Happy does it

Here are more excerpts from Andrew Matthews’ Happiness in a Nutshell.

• The first law of expansion is "order." For something to grow, it needs system.

Look at the flower, cut an orange, check out the symmetry of a tree or a beehive. There is discipline. Nature keeps what is essential and gets rid of the garbage. It’s called organization.

• Start anywhere you can. Give your best shot to whatever is in front of you and opportunity will begin to find you. It’s called developing a reputation.

• If you think the world is against you, it is.

Blaming other people doesn’t work. When you fight life, life always wins.

• The Universe has no favorites. Your success and happiness depend on natural laws and principles and how you use them.

• Once we make a decision (like being happy) to do a thing, the means appear. We might explain away these lucky breaks as coincidence. But with keen observation, we notice they happen regularly.

• God is never going to come down from a cloud and say, "You now have permission to be successful! You have to give yourself permission.

• When have you made the most important decision in your life? When you were on your knees–after disaster, after knocks backs, when you’ve been licked in the head. That’s when we say to ourselves, "I’m sick of being broke, sick of being kicked around. I’m tired of being mediocre. I’m going to do something." We learn our biggest lessons when things get rough.

• Nature seeks balance and you can’t be desperate and balanced.

Life doesn’t have to be an endless struggle. Let things flow.

Whatever thoughts or feelings are causing us pain, they are only thoughts or feelings. We can change a thought or a feeling. We can decide to change the way we think or feel about something. It is really up to us.

I used to be stressed about things I couldn’t change or people’s attitudes I couldn’t get used to. I would often tell myself, "Oh my! Maybe someday they will change or they will realize they should change." But more often than not, they don’t.

So one day I got tired and told myself that if I don’t change certain things then I’ll change my attitude towards them. And when I did, when I tried to look at things from other angles, I realize they didn’t stress me out anymore. I became more relaxed and therefore happier. Things that irritated me before didn’t anymore.

When I wake up each morning I always visualize that I will have a beautiful day, that I will have a good workout, that we won’t catch the traffic on the way to my kids’ school. We have to be positive. Focus on the good things and not on those that will make us feel low. Think and feel good things and you will attract good things. Think happy thoughts and that’s what you will attract.

Happiness is a daily decision. You can choose to be happy. It comes from deep within, from what is in your heart. It’s up to you. You hold the key. Unlock everything that is good and look forward to each beautiful morning.

Smile and be happy!

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E-mail me at: babyjackster@hotmail.com.