By: Brian Gilleece
**Zhōuyī kuàilè** That's Happy Monday in Chinese! Look at you learning something already! Let's get to it!
HARD THINGS ARE HARD - ARE YOU MAKING YOUR LIFE HARDER?
Everything is hard, seriously, that's what I have learned. Every single thing is hard, BUT, are things that are in your control being made harder by you? Ughh Ohh. Let's check the box's below and see if things could be little less hard by you, the man or lady in the mirror.
1. YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU Was the casting director short with you? Did you agent not email you back right away about new shots? Did your friend flake on you for coffee? Chances are excellent none of this behavior is about you, because guess what, the world does not revolve around you. LOL. Maybe the casting director has a cold, maybe your agent is trying to close a bunch of deals, maybe your friend got stuck at work.
If you go around thinking everyone else's behavior is about you, you are guaranteed to be making your life way harder than it has to be. Instead, assume that others' actions could just as easily be about their own private struggles, biases, or pain. You'll be happier, less discouraged, and less frequently angry.
2. YOU HAVE AN ALL OR NOTHING MENTALITY Wrap your head around this, I'm sorry to say, BUT, you are never going to be the best at anything. Being the BEST at something in the world is a vanishingly small percentage point of coming true. That does not mean you cant be great, but, if you're always seeking more -- more success, more perfection, more than the guy next door has -- you will never be satisfied. If you're always waiting to arrive at the pinnacle to be happy, you're always going to be miserable. What does exist, however, is a continuous series of imperfect moments filled with infinite possibilities and opportunities. Appreciate the grey area between the extremes - the journey," they instruct.
3. YOU AIM FOR CONSTANT HAPPINESS What could possibly be wrong with Americans' recent obsession with happiness? According to a ton of research, constantly striving to feel good, actually often backfires. By unrealistically raising our expectations and teaching us to believe that constant, unending bliss is possible, this focus on happiness just makes people feel bad about themselves when they inevitably face struggles and low moods.
Living a good life involves doing hard things, and doing hard things will not always be fun. If you're expecting to be happy all the time, you're just making your life more difficult than it needs to be.
4. YOU ALLOW NEGATIVE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE Surrounding yourself with negativity won't just kill your joy and drive you crazy, the stress from all their drama can even seriously harm your health and make your part of your own self made negativity vortex. The solution is pretty straightforward: You got to cut itttt....Don't engage with the drama queens and moaners, whiners and energy sucks and you're life will get instantly easier.
5. YOU IGNORE HEALTH BASICS If your parents did not teach you how to eat properly, MAN, figure this thing out fast or your gonna jack your whole thing up. Snickers bars can be tasty, but if you think you're slick and regularly ignore the basic health advice you've no doubt heard a thousand times by eating crap, sleeping a crazy schedule, skipping exercise, you are going to feel like junk, look like junk and perform like junk. And know what this town hates, JUNK. And then, yes, life will feel harder than it has to be, your brain won't work as well, your body won't perform as well and people won't respond to you as well, simple as that. Following a few reasonable health and wellness recommendations really can make every other aspect of your life feel MUCH easier.
Things are hard enough already, don't be a part of that.
