Stop worrying about things which are beyond your will!

Live Longer, Be Happy!

By Lionel Ketchian
"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." - Epictetus

Nine years ago, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reached their conclusions about the protective effect of happiness after analyzing data on 2,478 men and women. They were all 65 years of age or older.

These people were all given a questionnaire that consisted of twenty questions or statements that required a yes or no response. Sixteen of these were negative pronouncements such as "I felt that I could not shake off the blues, even with the help of my family and friends," "I thought that my life had been a failure" and "I felt fearful." The other four statements were positive, such as "I felt that I was just as good as other people," and "I felt hopeful about the future."

None of the participants had ever had a stroke at the time the questionnaire was completed. The researchers then followed the participants over a six-year period to see how their health had changed. During that time, out of the 2,478 people who took the study, 340 had strokes, and 75 of these people died. The researchers then tried to connect those occurrences to the participants' original answers to the questionnaire.

For each "yes" answer to a positive statement there was a 26% decrease in the risk of stroke. Let's take a close look at this study. There were 20 questions or statements, 16 negative ones that dealt with unhappiness, and 4 positive ones that were about being happy and optimistic. If they had answered yes to all 4 positive statements there was a 100% chance of not having a stroke. Strokes are the third most common cause of death and they are the leading cause of long-term disability among the elderly.

This study was published on Friday, March 23, 2001, in the Journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. Researchers said that this study shows that "high levels of positive effect" seem to shield older people from having a stroke. Elderly folks who often feel blue tend to have more strokes than those who are not depressed, according to the study.

I am very happy that this study has been done. We can now all see the positive effect of "Being Happy," on the health, quality, and length of life. If you are the type of person that needs proof, then here you have it - "Proof Positive," is here for you to see!

The need to become happy is one that we must learn to embrace. If it is not enough to know that it affects your health, now you know it is nothing less than a life and death matter. Your thinking, your state of mind, and the way you feel, all have a direct effect on your health.

You have a choice right now to look at things differently. Now you know that having an unhappy outlook may result in proving yourself right. Is unhappiness worth the price we'd have to all pay? NO, the price is much too high. Take control of your happiness, it is one of the most important things that you can do. Do you really think you can control all the people and circumstances in your life? You will wear yourself out trying. Take control of yourself, which is where your power lies.

"At every single moment of one's life, one is going to be no less than what one has been." - Oscar Wilde

If you are unhappy now, then in the next moment you will be no less than you have been, and that is unhappy. The good news is that this can work the other way for you. If you decide to be happy now, your next moment will be no less than what it has been. Your happiness or unhappiness is your intention to decide how things will continue to be. If you decide to be happy, than you have sent that intention ahead of you to act as your trailblazer for the path you shall travel. Life is hard enough without being your own worst enemy!

Walk with happiness, get the feel of it in your stride, in your head, and in your heart. You will experience the very best that life has to offer you. Of course you will encounter negative things along the way, just like anyone else. But you will be taking the high road in life and you will be doing the best you can with what you have. You will feel happiness within yourself and you will spread it naturally and effortlessly to everyone you meet, the happy and the not so happy.

By taking happiness for yourself, you will be able to give it to others. How can you give away what you do not have. Another important aspect about living a happy life is the fact that you will be spreading happiness in the world. This world needs happiness more than anything. What a wonderful gift your happiness will make. You will make all the difference in the world, and you will do it by "Being Happy."

Avoid having a stroke, Live Longer, Be Happy!

Authentic Power!

Authentic Power

By Lionel Ketchian

Authentic Power!


"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public." These are the powerful words by one of our past Presidents, Robert F. Kennedy.

Now more than ever we seem to be living in a world where the abuse of power has become headline news every single day! "We have, I fear, confused power with greatness," said Stewart L. Udall in his commencement address to Dartmouth College graduates on June 13, 1965.

Yes, and what an important difference! The tenth edition of Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines the word POWER: as ability to act or produce an effect.

We want power, we fear power, but we really do not understand power. We have all heard the quote: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," by historian Lord Acton who lived from 1834 to 1902. He issued epic warnings that political power is the most serious threat to liberty. Consider this one: "The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse," words uttered by Edmund Burke in 1771.

