Category Archives: Happiness

#116: “Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities…”

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“…but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant.”

– Charles A. Cerami, author

Many years ago, I read an article in a magazine entitled “Life Balance is Bunk!”

When I work with clients, many indicate that living a balanced life is one of their primary objectives. But if you study the world of personal and professional high achievement, you’ll find two things.

First, high achievers lead very imbalanced lives. Second, they are very happy and have actually chosen this imbalance at this point in their lives.

Exercise:

Rebalance your life by adding more of some things and reducing – or even stopping – certain other activities. If you do this exercise often, you will find that you too will have a somewhat unbalanced but happier life.

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Quote 119: “Happiness is not a state to arrive at but, rather, a manner of traveling.”

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“Happiness is not a state to arrive at but, rather, a manner of traveling.”

– Samuel Johnson, author, literary critic and lexicographer

I truly enjoy some of the deep and probing discussions I have with my clients as they explore their own success journeys.

One simple and useful discussion relating to happiness involves these three words: be, do, have.

People often get this process backwards. They believe that when they have X they will do Y and be happier.

As a coach, I encourage them to begin with their state of being, that informs their doing, that in turn will help them have a life they desire.

Exercise:

Revisit your list of core values and fundamental beliefs from the exercise for Quote #32, to find the source of your being, so you can be happier.

You can find Quote #32 archived on The Quotable Coach website here:  https://www.thequotablecoach.com/purpose/a-man-should-conceive-of-a-legitimate-purpose

#107: “Often the greatest enemy of present happiness is past happiness too well remembered.”

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– Oscar Hammling, writer

Many of us long for the good old days, the years of our youth – where things seemed simpler and the stresses of the modern world didn’t knock on our door, call us on our phone, or enter our email inboxes.

We selectively go into our memory banks and replay all those reruns of family vacations, personal adventures, and winning moments … without any of the commercials that were there all along.

Exercise:

Consider the Kodak experience at Disney World. Perhaps “making memories” is what our days are for. With this perspective in mind, how do you intend to live this day?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#105: “Make happy those who are near and those who are far will come.”

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– Chinese proverb

Many years ago, I read a little book entitled Fish that presented a simple set of concepts to improve every work environment. The concept I remember most is “make their day.”

I get great pleasure looking for opportunities to add just a little bit more sunshine, one more smile, or an additional laugh to someone’s day. (Pretty corny, huh?)

The people in this world who focus on others tend to attract more people and more opportunities into their lives. We speak about their personalities with terms like “charisma” and “magnetic.”

Exercise:

What efforts do you take daily to support the happiness of others?

Who are the people in your life that bring you the greatest happiness?

What else can you do today and in the future to “make their day” and, in turn, attract more good things into your life?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#97: “It has been my observation that people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

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– Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

Could it be that simple? Can we just make the choice to be happy?

We have all heard stories of people with great beauty, talent, and financial wealth who are miserable. We are also aware of entire societies where people have very limited worldly possessions, yet live joyful lives.

What’s the secret? Can we actually be the architects of our own happy lives?

Abraham Lincoln refers to the word “mind” as the source. Today, there’s the entire field of positive psychology to explore this in great detail.

Exercise:

Consider purchasing a copy of Martin Seligman’s book Authentic Happiness or Tal Ben-Shahar’s book Happier, and make up your own mind.

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#87: “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play…”

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“… his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.”

– James Michener, author

When I was a young boy, my dad used to tell me that I had to get all my work done before I could go out and play. At that time, work and play were definitely separated. One was hard and difficult; the other was fun and exciting.

When we see adults for whom this distinction does not exist, it helps us make a life-altering shift. Work and play can be one and the same.

Exercise:

How can you play at work and work at play?

What level of life satisfaction would be possible?

How can you be an inspiration to others to do the same?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#85: “Hardening of the heart ages people faster than hardening of the arteries.”

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– William James, psychologist and philosopher

Do you know anyone in your life who is a grumpy old man or woman? They don’t even need to be chronologically old – they simply act old by:

  • Looking for what’s wrong in things and others
  • Being skeptical and cynical
  • Being overly serious
  • Not smiling enough
  • Not looking for the beauty around them

Exercise:

To clear out your arteries and find your own fountain of youth, try:

  • Finding what’s right and what works
  • Being open and receptive to the thoughts and ideas of others
  • Working on building your funnybone and your sense of humor
  • Smiling and saying “thank you” more often
  • Creating a daily gratitude and/or beauty journal to begin seeing the world with a lighter heart

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#78: “No one who rises before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich.”

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– Chinese proverb

When I was little, I remember waking up very early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. There were no VCRs or DVRs: if you didn’t get up, you missed it! I guess watching cartoons and playing was my “work.” I did this work gladly because it brought me pleasure.

As adults, many people begrudgingly wake up to go to work, in order to earn a living and take care of their families.

Exercise:

What would get you to leap out of bed each morning, with that excitement of youth? What skills could you master and what riches would you attract into your life?

How can you go beyond simply making a living to making your life a masterpiece?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#63: “Life is playfulness…”

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“…We need to play so that we can rediscover the magic all around us.”

– Flora Colao

As a child, I remember being told “you cannot go out and play until the work is done.” It turned out that there was always work to do – in the form of chores and schoolwork.

Years ago, I took a one-year course called The Wisdom Course that was all about bringing greater playfulness into my life. It was around this time that I left my 12-year corporate job to begin my coaching career.

As the saying goes, when you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life. Most days, my work feels like play.

Exercise:

How can you bring greater magic into your life by bringing more playfulness into your work and your personal life?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#62: “The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow…”

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“The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won’t wait while you finish the work.”

– Patricia Clifford

Are you missing too many rainbows? Do you sometimes feel that life is passing you by? Do you tell yourself that you will have the time in the future – perhaps on the weekend or on vacation, or even when you retire – to get to the things that matter?

We cannot schedule life’s rainbows. We have to seize the precious moments when they occur.

Exercise:

How can you be more intentionally tuned into your world and find greater joy and fulfillment in life’s special moments?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.