Happiness Rules - You're All Set

I Seek Happiness -

"I want Happiness..." the repetitive lyrics of a favorite song of mine. "Pursuit of Happyness" title of a recent favorite movie of mine. Happiness is sought by all. At an early age I figured out that happiness depended to a large degree on myself. Kind of like a game you play. In the game of happiness you choose the rules.

You choose "what" has to happen to be happy. Some of us make it to hard to win. Some of us require a so much to happen before we can feel happy, that we rarely feel it. I've seen some people have rules set up like this: to be happy this has to happen...

1)lots of money, 2)no problems, 3) no hard work, 4) perfect lover, 5)complaint coworkers, 6)everything goes according to plan....

No wonder some people are never happy. On the flip side here are some of my rules for happiness:

1)being alive, 2) awareness of infinite possibilities in the present, 3) self improvement, 4) deep breathing, 5)learning something new...

In my world happiness is easy...because I make it like that. Unfortunately many of us accept rules from friends, tv, movies, parents, etc., instead of choosing our own. Some of us have become experts at consciously diverting our attention from all the good and all the potential and finding or making up dramatically tragic sorrows.

The second thing I mentioned regarding possiblities of the present is probably the biggest deal for me. Something I adopted from Einstein. Its the awareness of expectation. Of embracing the unknown with optimism. Instead of repelling the unknown with pessimism. Its true that any little occurence in your life can transform everything instantly. Its been true for many individuals. Mark Cuban, said in an interview in Selling Power, that he would read everything he could get his hands on. To him he justified doing so because he realized that any minute distinction made in the knowledge he encountered could mean the difference between him "making it" or not. This is the type of expectation that enchants any ordinary moment with potential, expectation, or excitement.

Think about it. You can meet someone in 1hr. that completely changes your life. You can pick up a book right now that opens a new dimension of possibilities for you. You can listen to a song that inspires a dormant passion in your heart. Every moment erupts with potential to transform your life. If you think about it like that then how can anyone ever be bored? How can you be sad? Its almost impossible.

Happiness is not a quantity. Its not limited, or scarce. Its infinite and available to appease your whims at any moment. Enjoy your happiness...

Angel Armendariz