Happiness is the only sanction of life; where happiness fails, existence remains a mad and lamentable experiment – George Santayana. Oftentimes, we are lost in the middle of everything and nothing. This article thus addresses 8 important things that we need to pay attention to in our lives:
Happiness (self-satisfaction)
While we care about a lot of things, trying to meet up with life bills
and budget, running around to satisfy people, we, along the way, ignore
ourselves. We try to sacrifice our progress for the happiness of others,
forgetting that they may not go the length for us as we do for them. It is therefore important that we consider ourselves in whatever decisions we make. You want to make others happy, but you also deserve the same.
Environment
(home, organization)
According
to John Muir, most people are on the world, not in it, and have no conscious
sympathy or relationship to anything about them. Our environment makes us; it
determines what we become. A toxic environment raises toxic
people. A toxic family raises toxic children. Our family or home would make as
much impact as our office will. Ken Saro-Wiwa says that the
environment is man’s first right. Without a safe environment, man cannot exist
to claim other rights, be they political, social, or economic. Therefore,
ensure you are in an environment that could sustain your life and growth.
Career
(job, starting business, promotion)
Every
man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or
anything else, is always a portrait of himself – Samuel Butler. Your job
defines you; there is dignity in labor, no matter
how small or big, as long as it is legal. According to Max Weber, the
earning of money within the modern economic order is, so long as it is done
legally, the result and the expression of virtue and proficiency in a calling.
Don’t be ashamed of your job, but ensure it offers promotion and career growth.
It should always make you better and create more opportunities for you. Once
you are not growing in your career, then there is a need for review.
Finances
(saving, salary, budgeting)
According
to William Ewart, finance is, as it were, the stomach of the country, from
which all the other organs take their tone. Sometimes, our finances show how
much we can run a life or lead a better life. That is why some countries use
the credit system to measure how well someone has been doing financially. If
your finances aren’t so good, then there is a need to do better. According to
Ambrose Bierce, finance is the art or science of managing revenues and
resources for the best advantage of the manager.
See also:
How to build a Strong Mental Mind
Relationships
(romance, friends, family)
The
people in your environment, whether family, business colleagues, or office
partners, also determine who we become in life. If you
keep bad friends, you're likely to become a bad person. We should always ensure
that, whether it is a romantic relationship, a family, a business, or an office,
the right and positive people surround us. Too many negative people can make us
negative, and vice versa. Never keep the yes-men around you, who, even when you
are blind and almost in a ditch, will still tell you that you are right. Always
have those who tell you the truth around you, because they are the only ones
who love you. Kahlil Gibran says that every two souls are
absolutely different; in friendship or in love, the two side by side raise
hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.
Personal
growth (goal, reading, routine)
According
to Alan Watts, in Taoism, that which is absolutely still or absolutely perfect
is absolutely dead, for without the possibility of growth and change, there can
be no Tao. Growth determines and defines how far we have come in our life’s
journey. It is very important to measure our personal growth at every stage of
our life. We can keep getting better every day either by reading, setting goals,
or keeping daily health routines. Once we stop growing, then we are
dead. It is not necessary for growth to be quick or immediate;
rather, it should be steady. Louis Gerstner says, size is not a deterrent to
success; I have never seen a small company that didn’t want to be a big one;
the challenge is being big without being slow.
The 3 Moments of Life: Morning, Afternoon and Night
Mental
Health (self-care, therapy)
According
to Eleanor Roosevelt, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. While
people can’t get us down physically, they try to get us down mentally. They
play with our psyche till we are down where they want us. Many people might be
physically okay but not mentally. Most times, we pay more attention to
our physical health than our mental health, forgetting that it is what is in us
that manifest. Inspirations come from within, and if we do not
have them, the body has nothing to actualize. When we see the need to go for
therapy, then we should, in a bid to make ourselves better. Benjamin Disraeli
says, the health of the people is really the foundation upon which
all their happiness and all their powers as a State depend.
Physical
health (eating, exercise, rest/sleep)
The body must be repaired and supported, if we would preserve the mind in all its vigor – Pliny the Younger. Physical health is very important, as it is the engine that drives our thoughts and actualizes them. We need to eat properly, rest, and sleep when we should. This refreshes the brain, body, and mind, and prepares us for the next challenge. Also, we need to exercise our bodies to keep them healthy and ready. Diana Princess of Wales says, by focusing their energies on controlling their bodies, they had found a refuge from having to face the more painful issues at the centre of their lives.
We should therefore endeavor to consider our health (physical and mental), relationships, happiness, comfort, finances, and career in whatever decisions we make. Remember, everyone for himself, God for us all.
Remember to drop a comment and share this post with friends. Thanks for reading.
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