If you’re like most people, you have no problem working hard, and making sacrifices to reach your goals.
We’re told stories about great heroes and revolutionaries that defied the odds by working hard, giving things up and making tough choices. You realize that sometimes you need to suck it up and grind when the going gets tough.
It’s a game of Joy Someday. You’ve gotta put in the time if you want to make it happen. The spoils go to those who tough it out. Good things come to those who wait.
That’s the narrative we’re told. And the truth is… it’s complete bullshit.
There’s another, more effortless, alternative path that rarely gets heralded on the evening news. It’s one of Joy Now, not some day. It’s a life of incredible reward and immediate gratification.
It replaces ladders and stepping stones with a path you never want to escape from.
It’s a life that doesn’t involve a pot of gold at the end of the next degree, the next promotion, the next launch. It’s about creating something because it’s dying to be born, not because it’s another task on your prerequisite list.
When I was 5 years old, my mom told me that happiness was the key to life.
When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”.
They told me I didn’t understand the assignment.
I told them they didn’t understand life.
– John Lennon
There are no obligations you must fulfill before experiencing incredible happiness in your work and life. You don’t need to become something first. You don’t need the house first, or the testimonial, or the right number on your bathroom scale.
The only thing you need is to say Yes, to yourself.
No strings. No after I do X. Right… now.
Question: How can you say yes and ditch the prerequisites to your bliss?
photo courtesy of artfulblogger
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My best-selling book, Reclaim Your Dreams, is available for the month of December at Name Your Own Price. Head on over and grab it now to uncancel your dreams.
Jonathan - I've been sold on this idea for the last four years - and I so agree with what you say. I threw 'someday' out and adopted happiness every day instead! Great post, as always!
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