Eight Things Happy People Avoid Doing

Unhappy people do certain things that happy people avoid like the plague. If you’re doing these things, you’re not as happy as you could be. Achieving anything involves avoiding certain behaviors and adopting other behaviors. The same holds true for your happiness.

Some people have a natural skill for being happy. Even if this skill isn’t natural for you, you can learn.

Avoid engaging in these behaviors if you want to be happy:

  1. Dwelling on the past. Feeling bad about something that’s already happened doesn’t make a lot of sense. Without a time machine, there’s nothing you can do. Late for your job interview yesterday? How will feeling bad about it help now? Mad at yourself for not asking out Suzie Watson in 11th grade? It’s too late now. 
  • Leave the past alone and focus on today. Life only happens in the present. You’re wasting your life by being focused on the past or the future.
  1. Worrying about the future. Worrying about the future isn’t much better than being bitter about the past. Both perspectives sacrifice your present and ruin your mood. Prepare for the future, but avoid worrying about it. Most of your concerns will never happen anyway.
  2. Holding a grudge. Refusing to forgive others only punishes you. Half of the people you’re mad at don’t even know it. They’re going about their lives without any concern for you. Who are you actually punishing? Only yourself.
  3. Comparing themselves to others. With over 8 million people roaming the Earth, there’s always going to be someone who’s wealthier, better looking, smarter, or a better disco dancer. Comparing yourself to others is a losing game, especially when you compare your weaknesses to other’s strengths.
  4. Ignoring the positive. Humans are programmed to look for danger and focus on the negative. That makes it easy to ignore all the positive things going on in your life.
  • You can counteract this tendency by making a list of all the good things in your life and reading it each day. Make a habit out of this. Keep the list by your bed and read it every morning and night.
  1. Focusing on the negative. When you look at everything that isn’t the way you’d like it, it’s easy to feel depressed and hopeless. Again, give fair time to the positive things in your life. You have plenty of them.
  2. Worrying about the opinions of others. You might think you outgrew this mindset after high school, but you’d be one of the very rare few. Kicking this habit can take a lifetime, but it’s also incredibly satisfying. You’re never free if you’re worried about what others are thinking. It taints every decision you make.
  3. Working at a job they dislike. It’s called “work” for a reason, but it doesn’t make sense to spend 8+ hours each day in a way you despise. Find work that you find agreeable and you’ll remove one of the primary causes of unhappiness.

Are you as happy as you’d like to be? If not, there are certain things you must avoid doing if you want to maximize your happiness. Happiness is a choice you must make each day. Failing to choose happiness is choosing unhappiness. You have to make the effort if you want to experience happiness on a regular basis.

Consider your perspective of the world. Is it making you happier or less happy?

How do you spend your time?

What do you think about?

What changes can you make that will shift your life toward happiness?

Spend some time thinking about it. These ideas can change your life.

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

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I am ready for the next step

I embrace change and feel prepared for the next step in my life. I am happy to move into the next phase of my existence.

I am ready to take the leap and try new things for the first time. I let go of the past and focus on the future.

I eliminate my resistance to change. Instead, I welcome new opportunities. I have the wisdom, knowledge, and talent to make my next step successful.

I let go of pain, doubt, and insecurity. I let go of the fears that hold me back from my dreams. I let go of any hint of hesitation that keeps me from the next step.

I bravely step forward and accept my future. I am ready for a new beginning. I am ready for new experiences, ideas, and thoughts.

I keep my mind open to new things on this journey. I know everything is happening at precisely the right moment. I am in control of my life and surroundings.

I embrace an action-oriented mindset instead of one that is hesitant. I take one step at a time and cherish each minute.

I see my life as an adventure that I can explore.

Today, I recognize that I am ready for the next step.

How can you help your family and friends understand you need to make changes?

How can you take advantage of all the new opportunities in front of you?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

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How to Achieve Huge Goals

Achieving a huge goal is similar to achieving smaller goals. However, you must be much more diligent and aware of any negative thoughts associated with your goal.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lose all your momentum. Huge goals take more time and persistence. If you’re up for the challenge, there is no reason you can’t achieve a huge goal.

Set a big goal and change your life quickly:

Choose the right goal. A goal can be too big. If your goal exceeds your belief that you can be successful, you’re finished before you even get started. The biggest goal you can reasonably achieve is a goal that makes you think you can be successful if everything goes perfectly and you work hard. Anything beyond that may create too much internal resistance.

Get clear on what success means. Some goals, like weight loss and income goals, are easy to measure. Other goals can be more challenging. Be sure you know how you’ll measure your success. Otherwise, you might be successful and not even know it.

Create a plan. Develop a general plan that will ensure success. It can helpful to start at the end and work your way backwards. Work back until you have a step that you can do today.

Create a detailed plan. Now that you have a general plan, create a detailed plan that will get you from one step to the next. Talk to experts and get the information you need to make an intelligent plan. Your local library is full of experts that provide free advice.

Develop habits related to your action plan. Seek to develop habits that help you to reach your goals. For example, you might take a daily walk before breakfast if you’re trying to lose weight. Or your habit might be to skip breakfast!

