“Happiness is a choice.” That’s what has been said a million times over the years. What is not said is that happiness is overcoming obstacles over and over again from one day to the next.
Choosing to be happy is choosing to blast away everything in your way to get what you want, especially when times get tough. I always compare kickboxing with life. You’ve got to put your guard up, wait for your enemy to strike, try to avoid couple of punches and start attacking him. I always saw my enemies as tough life problems.
Jumping from problem to problem I’ve figured out four motivational lessons to learn when times get though.
1. Always keep your guard up
We have all the choices in the world. We can either choose to avoid problems, or we can throw some punches at them.
Every problem has a solution. Problems are part of life. Keeping our guard up while we face problems is always a must. Problems are like wolves. If they are alone, they won’t attack you, but if they are in huddle, you better run. If we let them gather, it would be really hard to solve them all.
Keep your guard up, wait for the problems, and attack them as soon as you have punching distance. Don’t let them pile up, or you will have to run.
2. Good times vs. bad times
Everyone has good times and bad times.
Have you asked yourself why good times do not last and bad ones do? It’s because it’s time to earn your happiness, success and your greatness. We should be glad that we have something to fight for, something to strive for. Always have your mindset that you are one step ahead. That’s my personal mindset when I solve problems. If I have to write a project about healthy foods, every word I write brings me closer to the finish line. When I ran a marathon, every step brought me closer to the 26th mile.
I choose to keep my guard up and get used to the one-step-ahead.
Keep your guard up, have the one-step-ahead rule in your mindset, and happiness won’t be a choice, but a way of life.
3. Life means struggle
That’s right. Life means struggle. If you want something to prove, something better than average, then you will have to encounter many struggles. If we struggle with every problem and fight our way through the obstacles, we will always find success and happiness. It doesn’t matter if it’s work, love, money, success, fame or peace. It always takes struggle to achieve something.
When I first started doing meditation, it was hard to focus even for a couple of seconds. I mean, I was trying to get inner peace, and even inner peace takes struggle. After a while, I sat on my mat, and I could meditate for 15-20 minutes.
Keep your guard up, get over bad times and wrestle with every problem until you smash it! Everything what you want is on the other side of the comfort zone, remember that.
4. Hard times equals success
“Success always looks easy to those who weren’t around when it was being earned.”
Success is earned, period. When I was younger I always saw successful people and imagined what success would be like. I didn’t realize that came after a lot of hard work.
You must define what success and happiness mean to you. Being happy and being successful do not have to be the same thing. Many people are considered successful and they are not happy – and vice versa. Happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy every day despite your circumstances. Success happens when you achieve something for which you have been striving.
Remember, there is no such thing as an overnight success. Most successes take many years to achieve. But you can be happy while you pursue them.
Featured photo credit: THUNDER!!! / Attila via flickr.com
