The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.” – Thomas PaineWith January behind us and February bright on the winter horizon as a fresh clean month before us, I wonder what is ahead. What would happen if the next month, and maybe the rest of the year, was completely problem free? No deadlines, no dirty laundry, no friends in need, and no dog hair to sweep from the baseboards sounds nice on the surface. But what would we do with all the extra time? A-ha! See what just happened? A new problem for me to solve.
I’ve been inspired by several new books that I received over the holidays (yes, as you may imagine, publishers get books for gifts). This year I got some real gems. They all seem to have a similar course/theme that really got me thinking. Great books tend to do that.
In past perspectives, I’ve written about joy, overcoming challenges, helping others, living life to the fullest, accepting God’s blessings, and facing problems and challenges. These things make us feel fulfilled and genuinely happy. Of course, we all want to look, feel, and be happy! But what is it? What IS happy?
I’m not a scholar on happiness. However, I do practice it as much as possible. Since starting this publication, I’ve been happier than ever and, conversely, I’ve also had more problems. This has gotten me thinking that maybe happiness is an action noun. The idea that happiness comes from solving problems is not too hard of a concept to grasp. Some people clean to be happy — dirty problem solved. Others glean happiness from exercise and physical exertion, solving an unhealthy sedentary problem. Camping to get away from it all. Dieting because we feel fat. Teaching to see others learn. It’s not so much what we do, but why we do it.
We must do things; even doing nothing is something that solves the problem of being overworked, right? As the band Rush’s lyric says, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” To be happy, we must choose to solve our problems. Problems and challenges, therefore, are the catalyst to happiness. When we think about it that way, happiness is an easier choice to make.
Wishing you a path filled with better problems and an easier route to much happiness in your future.
to your business!