But do we understand what real power is? Maybe we must call real power - "authentic power." Authentic power is the power that comes from Being Happy. Being happy means realizing that you cannot be happy unless you are in control of yourself.

This power allows you to experience being stronger, smarter, freer and more comfortable and fully yourself. It allows you to take action. It is the power TO DO IT! It is A CAN DO attitude even if you think you can't. It lets you decide what is good for you. It means doing what you can, when you can, rather than waiting for someone or something to change on it's own. It is a method of taking charge of your life and being responsible for yourself.

It means finding the solutions to a problem, and making the best choice now. Authentic power means never volunteering to make yourself a victim. It means that you do not try to control other people. It means that you do not allow yourself to be forced into acting the way that others think you should act. It allows you to feel like you can change the world because you are taking control of yourself. It allows you to deal with difficult people and anger when it arises.

It gives you the ability to cope with fear and anxiety, forgive people and stop labeling them. Free yourself from self-doubt and despair, stop feeling guilty, and let go of the past so you don't react to the moment from your past conditioning. It means you become proactive to allow your wisdom and common sense to make the change you want to see in the next moment. Authentic power is a mechanism to access new habits to self-empowerment. This power must always include wisdom because without wisdom power is unwieldy and hard to handle.

Wisdom is nothing more than having the discipline to do the right thing at the right time. "We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom," said Stephen Vincent Benet in 1935. His words are just as true today; people seek power without seeking wisdom. "What is strength without a double share of wisdom?" said Milton in 1671. If you could have wisdom you could gain all the power you could ever require.

Charles Caleb Colton said in 1825, "No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power." This is reason enough to develop power within yourself and not give it to everyone who says they know more than you do. When you choose unhappiness you give people and circumstances power and control over you. When you are unhappy you're giving your power away. You are allowing situations to be more important than the power of control you have within yourself.

Being happy is a method of reassuring yourself that you have the wisdom to think clearly about what has happened. To trust yourself and make choices that will get you where you want to be. Authentic power means having value and meaning in your life, and this allows you to live the life you choose to live.

Happiness is power for those who practice it. It is a power that requires discipline. Power without discipline, is like a car without brakes. Power is energy and discipline is the control of that energy. Robert Louis Stevenson said, "There is no duty so much underrated as the duty of being happy." Make it your duty to practice being happy so you can make this power work for you.

"The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good." Baltasar Gracian wrote these words in 1647 in The Art of Worldly Wisdom, a magnificent book. Happy people are good people, and they are also powerful individuals. They know what they want and they know how to get what they need.

As Goethe wrote: "As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live." Happiness gives you the ability to use the power within you. Real power is not power over someone else; it is power within yourself. "An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens," these are powerful words by another of our past Presidents, Thomas Jefferson.

Love Powers Happiness

Love Powers Happiness

The Happiest People
Are The Most Loving People
Habitually Happy people are very kind, caring, compassionate and generous.
They have high ethics, integrity and live in harmony with their surroundings. People like, respect, admire and trust them.
They love what they do, they love the people around them, they love their work and they love themselves. Love truly does propel happiness.
The best way to excel and do well is to cultivate a love for what you do.
Love Is An Active Verb - It is something we can decide to do.
Love is an emotion we can choose to feel and project and share with others. Love can be expressed through everything we do. Love is not just something that happens to us, it is something we can decide to summon up, proect and share with the world.
Wrap work and chores in affection.  See each task or step as a satisfying achievement that moves you closer to success or a worthwhile goal.
Expect To Enjoy Your Work And
Find Ways To Make Work Enjoyable And Rewarding
Decide what you are going to do and find ways to make it fun and meaningful.
Actively dreading or disliking tasks you have to complete allows negativity to detract from both your enjoyment and your ability to perform well. Try wrapping Have To Do's in a little bit of love.

Wherever Love Is Limited Or Lacking There Is NO Happiness
Love Powers And Propels Happiness
The more we love, the happier we become.
The Best Way To Be Happy And Spiritually Successful Is To Love Expansively And Extensively
Related Posting - Enjoying Work
Copyright 1999- , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Explore HappinessHabit.com and HappinessBlog.com for more Creating Happiness quotes.  Our materials may NOT be published, broadcast, redistributed or rewritten without written permission from the authors.

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