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Three Ways to Keep the Quest for the Best from Shortchanging Happiness
Guest articles > Three Ways to Keep the Quest for the Best from Shortchanging Happiness
by: Lisa Earle McLeod
Do you remember the first time you flew on an airplane? How about the first time you had ice cream? Or went to a fancy restaurant? Chances are, you were wowed. How about lately? Were you just as thrilled? Oh, how quickly we grow accustomed to niceties. After a few plane rides, ice cream cones, and restaurants, “special” becomes routine. And if we’re forced back to our previous pre “special” standard, it feels like downright deprivation. The beauty and curse of humans is that we’re always striving for better. But one of the secrets to daily happiness is to master the duality of gratitude for what you have while striving for better at the same time. Here are three ways to avoid letting the quest for the best keep you from being happy: 1. Focus on people instead of amenities I’m sitting on a jet taking me from one coast to the other, in under 4 hours. I have air-conditioning, heat, oxygen, free Fresca, even WiFi, and I am with my family! Yet because I was comparing it to my relatively recent new normal of first class, I felt deprived. One side of my brain was whining about my accommodations. Yet the other, higher-minded side of my brain was screaming, “Save me before I become Donald Trump!” Needing a gratitude reset at 50,000 feet, I decided to pay full attention to my daughter and discuss colleges. By focusing on the person I loved beside me, the tight quarters and lack of amenities became insignificant. 2. Stay fully present Dogs don’t have this problem. My dad’s dog is just delighted with the same
stupid rubber ball every day. Every morning, he jumps up and down, thrilled
beyond belief that my dad is about to throw the ball. The secret to staying happy is to love the ball you have while you’re playing with it. Then later, if you decide you want a better ball, make strategic plans to get one. Just don’t let the absence of a better ball keep you from enjoying an afternoon with a worn out one. 3. Don’t compare, laugh instead It’s stunning how much of our happiness is within our own control. You only get this day once, how are you going to experience it?
Lisa Earle McLeod is a sales leadership consultant. Companies like Apple, Kimberly-Clark and Pfizer hire her to help them create passionate, purpose-driven sales forces. She the author of several books including Selling with Noble Purpose: How to Drive Revenue and Do Work That Makes You Proud, a Wiley publication, released Nov. 15, 2012. She has appeared on The Today Show, and has been featured in Forbes, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal. She provides executive coaching sessions, strategy workshops, and keynote speeches. More info: www.mcleodandmore.com Lisa's Blog How Smart People Can Get Better At Everything Copyright 2014 Lisa Earle McLeod. All rights
reserved. Contributor: Lisa Earle McLeod Published here on: 07-Dec-14 Classification: Development Website: www.mcleodandmore.com
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