Viral Happiness

The old year is gone. The New Year is now upon us.

What plans did you make at the beginning of 2008 that didn’t work out for you? What would you like to do in 2009?

We all make plans. We all have wishes, dreams, and desires, and the New Year tends to bring these wishes, dreams, and desires to the forefront of our thinking. Now is the time to do everything you can to pave the way for a better year. Now is the time to discover what has been stopping you from reaching those heights you know you should reach.

So, what’s stopping you?

I believe that the only thing that can keep you from achieving your dreams is………..

You.

That’s right. You are the culprit. You are the reason that you are not where you want to be. And I’m not saying this as a way of blaming or chastising. I’m preaching the exact same sermon to myself as I preach it to you.

I am the only person that can stop me from reaching my goals, from realizing the fulfillment of my desires. It’s me.

We may couch it in other terms. We may want to say that it’s because of our crappy jobs or the stock market or the government or a spouse or our negative upbringing or a million other superficial things that are easy to point to and blame.  But, none of that matters.

Once you cut away all the layers of excuse, we are at the core of our imagined reasons.

Now I understand that you may not be able to do everything you’d like to do immediately to change your life. But, you can do something everyday. You can decide where you’d like to be and begin taking steps in that direction.

I’ve been working on creating a system for transforming a life in 28 days, and I’ve pulled 10 specific directives for transformation out of that research and experimentation. One of these directives fits well with what I’m writing today. And that is…

Act now.

Now is the only time we have. It’s where all worthwhile action takes place. We can dream about the future and learn from the past, but the only time to act is now.

So, chart your course and act now. You don’t have to take giant steps. Just do those things everyday that take you in your desired direction.

Begin by taking ownership of your life. Accept the fact that you are the only person who ultimately gets in your way. Even if it seems that, for example, “I can’t enjoy a moment of quiet contemplation daily because my family won’t understand,” it’s not your family or anyone else that’s stopping you. It’s your concerns about how your family or boss or friends will react that’s stopping you, and that decision is your own.

There’s a Donovan song that’s a favorite of mine called “New Year’s Resovolution.” I’ve been listening to it a lot lately. Allow me to share some of the lyrics with you.

“So many times, I was the one who stopped myself from doing things.
So many times, I was the one who grounded myself and clipped my wings.”

Don’t ground yourself. Don’t clip your wings. In this ‘mystery’ of why we aren’t where we want to be, we are the culprit. We are the thief of our dreams.

It’s time to get out of your own way and soar.

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