Welcome to So Much Happier!
“To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.”
If you've been alive for more than a few years, you've probably noticed that this world is a messy place in which nothing ever goes quietly and obediently according to plan. If you want to do anything but trudge through life in a groove of endless repetition, you will be contending with the chaos of factors too numerous to count in an intimate, challenging, often frustrating tango. It's unavoidable. But how we dance is what makes us the people we are and determines our potential, who we can be. Do we practice our repertoire of steps with dedicated determination and call our creativity up from the depths to give birth to crafty new steps? Do we throw ourselves into the dance with our whole selves despite adversity and inevitable heartbreak? Do we remain committed to partnering the ephemeral when we've been dropped on the hard floor from a high, fast-spinning lift? Or do we let the pain ground us, turn off the spirit of fire within in order to live a life of greater comfort in which we feel vaguely lost and conflicted?
We retain the choice to attempt to live fully, zestfully, expressively, attempting to be the most ourselves we can in every moment; even if there are serious impediments holding us back, such as illness, limited resources, etc., we can still make this our intent. Or we can abdicate our effort, put our passion on the back burner, batten down the hatches, and let life just spin us as it will and try to endure. A lot of us end up in this survival mode a lot more often than we’d prefer. After all, life on planet Earth is challenging, and we all get overwhelmed at times. Most of us have been ill prepared for life as an adult in important ways, whether in important practical skills such as how to budget, pay bills in an organized fashion, cook, or clean, or in social skills like comfortably meeting new people, making small talk, communicating effectively, negotiating, and resolving disputes. There can be so much in the way of our smooth functioning in these everyday necessities that it feels like we can never be free to live a life that feels like it’s truly ours. But the case is never hopeless unless we decide that it is.
Your time on this planet is limited. Are you really living it? Are you making progress toward things that matter to you on a deep personal level? Even if it’s very slow progress, you still get credit here! If you’re not, are you willing to stay out on the floor and keep trying new steps until you find ways through or around impediments? Are you willing to exert effort to make your life into a better expression of your unique talents and potential?
If so, I’ll be offering you ideas, resources, and thoughts on your process here in this blog. But we’re in this together. I’ve been working for years on projects that have given me insights to share, but no one has all the answers. When we support each other with the best we have to offer, we can make leaps forward that we would never be able to achieve alone. To me, that’s the most exciting thing in the world. I want to help empower you to have more of what you want and be more of your best self so that you can go out and delight and empower others. When we all do that, that’s when life really becomes fun.
In his novel Still Life with Woodpecker, Tom Robbins writes that there are really only two mantras, “Yum” and “Yuck.” Will you affirm the “Yum” in life and in yourself enough to commit to harnessing your passion constructively? Will you live with death-defying courage even in the face of difficulty and confusion, knowing that this is the only way to stay open to the unfolding of a better life? Choose wisely today, and every day. You deserve to live a life of joy and gratitude. I look forward to sharing your journey, and supporting it in whatever way I can so that you can continue to discover more, be more, become more. Let’s do this.