The Monday Barrage: Gotta Give to Get – Going from Good to Great; 10 Habits of Consistently Happy People

Reaching Higher Heights

“If you want to live an exceptional and extraordinary life, you have to give up many of the things that are part of a normal one.” -Srinivas Rao

 

 

What does it mean to live an extraordinary life? The dictionary defines the word extraordinary as being very unusual or remarkable.  So, to live an extraordinary life, is to live one that may seem unusual to others, but one that’s remarkable to no one else but yourself.

To live the kind of life that is uniquely remarkable to us, we must become the CEO’s of our lives. We have to be ready to call our own shots.

We have to be willing to take risks, make some sacrifices, and forget about what others call a “normal” life.

Change is uncomfortable!  But it’s necessary to transform into the best versions of ourselves.

To reach those higher heights, we may have to give up some negative relationships, those unhealthy diets and habits, and reevaluate those time-wasting activities.

Making these tough lifestyle changes are what separates those who wish to live good from those who wish to live great. 

I am conscious of the fact that living good and living great are relative concepts, so remember it’s still your choice, one that’s motivated from your personal perspective.

I’ve begun taking the steps toward building my version of what a great life looks like to me.  Over the past few years, there’s one thing I’ve realized – sometimes, you have to give up something in order to gain (or accomplish) something else.

Lord knows I’ve tried, but I’ve always be unable to hold on to old unproductive habits while attempting to reach new goals.  It’s clear to me that an extraordinary life will always cost us our normal lives – we can’t have both.

We have to let go of something we value less in order to gain what we ultimately desire.

We may have to give up some of our security and certainty, let go of our fear of being judged, and redefine what success looks like for us individually!

“Success is continuously improving who you are, how you live, how you serve, and how you relate.” –Benjamin P. Hardy

 

Check out this article entitled, You Can’t Live an Extraordinary Life by Doing What Ordinary People are Doing.

Going from “good” to “great” is not an easy task.  The stakes are high and the cost is great, but ultimately it’s worth it.

MB


 

We all want to be happy! But what does this look like?

I would say that being happy is the ability to not desire more; to find contentment and show gratitude in the moment…in what we have now.

It’s about living in the moment versus yearning for some future event to make us happy.

So happiness hinges on gratitude.

With this in mind, here are 10 Things Happy People Do Consistently:

  • They Maintain an Optimistic Outlook
  • They Don’t Compare Themselves to Others
  • They Exercise Gratitude
  • They Engage the World With Kindness
  • They Maintain Active Friendships
  • They Learn to Cope
  • They Are Able to Forgive
  • They Actively Pursue Goals
  • They Have an Active Lifestyle
  • They Cultivate Their Inner Self

So, if you didn’t know, now you know! 🙂

More happy articles:

https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-scientifically-proven-ways-to-be-incredibly-happy-wed.html

https://www.happify.com/public/how/

MB


 

Florence Price

Florence Price was an African American classical music composer, and “the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra.”

 

Check out this piece by African American composer Florence Price, and read her interesting story.

 

More on Florence Price:

http://www.florenceprice.org


This Week’s Pics

Dad greets Amie

Amie, Dad, and Meghan

Random Oddity

Cool Like Dat?

My sisters

Black Wall Street

Learn the historical significance and Black Wall Street.

https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/tulsa-race-riot

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/05/31/615546965/meet-the-last-surviving-witness-to-the-tulsa-race-riot-of-1921://

Gotta find a bookstore wherever I go.

Marley and Picasso

Looking Sharp

Nothing like reading by the fire.

Rachael and her peeps.

Aunt Margaret, Earl, and Fam…Rachael’s peeps!

Boston Ave.

Dad & Me

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Comments (2)

There was a time in my life (all the way up to the end of the 1980s) that I actually didn’t know “happy” was an option. I was constantly told by a certain someone, “there’s no such thing as happiness.” Unfortunately I believed him. After discovering that happiness could be a choice, I searched and was led in that direction, and did the work!!!! It was hard work, but it was “good” hard work. Now more than 30 years later, I can say that to the section of this blog post: “10 Things Happy People Do Consistently” – in my case, 7 out of 10 ain’t bad!!!!!

7 out of 10 certainly ain’t bad! Keep up the great work.

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