Appreciate Where You Are in Your Journey
Source: Project Happiness
Posts tagged with “Purpose”
Create an Extraordinary Life: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Daily
“We have one precious life: do something extraordinary today, even if it’s tiny. A pebble starts the avalanche.” ~K.A. Laity
Do you have a vision of a life you want to lead?
Doing work that you enjoy, being happy, healthy, and having great relationships?
You probably have your own idea of what an extraordinary life means. But how often do you feel that you are living that life?
Life is bound within the confines of our schedules, our money, and our limited resources.
There are many things that you want to do, or want to be, but most of the …
The Easy Path to Purpose: Forget “Should” and Do What You Love
“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all.” ~Khalil Gibran
In my mid twenties I found out I had a mass on my pituitary. I was told it could be cancer, it could be benign, it could be a cyst—we wouldn’t know until my doctor performed a surgery to remove it. This surgery meant I could go blind, be on lifelong hormone replacement therapy, or even die.
I don’t want you to wait until something bad happens to dedicate time to things you love.
Countless people I meet …
9 Basic Needs We Have to Meet to Feel Happy and Alive
“No person, no place, and no thing has any power over us, for ‘we’ are the only thinkers in our mind. When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives.” ~Louise L. Hay
Seven years ago I felt a tangible sense of despondency about where my life was heading.
Having ended a six-year relationship, I found myself alone, feeling isolated, often with only a bottle of wine (or two) for company on a weekend. For the first time ever I wondered if I had depression.
After weeks of feeling helpless and …
How to Rekindle Your Passion for What You Do
“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” ~Vincent van Gogh
I rolled my eyes when a new set of emails popped up in my inbox. Will the messages ever stop? I remember the early days of the Internet, when it was actually a thrill to receive a new message.
What used to be exciting had become not only boring, but downright annoying.
That’s when I realized that what I considered my “treasures” had become burdens over time.
And while it wasn’t a big deal to see my old favorite pair of jeans in the donation pile, I became …
How to Make the Most of the Time You Have
“Without giving up hope—that there’s somewhere better to be, that there’s someone better to be—we will never relax with where we are or who we are.” ~Pema Chödrön
There are twenty-four hours in a day. This is true for you, me, Obama, and Oprah. Yet, I often feel like there are things that I would love to do… if I only had enough time.
I used to spend my days in a frenzy.
At my worst, I woke up at around 4:45 to meditate for an hour, then go to the gym, rush off to my twelve-hour law job worried …
Stop Waiting for Permission to Live the Life You Want to Live
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” ~Unknown
I know you.
You’re smart. You’re driven. You’re a “good girl/boy.” You found out a long time ago that life goes more smoothly for people who follow the rules, so you learned the rulebook inside out.
People expected things from you and you made it your job to live up to those expectations—and probably beat yourself up inside when you fell short.
But now you’re stuck, the way anyone who has spent their life making other people happier than they make themselves gets stuck.…
How to Discover the Work That Will Bring You Joy and Purpose
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” ~David Viscott
You are a seeker. Searching for more of life. More joy. More depth. More connection. More happiness.
Our generation is not willing to settle for meaningless existence. Just to get by, just to keep it all together. It doesn’t interest us any more.
We want more freedom. Especially in the realm of our work.
But it can seem like a long road between ‘here’ and ‘there.’ From this job, from this life into… the unknown.
We know there is deeper …
Imagine Living a Life You Don’t Need to Escape From
“Instead of wondering when our next vacation is we should set up a life we don’t need to escape from.” ~Seth Godin
I was a senior human resources professional at the biggest company in New Zealand. I had a great team of people, a flash company car, and got to stay at the posh hotels and dine at the nicest restaurants.
I was paid more than I thought I’d ever earn, I had a house overlooking the beach, and got to vacation at some fantastic destinations. My life had all the hallmarks of success from the outside, but inside there …
Don’t Wait Until the End to Wake Up to Your Life
“Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don’t have to live forever; you just have to live.” ~Natalie Babbitt
My friend died recently.
I saw him just a few hours before he died too. He stopped by my office as he had done numerous times before to say hello. I’d seen him go through various challenges and come out better. His life was great, and the future looked bright. And I was happy for him because he had worked so hard to get to this place.
My friend died that night …
When Your Dream Dies and You’re Not Sure What to Do Next
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~C. S. Lewis
My wake-up call came at a friend’s wedding about seven years ago. Somebody asked me what I did for a living, and I answered truthfully: I’m a singer in a rock band. She thought it was cool, but I went into a rant about why it wasn’t.
