It’s tax season, the time of the year when my team and I are busy working hard for you, our clients. While we enjoy what we do, work life balance is a challenge in March and April. Now seems like a perfect time to share with you some ideas about happiness.
Are you happy? If not, you need to ask yourself why. I believe happiness is truly a choice. We are in control of whether we are happy or not. My friend Missy Shopshire often reminds me that I am ridiculously in charge of my life; we all are. Sometimes we simply forget. Sometimes we just need to be reminded.
I am working hard to remove things in my life that do not make me happy: stress, negative people, and things I tolerate. I am trying to obtain the highest possible return on every day of my limited time here on earth.
One way to achieve this goal is to be ourselves. Happiness comes from being our true selves, being open to our talents and gifts without fear of criticism or judgment. I want to have the courage to live the life that is true to me and not a life that others expect me to live. I’m still working on this.
I think we each need to determine what really make us happy and make that our top priority. Release the past and the future and focus on and live in the present. I’d like to see us all live more boldly, more kindly and with less fear. I remind myself of this vision with a recent t-shirt purchase at the Life is Good retail store with the words “FEAR LESS” on it.
One of the things that makes me happy is checking off items on my bucket list. I am working on checking them off now, not hoping to make it to 100 and checking them off then. I have scheduled a two week trip this summer with my family to travel west in an RV. I am also taking my mom to a Tony Bennet concert this month, a bucket list item for her, and for me as well in helping her achieve something on her list.
My desire for everyone I know is that they do not walk around and hope to be happy someday; make the choice to be happy today. Make being happy, humble and kind a part of your every day. It’s the theme of my new favorite song by Tim McGraw; Humble and Kind. The song is worth a listen, a lot of great advice wrapped up in 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
Have a Blessed and Happy Day!
My best,
Paul
