TheLeaderInside.com

Our lives, both business and personal, can often be compared to an ongoing movie script and we’re both the scriptwriter and the director. We have the power to determine what’s working and what isn’t and can make all the edits we want. How much of what hasn’t been working in your life should land on the cutting-room floor?

I know, that sounds awful, but when you really think about it, this process of “editing” can be incredibly empowering.

As you grow in your business and personal life you have the choice — you can accept the script as it’s written, or you can edit it to make how you live more fulfilling. You have the power to cut out what hasn’t been working and keep what has. I’m not saying that this is always a simple process — on the contrary. If there are some long-term habits that are not fulfilling to you, those may be difficult to edit out. If they are truly working against you, though, putting forth the effort to remove them can be a positive step.

Editing out activities that you find stressful, disassociating yourself from people that drain your energy, and letting go of your emotional baggage are all beneficial cuts you can make. In the empty spaces that are left behind, you can add in anything you like. Just as you have the power to edit out negative situations or beliefs that you no longer wish to have as part of your life, you can now include the kinds of positive experiences, people, and beliefs that you would like to include in your life. Doing this in your business life can be an amazing test of your leadership abilities.

This “editing” of your life can take considerable effort, but the rewards are more contentment, more wisdom, and better relationships, both business and personal.

~~~ DBL-R

How many problems are you having in your life right now? There are probably at least one or two, right? Problems are a natural occurrence in every human life. There is always “something”!

The question isn’t whether people have problems, the question is how do they handle them?

Unfortunately, most people set out to deal with their problem by focusing on the problem itself. The fact is, when you focus on the problem itself, it tends to take on a life of its own. It seems as though the more you focus on it, the bigger it becomes and the solution never seems to rise to the surface and you end up with a more confusion than you expected.

On the other hand, you can’t just ignore the problem either, in the hope that it will just go away on its own. That works about as well as putting too much focus on it. You have to stay with the issue — you have to give it your full attention — but — here’s the secret — you also have to quit putting your focus on the problem itself.

Rather, what will really help you, is to turn your attention around. Turn it away from the problem, and turn it toward what you see in your life after the problem is solved to your satisfaction. Focus on how you will feel when this problem no longer exists. Let your mind imagine the best possible outcome you can think of.

Try it. You’ll see what I mean. When you put your mind on the solution to the problem, rather than the problem itself, you will find yourself behaving differently. Your belief structure will change as you see yourself living with the problem solved.

Anyone is capable of doing this. We tend to follow the crowd and focus on the problems of life — that’s what everyone seems to be doing, right? But it’s backwards — be different and focus on the best possible solutions to life’s problems, and you will see that when you really believe something will happen, the universe will move to make it happen.

~~~ DBL-R

One of the attributes that can make or break someone in their leadership role, is whether they are miserable or happy. Here’s an interesting thought … have you ever noticed just how unhappy you can get over the fact you are not happy?

Does that make sense?

Think about it — being unhappy over being unhappy is like throwing gasoline on a fire to put it out. You get lots of fire and smoke — maybe more than you bargained for — but in the end all you are left with is a pile of ashes. This is why you must understand this next amazing fact.

You can make yourself miserable but you can’t make yourself happy.

That is one of those “hard to swallow” facts, isn’t it? But most of us, when we really think about it, can admit that at times we do make ourselves miserable. There isn’t anything good about feeling bad. It just doesn’t make sense to tolerate feeling miserable, especially when we bring it on ourselves. Whatever we bring upon ourselves, we can eventually eliminate if we can understand what’s making us do that. The truth that needs to be discovered here is that if we want to find authentic happiness, we have to realize that we can’t make ourselves happy.

Outside of drugs and alcohol, which are obviously not the way to happiness, whenever you try to make yourself happy, you must put forth an effort of some kind. Putting forth an effort means you are applying force of some kind. Putting effort into something is a good thing when you are following plans for business concerns or cooking or construction projects, but putting any sort of effort into becoming happy — working at becoming happy — is steering you in the direction of unhappiness.

How could this be true, you ask? Let’s look at it, because if it is true, then that would mean that true happiness is effortless, right?

As I mentioned above, effort implies a plan, whether we know it or not. Plans are, by definition, used to build things. If you have a plan to build happiness, and you have a picture of what happiness is firmly fixed in your mind, you will meet life always looking for your picture, rather than accepting and experiencing what life has brought you. Since life will most often bring you events contrary to your picture, you’re bound to experience the pain of stress. Why? Because you’ll see that life is not meeting your picture of happiness and you’ll be experiencing a series of disappointments instead of happy adventures.

Take notice of this next statement ….

You could never be unhappy with anything you found in this life if you didn’t already have it fixed in your mind what you were looking for.

Can you see that our ideas about happiness are more often than not the very root of our unhappiness? The point is that happiness cannot be made. Happiness comes to those who understand that you can’t seek it any more than you seek the air you breathe. Happiness is a part of life that is as natural as the air you breathe. Trying to be happy will not get you any closer to true happiness than smelling freshly-baked bread will take away your hunger. When you are pursuing happiness you are undoubtedly doing so based upon the false assumption that happiness can be possessed. It cannot.

Happiness is the natural expression of a stress-free life, just as sunlight naturally warms your body. Happiness is effortless.

~~~ DBL-R