The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is – here’s the clincher – boredom.
Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all.
I’m often asked how I define “success.” It’s an overused
term, but I fundamentally view this elusive beast as a combination of
two things – achievement and appreciation.
On the Jar Of Awesome:
There is a mason jar on my kitchen counter with JAR OF AWESOME in
glitter letters on the side. Anything something really cool happens in a
day, something that made me excited or joyful, doctor’s orders are to
write it down on a slip of paper and put it in this mason jar.
On the Jar Of Awesome: When something great happens, you think you’ll remember it 3 months later, but you won’t.
On the Jar Of Awesome: Cultivate the habtis of putting
something in every day. Can’t think of anything? “I didn’t die today!”
is a reliable winner.
The key to not feeling rushed is remembering that lack of time is actually lack of priorities.
I leaned against the wall and slid down until I was
sitting on the floor. I closed my eyes, smiled, and took a deep breath.
Things were about to change. Everything was about to change.
If you don’t regularly appreciate the small wins, you
will never appreciate the big wins. They’ll all fall through your
fingers like sand as you obsess on the next week, the next to-do, the
next thing to fix.
Friction points and single points of failure happen in
any given day potentially, so think in a concise, intelligent way. Out
of five items to do, which one would make you satisfied with your entire
day?
The question no one really seemed to be answering was:
‘Why do it all in the first place? What’s the pot of gold that justifies
spending the best years of you life hoping for happiness in the last?’.
Look for the good, practice finding the good, and you’ll see it more often.
For anything approaching happiness, you have to want what you already have.
Love is the bond of brotherhood. Lailah Gifty Akita
Every man’s in his own hands, with a little help from his brothers. Janet Morris
There’s no other love like the love for a brother. There’s no other love like the love from a brother. Astrid Alauda
I was born into the most remarkable and eccentric family I could have possibly hoped for. Maureen O’Hara
Siblings (n.) a combination of a best friend and a pain
in the neck. They might be the most annoying people around you but you
still love them endlessly.
Whatever you do they will love you; even if they don’t
love you they are connected to you till you die. You can be boring and
tedious with sisters, whereas you have to put on a good face with
friends. Deborah Moggach
As sure as the sun will rise every morning and set in the
evening just the same, I will love you all the days of my life. Fawn
Weaver
You my brother have always been a support in my life, you
have always had encouraging words for me as a child and now into our
adult years. I know I can always count on you being there. What would I
ever do without you! Catherine Pulsifer
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions. Proverbs 10:12
I believe that we must reach our brother, never toning
down our fundamental oppositions, but meeting him when he asks to be
met, with a reason for the faith that is in us, as well as with a loving
sympathy for them a brothers. Dorothy Day
If you have a brother or sister, tell them you love them
every day – that’s the most beautiful thing. I told my sister how much I
loved her every day. That’s the only reason I’m OK right now. Amaury
Nolasco
Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when
he is sick and useless as when he is well and an be of service to him.
And blessed is he who loves his brother as well when he is afar off as
when he is by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he
might not, in love, say before his face. St. Francis of Assisi
I think people that have a brother or sister don’t realize how lucky they are. Sure, they fight a lot, but to know that there’s always somebody there, somebody that’s family. Trey Parker
My family is everything. I am what I am thanks to my
mother, my father, my brother, my sister… because they have given me
everything. The education I have is thanks to them. Ronaldinho
I placed you in my heart since you were born. You are the
best gift ever that I’ve gotten from our parents. I’m so lucky to have
you as my younger brother. Sam Dawn
I’ve been blessed to have a brother like you. You’re my
pal, my buddy and my best friend too. And it means a lot having a
brother like you. Unknown
Love between brothers is messy, loud, rough, sweet, fierce, fun, unique, forever. Unknown
Bare is a brotherless behind. Swedish proverb
Nothing can stop me from loving my brother. Brandy Norwood
Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. Karl Barth
Joy is a heart full and a mind purified by gratitude. Marietta McCarty
My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus. Stephen Hawking
If you want to find happiness, find gratitude. Steve Maraboli
Giving thanks for abundance is greater than the abundance itself. Rumi
Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace
of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us,
there’s always something we could be grateful for. Barry Neil Kaufman
Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in
our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we
have we will not be happy – because we will always want to have
something else or something more. David Steindl-Rast
The things you really need are few and easy to come by;
but the things you can imagine you need are infinite, and you will never
be satisfied. Epicurus
We’re a nation hungry for more joy: because we’re starving from a lack of gratitude. Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection)
Of the blessings set before you, make your choice, and be content. Samuel Johnson
Gratitude is the state of mind of thankfulness. As it is
cultivated, we experience an increase in our “sympathetic joy,” our
happiness at another’s happiness. Just as in the cultivation of
compassion, we may feel the pain of others, so we may begin to feel
their joy as well. And it doesn’t stop there. Stephen Levine
Gratitude unlocks all that’s blocking us from really
feeling truthful, really feeling authentic and vulnerable and happy.
Gabrielle Bernstein
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. Oprah Winfrey
Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It
turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…
it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision
for tomorrow. Melody Beattie
Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude. Joseph Wood Krutch
A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world. Joseph Addison
Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings
joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around
you. Eileen Caddy
Gratitude also opens your eyes to the limitless potential
of the universe, while dissatisfaction closes your eyes to it. Stephen
Richards
The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in
everything; the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing. Hannah
Whitall Smith
Expectation has brought me disappointment. Disappointment has brought me wisdom. Acceptance, gratitude and appreciation have brought me joy and fulfillment. Rasheed Ogunlaru
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or
consumed. Happiness is a spiritual experience of living every minute
with love, grace and gratitude. Dennis Waitley
Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man
has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
Charles Dickens
It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment. Naomi Williams