“Creative work is definitely more perspiration than inspiration. The constant travelling and playing late night gigs is exhausting. The ‘business’ side of ‘music business’ is a joke,” I fumed.
On and on I went. As …
Changing Your Trajectory to Live a Life of Purpose
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~E.E. Cummings
For a long time, I felt disconnected from my life. I’d spent most of it on autopilot, either regretting the past or dreaming about the future.
I regretted being too afraid to read an essay at the monthly open mic near me for all those years. I thought a lot about writing without actually writing.
I dreamed about a future me, totally transformed with much better hair, eagerly writing at a sunny cafe, the words flowing through my fingers easily, flawlessly.
My approach to finding purpose …
Why Happiness and Purpose Cannot Be Found In A Bucket List
“There is no need to reach high for the stars. They are already within you. Just reach deep into yourself!” ~Unknown
Bucket lists. One hundred things to do before you die. Twenty-five-before-twenty-five. Thirty-before-thirty. New Year’s resolutions.
You name a goal-setting list, I’ve written it.
In fact, I can remember writing a list of yearly goals in my journal as young as nine years old. (I can even remember what some of them were, but that’s a secret between me and my younger self, bless her heart.)
Universal wisdom teaches that one of the keys to a beautiful life is to …
A Message for Those Who Feel Lost and Are Looking for Answers
“Wherever you go, there you are.” ~Jon Kabat-Zinn
On June 24th I got in a cab at the corner of 72nd and Broadway headed to JFK, hauling two huge suitcases full of medications, bug spray, sunscreen, gluten-free foods, a bug tent (really), and cheap cotton clothing.
I checked in, made my way to the gate, and embarked on a twenty-four-hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Months of confusion and identity crisis brought me here.
Almost a full year ago, after returning from performing with a national tour that ended up being a lot less fun than …
When You Lack Focus and Direction: Stop Looking for Your “Thing”
“More important than the quest for certainty is the quest for clarity.” ~Francois Gautier
Isn’t it funny—and annoying and brilliant—how often things turn out to be nothing like we thought they would?
Six years ago I was recovering from a breakdown and reacquainting myself with my long dormant artistic side, and I remember spending a lot of time wondering what my “thing” was.
You know, that one specific thing in this life that I was destined to do to be fulfilled, and ideally from which I would earn a comfortable living.
I had always loved creativity, and particularly art, and …
Words of Wisdom from Jim Carrey’s Commencement Speech
“You are ready and able to do beautiful things in this world… Choose love and don’t ever let fear turn you against your playful heart.”
In his 2014 commencement speech for Maharishi University of Management’s, Jim Carrey shared some inspiring words of wisdom about purpose, happiness, overcoming fear, and going after your dreams. This short video includes just a few of the highlights. You can find the full speech here.
3 Essential Elements for Long-Term Happiness
“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much.” ~Bessie Anderson Stanley
Love. Purpose. Selflessness.
That’s it. Everything I’ve learned about happiness lies in those three words.
Why those words?
Because in their absence it’s hard to be happy. Your mind wanders and sets upon trying to fill that void, leaving little room for joy and happiness elsewhere.
I’m willing to go as far as to say that these are the three most essential elements to your happiness.
I spent my formative years trying to understand why I wasn’t happy. And in the times I felt …
How to Rise Above Difficult Circumstances and Be Happy
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ~Viktor Frankl
I first got wind of this transformative concept when I was a teenager reading Man’s Search For Meaning.
It has played beautifully into what has become my life theme: how people transcend their adversities. I’ve forever been inspired by how (some) people can go through so much and yet be able to rise above and live well. I call it living well despite…
It seems to boil …
When You Feel Purposeless and Fear You’re Wasting Time
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~George Bernard Shaw
I wanted a guarantee.
I wanted to know for sure that if I tried to do something, I would like it; if I devoted my limited time to it, I’d end up somewhere good.
I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and I felt certain this was a phenomenal failing—because if you don’t know right now what you need to do to make your life count, life will pass you by before you’ve ever had a chance to do something meaningful or …
When You Still Don’t Know What You Want to Do with Your Life
“If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is.” ~Unknown
Sitting at my kitchen table, I can’t help but ask myself over and over again how I got to be here. Just yesterday it seems I was sitting with my family for dinner, discussing my college plans and a future that seemed so far away from the comfortable and naïve life I always knew.
Now, I am graduating from college and embarking on the unknown journey that is “the real world” with what seems like no preparation whatsoever. Well, I wouldn’t …
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