photo credit: mkalty.org
At some point in our lives we all fall into the trap of believing that the grass is greener on the other side. Whenever you think so, you may want to check it out. Once you get there, you will probably realize that the grass on the other side is pretty much like the grass on your side. What’s more, you may even discover that the grass is not green at all.
But if the grass on the other side of the fence is actually greener, try watering your side first. Watering your side is a metaphor for getting your emotional act together and doing something about making your life better. This is about responsibility and commitment. You can sit around and climb imaginary mountains because they aren’t there — or you can climb real mountains because they are there. Which do you think will bring you more satisfaction?
Ron Smotherman in his book Winning Through Enlightenment concluded: “Satisfaction is for a very select group of people: those who are willing to be satisfied. There aren’t many around.” If you want to be in the select group of people who are generally satisfied with their lives, you must come to terms with the fact that green grass on your side of the fence — a full, relaxed, satisfying, and happy life, in other words — is the result of commitment and action.
Generally speaking, this is not understood by most humans: We are always free to change our futures by being more alive and creative in the present. Happy, successful people don’t expect mysterious forces to make tomorrow worth living. They themselves make it that way by what they do today.
According to the Buddha, “What we think, we become.” Therefore, always think and act as if you and your life really matter. At the same time, don’t do things because you feel you have to do them. Do things because you want to. The difference in the results you attain will be beyond belief.
It is folly to strive for total comfort, however. Comfort is a double-edged sword. A little will increase health and happiness — too much, and it will destroy both. Thus, be creative, active, and productive by pursuing challenging activities that require a great deal of risk and discomfort.
Have all your goals much bigger than merely making yourself comfortable. A life of passion, purpose, and success is almost always uncomfortable. Pursuing true success entails all aspects of life — the joys and the sorrows, the dullness and the excitement, and the accomplishments and the failures. This will eventually make the grass on your side of the fence a lot greener, which other people will attribute to your good luck.
Luck, incidentally, is the word we often give to remarkable success that someone less privileged and talented than we are has attained. Believe that remarkable success is a result of luck and you will have a lot of lousy luck come your way. Accept that remarkable success is a result of good character and creative action and you will bask in a lot of good luck — and a lot of green grass.
Let go of the notion that everything in life should be easy. If you succeed on the first try, you can be assured that it won’t happen again. Either that, or what you have accomplished is not worth boasting about.
Everything keeps its best character by being put to its best use. This applies to both people and things. Thus, pursue goals in harmony with your character and values. Anything short of this and you will be cheating yourself out of many hours of happiness and satisfaction each and every day. Just as telling, there will be no green grass on your side of the fence.
Whatever you dream of doing, begin today. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do,” warned Mark Twain. “So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
“Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Culled: 101 IMPORTANT THINGS YOU ALREADY KNOW BUT KEEP FORGETTING.
[notification type=”error”]Be smart! Use the subscription form on this page to subscribe to valuable contents from Knowbase. [/notification]
