Living Happily Ever After
The standard of success in life isn’t the things. It isn’t the money or the stuff—it is absolutely the amount of joy you feel. — Abraham Hicks
The formula is so simple. The Law of Attraction dictates that you get more of what you focus on. When you zero in on that which brings you joy, you begin to attract more circumstances that make you happy. If you make it your overriding goal to live happily ever after, then you will experience a life beyond compare.
What trips most of us up is that we put conditions on what “happily ever after” looks like:
Condition #1 – Lots of money. If you require a certain amount of money before you are happy, then you are on a dangerous path. As you continuously ponder the absence of that dollar amount, you experience a feeling of lack. Now you are attracting more of the same.
My friend Peter has lots of money and an incredible lifestyle to match—homes in exotic places and first class travel at the drop of a hat. As I have gotten to know him over the past year and heard the story of his life, I have come to understand that his early circumstances were unhappy, to say the least. I’ve also learned that he is naturally upbeat. He has always found a way to have a blast, wherever he is and whatever he’s doing. Because of that, he has attracted more of what matches his optimistic nature. Wealth was never a goal—having a good time was. The more he enjoyed himself, whether in the office or out on a kayak, the more he attracted circumstances that matched his natural ebullience.
Here’s the most important thing to know: Peter is no happier now than he was when he had nothing. If you don’t have his kind of wealth, you will undoubtedly scoff at that. But think of your own circumstances. You likely have had abundance in your life at one point, whether it was having your own apartment after you left home or even living the American Dream of home ownership. Has it made you any happier?
Condition #2 – The people I love have to be doing well. Good luck with this one. First of all, are you the one who defines what “doing well” means? Other people’s paths, including the journeys of your family, are not yours to control. You have a full-time job with your own.
My teacher, Abraham Hicks said it better than I ever could: you cannot get poor enough to make someone else rich and you cannot get sick enough to make someone else well.
There will always be people around you who aren’t living up to the expectations and dreams you hold for them. The best gift you can give them is to demonstrate, through your example, how to be happy despite imperfect conditions. After all, isn’t that what you want for them?
Condition #3 – A “to do” list with nothing on it. This is the funniest one of all. The game of life is to add things to your list, not get rid of the list altogether.
We are all incredibly busy. We think it’s gotten worse because we have selective memory. We forget that, ‘lo those many years ago before the Internet and cell phones and 400 television channels to choose from, we still felt rushed. That feeling isn’t being imposed on you from the outside; it’s coming from inside you.
The logical conclusion is to think that, if we had less to do, we would feel better. I have tried it and I am here to tell you, it is a false belief.
All those items on your “to do” list summon Life Force through you. The energy you feel when you are busy is extraordinary—unless you resist it. It isn’t getting things done that tire us, it is fighting the work involved. Think of the difference in how you feel when you whistle as you work versus complaining every step of the way.
Living happily ever after is a decision, pure and simple. It is life affirming and a boatload of fun. Are you in?