Review your results regularly. You can’t know how well or poorly you’re doing if you never check. Regularly review your progress and make the necessary adjustments along the way. This is an important step that many people skip.

Check your attitude daily. Are you feeling doubtful, intimidated, or fearful? Are you procrastinating? It’s critically important to deal with negative feelings immediately. The amount of willpower anyone possesses is limited. You can’t push your way through negative emotions indefinitely.

Find a mentor. Odds are, someone else has already accomplished your very goal. It only makes sense to take advantage of someone else’s knowledge and experience. Most people are happy to help. It never hurts to ask. If necessary, consider hiring a mentor/coach. It might be some of the best money you’ve ever spent.

Visualize success. Spend a few minutes each night visualizing success. Imagine how you’ll feel when your goal is achieved. Where will you be? How will you feel? How will your life change? Make the experience as positive as you possibly can. If you rated the desirability of achieving your goal on a 1-10 scale, it had better be a 10!

Big goals require an appropriate goal, a good plan, a mentor, and stamina. To achieve a big goal, you must be prepared to do things you’ve never done before. Are you willing to be more than you’ve demonstrated to this point?

Set a big goal and get excited at the prospect of achieving success. Evaluate your progress and continue striving until you’ve reach your objective. Life is ticking by, so set a big goal and get started on the path to achieving it.

What do you consider to be your ultimate goal?

How are you working to achieve that?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

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The Differences Between Those That Succeed and Those That Fail

Success is a fascinating thing. There are good people with every possible advantage that struggle with success and life in general. It’s also easy to find people with no education, a poor attitude, and a lack of morality that seem to thrive. Both groups of people want to get ahead, but only one is successful. Why is that?

Successful people, regardless of their advantages or disadvantages, have one thing in common: they consistently work at their goals.

It’s necessary to do everything you can to be successful and take that attitude into the marketplace. You must be willing to compete, whether it be for a job or to see your business become successful.

Add these behaviors to your life and create more success:

Make use of what you have. This includes your capabilities, time, and other resources. There’s no reason to wait until you learn something new, save a certain amount of money, or make the right contacts. You can do those things on the side, but the bulk of your time should be spent on doing everything you can with what you currently possess.

Read books that enable you to spend your time more productively. By learning more, you can correct your mistakes and use your time more wisely. The right book can teach you more discipline or how to better interact with others.

Books give you access to the very best minds in the world, past and present. Every book you read can improve you in some way and enhance the way you spend your time.

Commit to being your best. Most of us are either too lazy or too afraid to bring our best to each day. Discipline and courage are required if you want to consistently be successful at a high level.

Make plans. Dreams are nice, but they’re just a starting point. You must convert your dreams into concrete plans, and then put everything you have into executing those plans.

Building a life without a good plan is like trying to build a home without a good plan. Eventually you run into trouble and must use make-shift solutions just to keep it from falling apart.

Plan your day, but not all of it. Ensure that you can hit the ground running, but leave yourself enough wiggle room to take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves along the way.

The same goes for your week, month, and year. Have a good, solid outline for your time for at least the next year.

View problems as challenges to be solved. Becoming successful requires dealing with a nearly endless stream of obstacles. View these obstacles as challenges that make you stronger, smarter, and more capable to handle the next challenge. The bigger the challenge you’re able to solve, the more successful you will become.

Avoid distractions. Spend your time on the most important activities. If learning to play piano is a priority for you, spending time perfecting your photography skills, playing the guitar, and learning to oil paint ensures that you’ll never become the best pianist you can be.

It’s easy to look around and see that the universe isn’t judging “good” people and “bad” people when it comes to success. You know plenty of awful people that are doing well, and plenty of wonderful people that are struggling.

You must have a plan and put it into action each day. That is the ultimate determiner of success. Make a plan for your life today and live the life you want.

What does being successful mean to you?

How does feeling successful help motivate you to do more?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

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I persist when life is challenging

I look forward to the challenges in life. I know that I am learning new things when I face challenges. I learn more about myself and life. Since I enjoy challenges, I find it easy to be persistent.

I know that persistence is a pivotal component of success. Quitting ensures failure. I persevere because I am strong and motivated.

When life is challenging, I redouble my efforts. Challenge strengthens me.

Challenges are growth opportunities with lessons to learn. I want to learn these lessons, so I persist. These lessons make my life easier going forward.

Life presents one challenge after another. There is little point in not persisting. I know that life will only become more challenging if I fail to complete my tasks. Persisting is the only answer for me.

When I persevere, my confidence and pride grow. I feel better about myself and more capable. Challenges allow me to become more than I already am. I am grateful for the challenges that life presents.

The big challenges in life can be intimidating. I may sometimes feel uncertain. I take this as a sign to remember the obstacles I have overcome in the past. This boosts my courage and my certainty of success. I persist.

Today, I face my challenges head on. I find the motivation to be persistent in all aspects of my life. I persist when life is challenging.

What is the biggest challenge you are facing in life?

What would your future look like if you never gave up?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

Before you leave…

Please share the link to this post on your Facebook, Twitter, etc., and like it, and comment right here – THANKS!