I truly believe that, no matter our chosen field of endeavor, if we strive for excellence there will ALWAYS be room to succeed.
Excellence is achieved by a commitment to daily steps and decisions. And it is never over.
Striving to improve is excellent.
And remember, the joy is in the journey, so make sure you choose to attempt to be excellent as something you actually like doing. I don’t think excellence would be sustainable if there wasn’t happiness to be found in the striving 🙂
We want something so bad (promotion, a better personal record, a certain salary, some form of measurable success), that we are obsessed with attaining it.
Our happiness becomes tied to “when we succeed.” We fool ourselves into thinking “If I can just get ___, then I will be happy.”
This is obsessive passion.
Harmonious passion on the other hand, is being happy now in the process of attaining success. It is about seeing how far we’ve come already compared to how far we have to go.
And research shows that being obsessively passionate pushes you more toward negative emotions and thoughts. Further research shows, negative thoughts are killers to growth and success.
Gratitude and other positive thoughts however, allow for creativity and flow to take place.
When we are grateful about how far we’ve come while keeping an eye on where we want to go, we see the whole picture and the full beauty of life.
You will have a more probable successful outcome when you can decide to be happy now, be grateful for where and who you are, instead of grasping at something to try to make you happy.
I love this, and thank you for sharing Jessica (my office manager).
However, don’t let this mislead you into thinking the one step will equal achievement.
Another quote a love is “growth is a process, not a light switch.”
They key is to combine both and know the ONE decision you make (or are not making…which is still a decision) will push you toward your goal and could be the final step. But even if it is not the final step, but rather the first or 23445th, making the decision will propel you more toward the life you want.
I love this section on how to actually use jealousy to your advantage.
Comparison can steal your joy, for sure, but only if you have limiting beliefs and do not grasp abundance.
We can look at things/emotions/places/successes others have and decide we can’t have them too bc they already have them, or we can decide that the universe is infinite, and the fact they have them is PROOF we can too!
It’s ALWAYS your decision(s).
So next time that little voice pops up when you feel the pang of jealousy, FLIP IT into the realization that we can achieve all that and more.
Well, the truth is we humans are great at celebrating and lifting others up, but if we fail to do so for ourselves, we will run our tanks empty pretty quick.
When we take the time to celebrate not only our achievements, but who we are at this very moment, we set the stage for magic to happen.
When you congratulate yourself for a life well loved thus far, you create a plethora of chemical and emotional responses that allow further growth and happiness to take place.
So start with a high five in the mirror. Read this book. Then start loving who you are so you can love others, and move forward in becoming who you want to be!
You should definitely check out The Ed Mylett podcast and Mel Robbins book: The High Give Habit
There is power (and research) in celebrating small victories, congratulating ourselves, and setting intention.
One thing the book and this podcast episode touches on is the fact that, unfortunately, we are prone to feeling unworthy of celebration. In fact we are prone to feeling unworthy in general.
We can raise that baseline simply by incorporating small celebrations and acknowledgements of our amazing worthy-ness into our daily lives.
We all deserve love. And we definitely deserve to love ourselves.
We have survived every crazy challenge that has been put before us to this point.
We have overcome many obstacles.
We do A LOT of things l, very well, every day.
We impact lives (whether we know it or not).
We have style.
We have grace.
We smile, we laugh, we love, we help, we even provide energy for others (including nature).
We are amazing.
Listen ti the podcast, read the book, and HIGH FIVE yourselves today!
I recently discovered the term “toxic positivity.”
Toxic positivity is the belief that no matter how dire or difficult a situation is, people should maintain a positive mindset. It’s a “good vibes only” approach. (Taken from http://www.verywellmind.com)
I choose to be positive, and I write about positivity not because I see the world through rose-colored glasses, but because I decide to realize the world is a beautiful place.
I whole-heartedly believe that when circumstances are awful, we should recognize that, allow ourselves to grieve, mourn, cry, get frustrated, angry and lash out some even.
It is always ok to not be ok.
However, I also believe that it is up to ourselves to change our situation for the future. It is up to us to learn from any challenge and apply it toward a growth mindset.
The only way positivity can be toxic is in the absence of empathy. If someone (even if it is yourself) is going through some horrible situations, I don’t believe we should talk to them (ourselves) about maintaining positivity without acknowledging THE SUCK of the situation. First and foremost, be kind, listen, hug, comfort.
Also realize that part of the comfort is the belief/faith that all things pass and life will move on and in fact can become better, eventually.
Dissemination of Inspiration 