If you had a chance to experience even a little bit of joy every day, wouldn’t you take it? What’s stopping you right now? You can make the conditions right. You deserve to have overwhelming joy in your life. It’s the best make up.
DAY
297
“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word—excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”
— Pearl S. Buck
During the last several days, you’ve been reading a lot about joy and work. The best way to combine the two is to strive for excellence. When your work reaches the definition of excellence, it is of such high quality that it is exceptional. It is not the norm. You stick out in a crowd.
That is exactly what you want when you strive to achieve your dreams. Your ultimate goal is not to make a lot of money. That is a byproduct. The definitive prize is to achieve excellence. You want to shine brightly in this world, and you will when you learn how to do something very well. Let’s go over the basic steps on your path toward excellence. They are the following:
1. Find your passion.
2. Work very hard at learning how to do it extremely well.
3. Experience joy in the excellence you have achieved.
Money and fame will come later. If you find joy in working very hard on your passions in life, then you will be making a contribution that is worth recognition and reward. Write down these three basic steps and stick them on the mirror in your bathroom. Ask yourself if you are adhering to them every day.
DAY
298
“The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don’t have to gain, develop, or attain them. We’re like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don’t need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are—as soon as we quit pretending we’re small or unholy.”
— Unknown
Every single tool you need for success is already within you. You have everything you need. The greatest deterrent to success is the limitation you place on yourself. You are not small. You are not unholy. You are a unique gift, and no one possesses your particular talents. It is imperative that you stop selling yourself short and start accepting your brilliance.
Find a quiet place today and take your journal with you. Write about your gifts. Close your eyes and visualize the power you hold within you. The tools for success are not hidden somewhere out in the universe. You don’t need to go on a long expedition to find them. They are inside of you at this very moment waiting to be put to work. It is so incredibly important to realize and accept that simple fact. You don’t have to wonder if you’ve got the goods to be a success. You do. So you can stop asking that question. You have the answer.
Your task now is to take action. Don’t put off your achievements because you are unsure of yourself. Honor the peace, wisdom, and joy that are part of you already. Find out today what you can achieve by using the gifts you already possess.
DAY
299
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Are you starting to get sick of all this lofty talk about the power you possess within you? Are you just not feeling it? Then today’s exercise was created especially for you.
There will be days when you simply don’t feel the joy. You know you should be grateful for your talents and working hard to achieve success, but you are not experiencing the happiness inside that you think you should be feeling.
The good news is that happens to everyone. It’s hard to maintain a high level of happiness all the time. Emotions dip, and you will hit times when you feel a little blah about the whole endeavor. Those low energy times can be expected, but you can control how long you wallow in them. If you are traveling along the path to success, and you fall in a mud puddle, you decide how long you are going to roll around in it before you get back up and move on.
You do not have to sit and wait for joy to show up. That could take quite a long time. Take action and coax happiness back into your life. The quote above provides one great way to do that. Sometimes joy is the source of your smile. If it’s not, then try starting with the smile. That might become the source of your joy.
When you are feeling low, practice being happy. Smile in spite of yourself. Do something nice for someone and enjoy their reaction. Complete a task you’ve been putting off for months. Find at least one positive thing to do. Joy will come if you coax it.
DAY
300
“If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.”
— Mitsugi Saotome
Congratulations! You made it to Day 300. Spend some time today considering your journey thus far. Are you making changes in your life? Your metamorphosis started out small, but by now you might be seeing a significant change in yourself.
Write about how you have evolved over the last three hundred days. Do you like the person you are becoming? What else needs to be done to complete the metamorphosis? Do you feel like you’re getting ready to spread your wings and take flight, or is fear still holding you on the ground?
You have come a very long way, and there are only sixty-five days left to complete this year-long journey. This milestone is a good time to remember that you are not on this road alone. Your interaction with others is what gives your life meaning. Did you block yourself off from those around you while you were hard at work achieving your dreams?
Think about ways in which you can draw people into your life and discover the joy of each other. This isn’t a solo mission. Life is so much richer when you share it with others. Have you been talking about the changes you have experienced with anyone else? Have the people who are close to you noticed a change and asked you what you’re up to? Maybe now is the time for you to begin to relate this extraordinary journey to others. Share your recent challenges and growth. You may find friends who have had similar experiences.
DAY
301
“I just wish my mouth had a backspace key.”
— Anonymous
Who among us hasn’t said something we regret at some point in time? It’s a horrible feeling, isn’t it? It would be nice to install a backspace key somewhere in the mouth area, but until a brilliant mind comes up with that feature, you need to consider other effective remedies. Clean up your poorly chosen phrases, especially those that cause harm to others.