Happiness Is Truly M.A.G.I.C.A.L. (TM)
The year is almost half over. Many of us are taking the time to reflect, to imagine new dreams and to revise our goals. Yet, as we engage in these activities, the shadows of unachieved goals and failed dreams continue to follow us. Wouldn't it be great if we could discover a magical way that would help to achieve both our personal and professional happiness and banish those shadows? A colleague and I asked this very question over a year ago and spent the last 12 months researching how successful people use their imagination to overcome life's obstacles and stay happy. What we discovered was that the capacities for happiness were within each and everyone one of us. The difference in the achievement of happiness centered around when we as individuals chose to identify and then employ those capacities and their supporting strategies. Think about your happiness, your life and your successes. What first come to mind? If you are like many of us, one person stands out. This individual encouraged you as you struggled with life's obstacles to achieve a better future. In your early life, this person, or "mentor," may have been a family member or a teacher. For me, my first mentor was my Swedish grandmother. As a sickly child, I spent a lot of time with her listening to her adventures in America. At age 16, she worked in New York City as a hotel maid and cook. Returning to Sweden at age 19, she met and married my grandfather. In the ensuing years, she continued to dream about returning to America and having one child born there. This dream was realized at age 41 when she returned to America and gave birth to one child ? my father. As I grew older, I appreciated her imagination, determination and courage to homestead in Northern Wisconsin, to serve as an English teacher and mentor to her family and to thrive through the Depression of the Thirties. Though she passed on many years ago, her words and stories continue to mentor me as I build my life both personally and professionally. She was an incredible woman ? my mentor ? my grandmother. Now, take a few moments and think of an incredible person in you life right now ? someone who continues to demonstrate imagination, determination, courage and happiness. Ask yourself if you can possibly live your life without this mentor. Then, take this opportunity to stop and say thank you for the gifts that he or she has brought into your life and begin to experience a life that is truly M.A.G.I.C.A.L.(TM). M.A.G.I.C.A.L.(TM)is owned by Leanne Hoagland-Smith and Laura Novakowski. Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. President of ADVANCED SYSTEMS, is the Process Specialist. With over 25 years of business and education experience, she builds peace and abundance by connecting the 3P's of Passion, Purpose and Performance through process improvement. Her ROI driven process solutions affect sustainable change in 4 key areas: financials, leadership, relationships and growth & innovation with a variety of industries. She aligns the strategies, systems and people to develop loyal internal customers that lead to external customers. As co-author of M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential:Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement due for June 2005 release, Leanne speaks nationally to a variety of audiences. Please call Leanne a call at 219.759.5601 or email leanne@processspecialist.com if you are seeking amazing results. Copyright 2005(c) Leanne Hoagland-Smith, http://www.processspecialist.com Permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted).
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Lifes Like that
It is now 5 years since I passed out of college and started working. I
love working. I am not a workaholic but I love working. There is a lot
of pressure in the work we all do. This era is all about speed.
Everything around us moves at the speed of thought. And the wise
guys from the big B-Schools would tell you to be there at the right
time or else you'll loose the next big opportunity. All of us try to
search for the next big opportunity so that we are not left of out in
this race. We travel from place to place in search for that hidden
treasure, success, happiness or whatever one may like to call it.
I have closely interacted with hundreds of people in these years and
one of my favorites activity is studying people and human
behavior. In the beginning I used to get surprised (sometimes even
laugh) when I hear a new kid out of college and starting his life
say that he feels burnt out. But then if you look at it closely, the
kid is right. He is burnt out before he even starts because he is
always expected to perform beyond what his mind and body can take.
There is always this sense of urgency within all of us that usually
keeps us unhappy no matter what we achieve.
I too was in this rat race till my mother taught me the most important
lesson of my life and that is about being in the present and enjoying
every moment of it. Sadly though I had lost my mother by then. I still
remember that day on 18th December 2002 when I was thinking about my
mother in the back of my mind but yet I stayed in the office as
we had this requirement to get the ISDN up in our office. I was scared
that if the leased lines goes down we'll not have an alternative. So I
sat with the providers and did not listen to my heart. As a result by
the time I went to see my mom it was too late. I wish I had followed my
heart instead. That is when I realized that the ISDN
connection had no real significance in my life and yet I gave it an
unwanted priority.
Here are some rules I live by now which I hope would help all of you.
They say that it is best to learn from others mistakes. 6 basic rules
that we must all follow to be happy -
Live in the present -
Most good books on better living talk about being in the present. You cannot
afford to think and live in the past. Neither can you think about the
future all the time. You do not know what would happen in the future.
You do not have control over it. This does not mean that we should not
plan. It just means that we do not need to over stress ourselves
thinking about what would happen in the future.
Let me explain with a simple example. You want to go for a
vacation. You need to plan and buy the tickets in time. But it does not
mean that when you are in the train or aircraft you start running
inside it. You'll not reach any faster than all the other passengers
who are traveling with you.
However, do remember that you must learn from your past and improve
upon
it. The food from Pizza Hut is fattening. This means that it would
remain the same, unless they do some major changes to the way pizzas
are made. So saying that I cannot think about the past and I should
keep going over and over again to Pizza Hut does no make sense.
Also another important point is that you must learn to visualize about
the future. When I was kid our swimming coach used to talk a lot about
the power of visualization. He used to say that if you going for a
competition tomorrow, the previous night one should visualize the
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feel light and energetic. The weather is great for swimming. I am going
to get the best place. My start is perfect. I have a perfect dive in
the water. The water is not too hot neither is it too cool. It is just
right for me. My breathing is perfect and my strokes are perfect and
coordinated. I am the winner...
Simulate the same situation when you are facing a client or an ISO
auditor.
Another aspect I'll like to point out here is that some people get into
the urgency because they feel insecure about the future. They think "If
I die my wife or family would face a
lot of problems... " In the process they start taking insurance
policies
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Never have any anger -
There
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mat. If you do not
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