Happiness is not a destination it is a journey. -Aristotle

Living the Dream

As children we are happy as we dream and believe our dreams can come true.  Our dreams motivate us in the actions we take. We see ourselves as a professional athlete and we take joy in the daily participation of the sports we play. In our dreams we see ourselves as a doctor, chef, artist and an endless number of lives and with each we are stimulated through the activities in the day.

We all dream. Maybe we don't dream as much as we used to. As we grow up life's obstacles teach us that it is often hard to believe in our dreams.  Dreams no longer make us happy while we dream, we think to ourselves, "When this dream comes true, I will be happy."  As we declare our happiness attached to some future moment we ensure one thing, that we are not happy now.

As a child you were happy in the now as you dreamed with the dream being motivation. How many of us actually became professional athletes or the other dreams that we had? Still, do you look back on the days happy dreaming with regret? You were happy in the moment and you can be happy in this moment as well with your dreams.

First change the way you think about dreams. Dreams are not wishes. Genies grant wishes, and I don't know about you, but I have never found a lamp that you rub and a Genie pops out granting wishes. Dreams are ways of seeing our lives develop, that we can make happen. Dreams come true by the work we put into our dreams.

After you realize that a dream can come true, change the way you dream. When you dream you only see the end picture you would like to see. Change your dream to include the entire story. See not just the end, see yourself doing the work daily that leads to the final picture. Yes, see yourself working towards your dreams.

Now change the word. Instead of thinking of the work as doing the work, call it living your dream. Every day that you are doing what you need to do you are living your dream. When someone asks you, "What are you doing today?" Answer, "Living my dream." Whenever you are doing what you need to, you are living your dream. You just never dreamed the entire story. When you only dream the end of the story you are detached from being part of your dream.

Change your thinking and you change your life. When you change the thinking and realize that you are living your dream today, that's fun. Your life is your story filled with many parts, every part leads to another. Be happy in every part and live your dream every day.

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This week we will be talking about being happy on the Daily Podcast, so join us and get happy!

Devlyn Steele