Happiness is Success

One of my earlier blogs, I stated a quote by Thomas Monson that read, “We can't direct the wind but we can adjust the sail.” Your situation might be horrific but your reaction to the difficulties can rotate you 360 degrees. Did you catch that? 360 degrees will take you in a full circle and you would end up right where you began. Your reaction can turn you 180 degrees and your problems are gone.

Your inconveniences can even benefit you in the long run. My parents often share stories of their early marriage with me. They had very little money and could only afford the necessities of life. While experiencing these difficulties they did not particularly enjoy it. However, during this time they learned to properly budget, manage, and to stretch their money. As they worked and earned more dough, those skills remained in place. Now, from a modest pay check, we live free from the burdens of financial debt and mortgage free. My family has much more than the bare necessities because my parents know how to manage money. Your discomforts might be an encumbrance now, but as you continue in life, you will benefit because of what you learned during those trials.

Attitude truly is everything. When I hear people say, “I am in a bad mood!” I have no sympathy for them. You determine your mood. You determine your state of mind. Although a plethora of terrible things might happen to you, that does not mean that you automatically switch to “bad mood mode”. Being in a bad mood, or a good mood is a choice. So chose to be in a good mood.

During his speech at the NHS dinner, Mr. Peterson said (and I completely agree with him), “I am confident that each of you will be successful no matter what you decide to do with your lives.” College, the armed forces, a job or whatever you decide to pursue after graduation can and will be a success if you are happy with that decision.

Dictionary.com defines success as a favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. Success is not obtaining untold riches or winning a Nobel Peace Prize (although those would be nice to have). A wise man once told me, “Success is not based on reaching your goals but remaining optimistic no matter what happens.” I do not mean to say that you will not achieve you goals, but I am saying that life will throw you curve balls and you will strike out. Even the best baseball players strike out. Have faith that you can eventually achieve your goals. The only possible way to fail is when you give up. Go forward with hope and faith that you can achieve you goals. When you happen to fail, remain optimistic because happiness is success.

Make a change

Lately I have heard people say and I have said this myself a few times, “If I die at least I will die having fun.” Or, “I will die happy.” When I asked my parents if I could buy motorcycle, they responded, “You want a murder cycle? Why would you want a murder cycle?” They think that when you drive a motorcycle, you want to die. I agree with them about the fact that more accidents occur when on a motorcycle than when driving a car. Because I would like to have a motorcycle does not mean that I want to die. I still would like to own and drive a motorcycle one day.

Another foolish thing that I have heard a few people say lately is, “When I am thirty, I will hope that I die. I will not kill myself but I would rather die than live after I am thirty.” They think that life will be completely monotonous when they reach that age and would rather die than endure the “torture” of being middle aged. Changes will occur as we grow older. But life would be even more monotonous if no changes occurred. I will admit that I am growing tired of my life as it now is. I am ready for a change I do not want to be middle aged already. I don’t want to die because major changes will be occurring in my life shortly, but I do need an adjustment. My opinion is that we can have just as much fun and joy without dying. I don’t imagine death being fun or enjoyable.

One of my neighbors is a grouchy, older woman. She is not the friendliest person in the world. My dad was trying to change the street name from Smithson Rd to Porter Canyon Rd. He did not want to change the name only because he liked it. He also wanted to change it because there is a Smithson drive in town that causes confusion. My dad had every person on the entire street sign the petition except for this woman. She yelled at him and told him to leave because she felt that there was no need for a change. She was afraid of the change. Don’t be afraid of change. It is alright to be nervous but don’t resist the changes that will occur because you are nervous.

As I said earlier, life would be boring if no changes ever occurred. Make a change!