I’m often asked how one can motivate themselves to do, be, and have more? “How can I be happier?” It’s not an easy task, don’t let anyone tell you it is. I really don’t like quick fix solutions and the current false narrative that success can be achieved through following the instructions of a viral video, 6 step or 30 day program is a 100% complete lie; not possible for 99% of humans. You may say, “Well why does it work for that 1%?” That is a great question and the reason is simple: the majority of that 1% of people were probably pre-disposed to love hard work and were easily inspired. They just needed the nudge.
I believe there are 3 reasons you become happier (or don’t) and why you can (or can’t) be inspired to do more and maintain that inspiration over the long term.
1 - If you don’t truly
love what you do, happiness will never be a possibility. You will always just live for the weekend. Now before you send me an email justifying having to do what you do to survive, be aware that you are halfway there – You recognize your situation. If you are in a job that causes you stress and anger, if you come home and spend your off time complaining about your work, if you hate the idea of having to go to work each day, then realize you are spending far more than 8 hours at work. Mentally you are probably spending 10 to 12 hours a day in a constant feeling of anger and frustration. It has been proven that stress is directly related to shorter lifespans. So maybe you should look at your work and either find a way to change your daily experience and interactions or start looking for a new place to work. Change your story; Perhaps there’s a good side-hustle (that leads to a new career) or hobby you can focus on. Within that choice you could find inspiration.
2 -
Gratitude is really the key. The following two simple tasks will be game changers. I say simple because in terms of time they are not going to cut into your Netflix watching too deeply. I strongly encourage you to do these
EVERY day. Grab a journal, it can be a fancy one made from leather or a dollar store scratchpad. Every day, before you go to bed, take 5 minutes and write 3 to 5 things you are grateful for that day. It doesn’t have to be deep or wordy. Just say thanks to the universe for giving you these things, people, or experiences today. The second thing is to actually write a note to someone. I say hand write the note and drop it in the mail, but if that’s too much, send an email, text, or a DM. It will not take you long and I can guarantee that it will change your life. It will make you feel better and I believe it will generate opportunity in the future (maybe even that new job you’re looking for). It’s an investment in the Karma Bank – The best bank of all!
3 -
Stop keeping score. In this current social media climate we (I included myself here) spend too much time judging our lives against others social media accounts and headlines. We also rarely take other people’s lives into account. We assume too much about them on (and off) line. An instagram post doesn’t tell the whole story. Someone’s outside/online persona may not be showing what that person is going through silently on the inside. You wouldn’t want to be judged so why judge others? If you look at social media and think, “I don’t measure up to others” please know that it is never a fair measure – So it doesn’t matter. If you aren’t getting 100 ‘likes’ from people you barely know that’s ok. If you live your life authentically and simply do your best then the most important judge will approve: You.
4 -
BONUS! Surround yourself with better people. This one is perhaps the most important. I didn’t include it in the my three steps above because I say it all the time. So much that I just work towards it in daily life without much thinking. If you surround yourself with positive, good humans you can’t help but feel happier and inspired. I recently did a 21 day health challenge with my friend
Dr. Greg Wells and it was an awesome experience. I just can’t help but feel better and inspired when I am spend my time with better people. It’s easy to find good people if you go to places where they congregate. At
YLCC we have so many programs for youth and educators that facilitate meeting good people and create opportunities to connect. Events like
BC Leadership Seminars,
OSLC Spring,
OSLC Junior and SPARK Leadership days. For adults who want to build out an incredible life and/or business we have
EPIC (such a cool program). If you can’t be part of our programs (but we really hope you can), I bet you can find people at your school, work, church, community centre that are just cool. positive and inspired people.
Bottom line,
you do have control of your story. If you need inspiration there are tons of stories of people who live in or are experiencing worse situations than you and yet find ways to be inspired. Look to them for motivation.
My challenge for you today is to simply
take 3 minutes right now and do your first gratitude list. You don’t have to publish it online or make a youtube video. Just keep it yourself and feel good that you did it. The universe will reward your thoughtfulness. To help you, here are my 5 today.
1) Our entire YLCC Staff team. Without them thousands of youth would live less inspired lives.
2) Every single camp parent that reached out to me to let me know that they understood the reasons for my decisions. Thank you!
3) My Jenny. She makes me smile and laugh every single day.
4) My kids, I don’t see you enough but I know you love me and I love you.
5) To be warm and toasty in my amazing bed in this incredible peaceful country called Canada.
6)
My Podcast Partner,
Nick. It has been fun so far.
7) You, for reading this BLOG!
Ok, you got me, there were 7 (not 5) but just so you know, there was way more in my journal. When you start writing your gratitudes you will find there are always more than 3 or 5 things to be grateful for. They start to flow. You smile and you realize that you have tons of reasons to be happy and inspired.
Once you do, let me know if this helped you! I am on your team!
In leadership and gratitude,
