Excuse my wild tangent for a moment, it's just the way I get sometimes....
I admit I am a closet Oprah watcher. I don't watch every episode but every once in a while she has something on as I am flipping the channels late at night that catches my attention and I admit I may spot for a bit and watch. But as soon as she gets on her righteous horse I am fast to hit that clicker.
The other day while I was home making swap cards, I had her on in the background, just listening really when I heard them talking about Happiness. They were discussing research from U of Illinois where they studied happiness and this guy who has dedicated his life to researching it, even wrote a book.
I had to stop.
There was a quiz involved.
I am a sucker for quizzes.
I didn't score very well.
And the second I heard this in the show I had, what Oprah would call, a lightbulb moment!
Dr. Holden says the key to being happy is overcoming "destination addiction," which he defines as "living in the not-now."
"It's always about tomorrow, so you're chasing 'more,' 'next' and 'there,'" he says. "You promise yourself that when you get there, you'll be happy. And I promise you, you won't, because you'll always set another destination to go for."
OMG... that is Me!!!
I am a planner, goal oriented person, always have been. Always thought that was making me prepared for life and thus happier, but apparently I have been going about it all long. The way I thought life should go way back in my younger years never happened for me, doesn't mean I am not happy, but I never let it go.
If you are like me, and please tell me someone else is like me, apparently I need to...
"We have to learn to let go of our past, we have to give up all hopes for a perfect past. Let the past go, it's gone."
Mental note: Live in the Now!
Got it!
This has been rattling in my brain for a couple days now and I couldn't stop thinking about it. If someone else wants to take the quiz, it's HERE. Forewarning, it may stick with you for a couple days!
One little happiness that came my way this week was this great card from Donna Baker! Thanks Donna for such a pretty card, the colors are wonderful together and I love love love that it says "you're fabulous". Also, thanks to your hubby for picking my name.
You can check out her blog Serenity in Stamping, she has great samples and she lives in Austin, TX which is where my best bud lives so maybe one day we will meet up!
Thursday, April 12
How Happy Are YOU?
at
5:55 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
oh girl you are not alone....trust me on that one!!!!
Lovin the card
so happy you like the card & ABSOLUTELY if you come to Austin, let me know. it's a blast here & we have a few LSS that are pretty cool! And I meant what I said on that little tag - you seem like the funnest (is that a word?) person!
Simone, I too have been so stuck with that show running through my head as I had my lightbulb moment when he said Destination Addiction! OMG...that is me! I too blogged about the Happiness Quiz and the things I took away from the show. Check out my blog entry for today. Denise
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-uXKTpBc1fqiRmBf1LIACX4XQwANnLxbl
Apparently, I too am not living in the moment. I am either re-living my past or shooting for the future and will be making an effort to live today while today is actually happening.
Love the card!
Simone,
I sooo know what you are saying! I'm that girl too! Scary! Thank you for the reminder of living in the now!
Many Blessings,
Melissa
i'm a 17 on that quiz....so i guess i need to take that advice too!!!
but like you, i'm always thinking about "tomorrow" or "when....." {example: when i get super skinny, my life will be perfect; when i win the lottery, my life will be perfect}.
{deep sigh}
maybe i need to write that down and put in on computer with my other quotes...oh, here's a good one for ya:
"it is wise to direct your anger towards problems-not people; to focus your energies on answers; not excuses"-william arthur ward
oh do i soooo need to keep that post it note on my monitor!!!
Post a Comment