We all know by now that happiness isn't about having it all or doing it all. It's not about how many hours we work, how much money we make or the amount of possessions we have...We know all of that. We know what happiness isn't..but, does anyone know what their happiness IS?...I've found that the most difficult thing about happiness is figuring out what exactly makes us happy...I mean, really, truly, deeply happy. It's about figuring out what our dreams are and having the courage to pursue them. See, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make more money...to have a bigger house..a nicer car...to buy more of things..to keep up with the Joneses...in hopes that these things will bring us happiness, because we are taught that these things bring happiness.
We tell ourselves that if we work harder and make more money, we'll be happy. That the happiness will come.
So we push ourselves to work the jobs we hate, buy more things we don't need...and wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...but it doesn't come. The happiness doesn't come.
The thing is, once we achieve these things, once we make more money, have a bigger house, a better car, own more possessions...9 times out of 10, we're still left with a feeling of emptiness. We are still searching for more to bring us happiness.
Because that is not real happiness.
Real happiness is letting go of what we think our lives are supposed to look like and instead, celebrating what our lives actually are and pursuing the goals and dreams that our true hearts desire.
Real happiness is about sacrifice.
The law of sacrifice says that you cannot get something you want, without giving up something in return. So, in order to attain something we believe is of greater value, we must be wiling to give up something we believe is of lesser value.
In order to truly be happy, to reach our goals, to pursue our dreams, we have to be willing to sacrifice in order to make space in our life for the those things. Having the courage to pursue our dreams means living for a while like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life living like most people can't.
For example, Zeke and I both grew up in poverty. Surrounded by more terrible things than most people can imagine. Things that children should never be exposed to. When we moved in together we were broke. We lived paycheck to paycheck, in a tiny apartment with a kid. We struggled. But, we struggled and worked and saved...and struggled and worked and saved..and struggled..and worked..and saved...and missed out of a lot of "fun" because we knew what we wanted. We knew the kind of life we wanted...and a continuous cycle of paycheck to paycheck wasn't it. We scarificed a lot of our youth to pursue the life that we knew wanted. We were willing to put in the work, cut out the extras, and commit to building that life. We didn't eat out, we didn't buy expensive bags or shoes, we didn't go on vacations...we skimped and saved and busted our butts working towards what we wanted, and it paid off. We live an amazingly blessed life because we knew what we wanted and had the courage to sacrifice and work for it.
Most of the people that we grew up with are stuck in that cycle of paycheck to paycheck and unhappiness because they didn't have that same courage to sacrifice and chase their dreams.
So here's the hard question....here's what I want you to ask yourselves,
What are you REALLY willing to sacrifice to make your dreams come true?
Decide what you want. Decide what you're willing to sacrifice for it. Establish your priorities and go for it because there is no way any of us were born to just pay bills and die.
Xo, Jeanice.
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