As a young businesswoman I remember sitting at my desk after having just received accolades for a very successful business deal that people of my age seldom experienced.
The president of the bank and my peers thought it was amazing, yet I sat there thinking, “I’ve obtained what people seek after for years…but is this what I want to do with the rest of my life??”
As I was pondering this decision the phone rang. It was a local pastor calling, and I remember telling him, “Funny you should call right now…I am pondering what to do with the rest of my life.” I recall his words so clearly. He simply said, “Let peace be the umpire of your heart.”
Hanging up the phone, I leaned back and thought, “Stay here? For the rest of my life?” NO joy, NO Peace! And in that moment I decided to pursue a second career. Perhaps today, you need courage to follow your heart.
Consider this: My mother-in-law always said, work at your career for 5 years, and if you find yourself bored, then do something else. Her observation: boredom was the great thief of happiness.
Life is too short to be bored!
I recently read an article in the Huffington post entitled: Redefining Happiness in India. In the article a young doctor stated,
“As Indian Americans, we have grown up hearing stories from our parents about how they left India in search of a better life. They came to the West to create new opportunities for themselves and for generations to come.
The younger generations have found more opportunities, more amenities and more comfort. But somewhere in always striving for more, we have also become more discontent. We have started asking the questions, “what brings real happiness?” and “what is the definition of a good life?”
She concluded that this is happiness:
– To STOP constantly thinking of ourselves and to find joy in service.
– To look WITHIN for problem solving instead of finding short term joy in outside things.
– To share our joy by sharing with others.
According to the Holy Scriptures, King Solomon was considered to be the wisest and richest king who ever lived. He had all the power, riches, wine and women he could ever desire. He pursued the essence of happiness, and his sad conclusion is found in a book called Ecclesiastes. He found only emptiness. His verdict on pursuing happiness? Who needs it!
We conclude that he was searching for happiness in all the wrong places. If that’s so, where do we find happiness? Many have reached the same conclusion as Augustine, a powerful 3rd-century noble, who pursued women and wine. He said, “Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible!”
Walking down one of the streets he had frequented before, a local harlot called out, “Augustine, it is I! It is I!” Augustine responded, “It is not I! It is not I!” Why? He had discovered a new identity for himself!
One of my most important life-experiences came as I was helping Jean, a woman who attended our weekly feeding program. Our local city had issued a notice that she was to clean up her property or they would haul off all her possessions. What was so tragic is that although she owned a beautiful home, she lived on the front porch! You could not even find a pathway through her home. Though she was a gentle soul with a love for nature and a concern for suffering people, she had a serious mental struggle.
Our local outreach group organized a team to clear her property—not an easy job, since to her, everything seemed valuable. I remember sitting on the street curb, dirty from head to foot, picking up seeds that had just spilled from her pouch. At that moment, a carload of young people careened by and they shouted, “Look at the street people!” Then I realized—they were talking about me! But as my eyes caught Jean’s, I saw joy—because someone cared enough to help her pick up her little seeds.
I have carried that experience with me to over 60 nations. Why? A well-lived life is a life engaged with serving others! If you are sad or depressed, remember there is always someone else who is sadder and more depressed than you. So go out and get busy interacting with others!
Then, as Jesus said, you will discover there is no greater love than to lay down your life for another! (John 15:13) The Dalai Lama said “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
True human value is not found in serving yourself, but in serving others!
How do we find true pleasure? In abundant possessions? From external factors? Or could there be something deeper that guides us to a true sense of pleasure in life? The ancient Proverb says, Happy is the person who finds wisdom and understanding. For its gain and profit is better than from silver or fine gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies: and nothing you can desire can compare. Long life is in her right hand; and in her left hand, riches and honor.
What is wisdom? It is the ability to see the end of a thing from the beginning. Wisdom provides answers. It does not simply provoke questions! Wisdom is the ability to be a problem solver and not simply be one who is overcome by problems.
Scripture: Proverbs 3:13-16 (paraphrased)
Is pleasure the key to your happiness? As a child, one of my favorite experiences each fall was to go shopping for clothes! It was a special event. I grew up in a town of 1,100 people, so we had to drive to the city, spend the day shopping, and then we would eat at a restaurant! WOW! And we did this every school year! It is one of the special yearly memories from my childhood.
Why? I was different as a child and choosing clothes made me feel special. These clothes provided a confidence to parade about when everyone made fun of me for being so tall and lanky! I clearly recall each year as we headed out, Mother would say to me, “Leslie, as a child I only had one dress for school and church. Your father and I want you to have more than we did as children.”
Yet, more than shopping adventures and new clothes, my family gave me the meaning of life through a solid spiritual foundation – with a clear belief in God. They instilled in me a good education, a strong work ethic, and the importance of integrity. They guided my life with values by which I still live today!
I believe that without that spiritual foundation in my life, I would have been adrift in search of pleasure and happiness. Why? My generation, was (and still is) all about fast cars, big houses, high salaries, media toys and the right family! They are thrill seekers and money masters!
Just recently my husband spent a few hours with Jim Stovall, a Global Entrepreneur, film producer and author of over 20 books. I am sure you would never consider that Mr. Stovall was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease at 17 and was blind by the age of 29.
Jim invented “S.A.P,” a special technology that allows the blind to enjoy major film releases. You see, Jim was an avid movie buff. Losing his sight meant he could no longer enjoy his classic collection. One day he determined that someone should solve this problem, and he created his Emmy Award-winning Narrative TV Network that serves over 13 million blind people each year.
Zig Ziglar, world class motivational speaker of 40 years says, “Happiness is a by-product of who you are and what you do. And yes, you CAN set it as a specific goal.”
Our third power-phrase is this: The difference between great and small people is that while all may fall, small people just fall but great people get up again.
You see, positive thinking is the power to look at your situation and find just one positive aspect, one positive thought that you can hold on to in order to transform your negative situation into an opportunity!
Regardless of what you may face today remember this, NEVER GIVE UP! You may be at the end of your rope but remember… one positive thought has the power to loosen the grip of impossibility and propel you forward into possibility!
The second power-phrase I want you to ponder this week is: “Great people are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.”
Standing before a large audience of farmers, Dr. Schuller recalled another family tragedy. During the great depression and several years before the tornado disaster, a drought destroyed the family crops, forcing his father to mortgage everything to survive. Dr. Schuller recalled entering the bank and seeing a sign on the wall that stated “Great people are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.”
Five years after the destructive tornado, Schuller’s father had completely rebuilt the farm, paid off the mortgage taken after the Great Depression drought and retired a successful man!
Have you ever considered how to generate a positive thought? Over the next three days I want to introduce 3 power-phrases for you to frequently recite, and allow them to fill your sails with the wind of positive expectation!
First, Tough times never last but tough people do.
This phrase comes from the title of one of over 37 books authored by Dr. Robert Schuller, pioneer of the first television church service.
Living positive in a negative world, or developing positive thinking patterns in difficult situations, provides a creative energy and stamina necessary to tackle life’s biggest challenges.
You may be thinking, “If you only knew the problems I am facing!” Well, Dr. Schuller’s family certainly had their own share of problems. His own father, at the age of 60, lost everything when a devastating tornado destroyed their livestock, their crops, the family home and their barn. Nothing was left! Ten farms were utterly destroyed by that storm. Only one man rebuilt! http://bit.ly/1EFXOOW
