Don't rely on the future
I often hear people say: "I will be happy when..." and what follows is a range of things that people would like to happen such as finishing off a difficult project, getting a new job, buying a new car, retirement.
We are always chasing butterflies.
The problem is that we may not get the butterfly we want, or the butterfly we want is not as pretty as we'd hoped and does not make us happy. And even if we get the butterfly we want, we quickly get used to it and want an even bigger, better, rarer specimen.
It is very easy to believe that happiness can be bought with objects and events. However, if we look for happiness in objects and future events, the most we will get is a transient feeling of satisfaction. True happiness comes from within us - it is how we feel, not what we have.
I once heard a story of a multi-millionaire who was taking home all the bottles of shampoo and soaps every time she stayed in a hotel. Even a multi-million fortune did not give her the satisfaction of having enough. She still needed more butterflies.
Which butterflies are you chasing?
Be happy now
Looking for happiness in the future stops you enjoying what you have now. You can only be happy in the present moment - the future hasn't happened yet. No point in imagining how happy you will be in the future when you can only ever experience happiness in the present moment.
Take stock of what you have already in your life. Will having more things make you happy?
Take action today - don’t wait till tomorrow
Even though we try to control the future we truly do not know what is going to happen tomorrow. People often delay doing things till they retire and then they find that they are too tired or too old to do all the things they'd planned to do. I'm sure you know one or two people like that - I have certainly met plenty!
I keep my bucket list short. How? By taking action to get what I want. When I was 19 and a student at a Polish University, I wanted to improve my English and study in the UK for a year. Poland back then was behind the iron curtain and it was not easy to travel. There was also a small matter of tuition fees and the cost of living. I wrote to many organisations giving out scholarships. Over a hundred handwritten letters later, I was given enough funding to pay for my studies and several months later, I arrived at an English University.
What is on your bucket list? What is stopping you from doing it?
Don’t wait for butterflies. Get in touch with me if you would like to find out how you can have the life you want now, not tomorrow. Email: info@marlenaodonnell.com, www.resilienceandresults.com, mobile: 07732 552 995.