OH Brother by Paul Ciccone, Jr.
No one can reach a desired goal without first defining what the objective is. (A friendly bit of advice: before you begin working on your castle in the clouds…ascertain that it will sit atop a stable foundation. In other words, set realistic goals.)
Our society, so emphasizes success as the means to happiness that most of us confuse success and happiness. They are NOT the same. Success is nothing more than getting what YOU want. It is the accomplishment of something YOU deem important, and…it occurs in much the same way for everyone. If one sets a particular goal – no matter how small or how large – and in attempting to accomplish that goal finds him/herself experiencing a period of completion, then he/she has been successful. In other words, if you start out with a specific intention and you then follow that intention through to some point of accomplishment, you have succeeded. Assuredly and by definition, this is success; but it is not necessarily happiness.
Now mind you, this is just my opinion and I dare “stress the importance” of forming your own definition of happiness. Please, do not waste a lot of time and energy chasing someone else’s version of the word. Certainly, be inspired by others; but keep in mind that the basis to happiness is as individual as is each of us. Consider what it means specifically for you and then-go for it!
There are those who suggest that happiness comes from doing what you love, others will tell you it stems from doing for others, and still some might insist that it is the underlying enjoyment of all facets of life. I suppose they are all right in their respective opinions, hence I am not going to disagree with them. Instead, I have this to offer: happiness is all the above, plus-it is knowing when to put one’s hands where one’s mouth is…when one’s mouth is spitting out opinions.
