of getting what you want that you have the most profound experience of life flowing through you. Of course, you’ll find pleasure in the outcomes—richer relationships, health, inner peace, confidence, wealth, etc.
But the greatest joy in life is found in the hotfooted pursuit of happiness—reaching, stretching, creating, learning—and delighting yourself with what you can achieve and how smart you’re becoming.
As you’re getting the hang
of how the process of finding fulfillment works, there are 4 questions you can
use to get the most leverage out of each desire. 1) How much passion does this desire inspire in
you? Passion brings its friends
imagination, creativity and boundless energy to the party. The desire that inspires deeper passion will bring along more of the resources you need to fulfill it. Thus, the strongest desires swing the biggest crowbar, giving you the leverage to get what you most want with less effort. 2) What’s the meaning behind what you’re
pursuing? Every desire consists of
a least two layers. This surface layer consists of a physical object (like a
car), or a tangible acquisition (like a job). The second, deeper layer consists of the flavor(s)
of happiness you’ll feel when you have it: secure, free, joyful, fulfilled,
peaceful, gratified, loved, etc. When you connect your actions to the feeling you
want, then your passion (and its friends) greases the skids. It’s so much
easier to get what you want when your enthusiasm carries you along, spawning
one brilliant idea after another until you’ve finally got it. 3) Will you have to stretch yourself a bit in
order to pursue this desire? Woven
through every strand of your DNA is the drive to learn and grow. You'll tap
into your creativity to figure out how to get what you want. Your confidence
will grow. And it feels good. So good, in fact, that it’s addictive. The more you
get, the more you want. The best part is that the more you grow, the more able
you’ll be to grow more. The more tools you’ll develop—confidence, clarity,
resourcefulness and wisdom. 4) Is this desire exciting, but a little scary,
too? As my avid readers know, fear
is your signal that you’re stepping out of your comfort zone; you’re taking a
little risk. A 2-ton boulder falling from the sky onto your head is scary. A speck of dust, not so much. The key is to break down a risk enough that you can move forward. Living in fear keeps you stuck. Taking zero risk
gets tedious, boring and defies your DNA. You don’t get wiser by doing nothing.
Wisdom comes from taking calculated
risk. Think it through. Break it down into manageable steps. Then take one baby step after another. You’ll get there. Joy is the basis of every
kind of happiness you can pursue, so enjoy the pursuit. When you achieve your
desire Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
ABOUT THE AUTHORJudy Widener is a Certified
Life Coach and author of Power For A Lifetime: Tools You Customize to Build
Your Personal Power Every Day Of Your Life. Her passion is assisting her
clients to discover what is most important to them, then create more balance
and satisfaction in their lives. Empowerment Life Coaching is a comprehensive
program that teaches clients simple ways to build their personal power and
overcome obstacles to achieving their dreams. Judy has coached more than 600
people in the past 13 years. Her website is www.myinnerfrontiers.com.
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