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Life is not suffering. Suffering is part of life, but it does not have to be the majority of it.
In other words, pain is unavoidable, but how we react to that pain is up to us, and that reaction will dictate whether or not we suffer.
Now, you may say that you’re only feeling unhappy because a negative external circumstance, your job, is causing you stress. To that, I’ll ask, While a job may be demanding, does that mean it must lead to suffering?
Our experience of reality is created from the combination of the events we encounter and what we think about them. To reiterate, our emotions come not from external events but from our thinking about them.
Today, the question isn’t whether we will survive but whether we are happy with the time we are alive. Our quality of life is determined by the peace, fulfillment, and joy we feel on a daily basis.
For most of us, however, goals born from a love of the work itself will lead to greater happiness than goals based on achieving a certain output.
Our thinking minds will convince us that we must have everything figured out. But buying into this belief will only cause additional stress and suffering. We don’t have to have it all figured out, nor can we. How can our limited minds possibly understand and try to manipulate the entire world to our desires?
The great news is that we don’t have to know everything. All we have to do is trust in our intuition and have faith that our inner wisdom will show us the best way forward.
The path to peace is not to pursue certainty but to relax into uncertainty.
While we can’t control everything that happens, we can always control our reactions and therefore our emotions. This is how we can choose to be happy—by choosing to let go of our thinking.
Other people may not agree with your decisions, but you are not here to sacrifice your peace for other peoples’ preferences.
If you had infinite resources and never had to work again, what would you do with your time? • What do you value most in life? What goals can you create that help you express those values daily? • What have you always wanted to do but haven’t had time or are afraid to do? • What activities feel most expansive and aligned with you? • What are some of your favorite ways to express your creativity? • What have you dreamed about doing since you were a little kid?
Goals - MAKE SOME
