THE TRUTH ABOUT HAPPINESS
I was on a road trip to the forest with my friend Becky, when she told me something she’d recently learned.
“We often think that we’re happy when we relax, like watching a favorite TV show, for example,” Becky said, her hands steady on the steering wheels, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
“But research shows that we’re most happy when we’re working on something meaningful to us, when we’re in flow.”
I think that’s why so many of us are feeling unhappy. Despite our nice apartment and our good salary, we feel “something is missing.”
Barbara Sher, the most candid self-help author I know, advised:
“Don’t fool yourself by making lists in your head of all the great things in your life. Happy people don’t have to make lists.”
I remember laughing out loud when I read this.
This advice is controversial. Every guru is telling us to practice gratitude. “Make a list of 10 things you’re grateful for every day!”
While I believe there is a virtue in this practice, I also see the truth in Barbara Sher’s advice.
The discontent you feel is valid. You’re not being difficult, spoiled, or ungrateful. This pain is your soul calling you to where you were born for.
My coach Bev Barnes, founder of the Soul’s Calling Academy, calls this Divine Discontent.
Don’t let gratitude practice, or any other spiritual practice, to numb this pain, to muffle this call.
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞.
Be honest with yourself and admit what isn’t working.
So stop running away. Feel the angst, the emptiness, the frustration.
Then ask your heart:
“What is the one tiny thing I can do to start finding the work I belong?”
And listen when it whispers the answer.
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👉 Read this soulful article when you're lost: https://bit.ly/36VMtnf
