Josiah's ABC's to Happiness

Josiah's ABC's to happiness.

A- Appreciation

There is nothing in life that we are entitled to. Anything and everything could be taken from us in 1 minute, 1 hour, or 1 decade. Because of that, we must appreciate everything we have while we have it or it might be too late.

B - Be

There was once a question posed: "To be, or not to be...?" The answer is BE! Shakespeare describes "being" as living with pains and troubles, but describes "not being" as a place from where "no traveller returns." Then who/what should you BE? We should not worry about who we are not, but we should BE who we are and the joy will follow.

C - Choose

We cannot always choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we react. Choose to be HAPPY!

D - Delight

A true measure of your happiness is the extent to which you delight in other people's happiness. It is easy to be excited when things are going well for you, but how hard is it to be happy when things may not go as planned and others are having success at the same time. Your happiness in life will increase 100x as you learn to delight in the happiness of others.

E - Endure

Doctrine and Covenants Chapter 121
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

When tough times come your way, if you are able to endure it, you will come out happier than before. This is a promise from God, not me.

F - Forgive

Forgive and the joy will follow.

Withholding forgiveness from someone is the same as withholding happiness from yourself and your offender. Forgiveness will lighten the pain felt by all parties and will replace it with joy.

G - Gratitude

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur

We may say "Thank you" or "Thanks" a lot, but do we really mean it? Express your gratitude to others and you will enjoy life and in turn allow others to feel valued. All in all, Gratitude is what makes love deepen and friendships strengthen.

H - Humor

Humor can cure even the worst case of the blues. Life is too short to not fill each day with laughter and joy.

I - Integrity

Having personal integrity and being honest in all your dealings will set you free from your own mental and emotional traps and will allow you to experience an increase in joy.

J - Joy

There is a Chinese saying...知足常乐 (jer zoo chong le). What this says is: If you find joy in what you have, more happiness will come your way. It is not just saying be content with what you have and don't strive for anything else. It is saying that you need to put forth your best effort and be happy with the result and then more happiness will come.

K - Knowledge

Knowledge gives us the perspective needed to look past the small things and focus on what is important.

Although knowledge learned in school and through life experiences is important, that is not the knowledge I am talking about. I am talking about the knowledge about the 3 pillars of our existence: Where do I come from? Why am I here?and Where do I go when I die? Knowledge related to these pillars will help us understand the broad picture and will help to put any trials or heartaches we may encounter in our lives in perspective.

L - Love

One big problem in the world today is that love is viewed as a noun rather than a verb.

To me love is ...
...being a shoulder to cry on.
...a mother who sacrifices so much for her children, even if they are not appreciative.
...a soldier who goes to war to defend and protect those he/she doesn't know.

All in all, love is Lifting Others and Valuing Everyone. What is love to you?

M - Marvel

Marvel at the small things in life, for God created ALL things, not just the big things.

N – Navigate

You are the captain of your life. As you navigate the waters of your life, don’t let the winds and storms of life dictate where you end up. When the storms blow harder, remember your goal and do everything in your power to get back on course.

O - Open

Open your mind and unleash your potential.

I can't do that..., That's impossible..., and other similar phrases are self-imposed obstacles. We must break through these barriers by having an open mind thush allowing your full potential to shine through.

P - Progress

There is a Chinese saying 不进则退(boo jean ze tway). What this means is that if you are not going forward, you are going backwards.

Don't give up, but press forward otherwise your efforts are null and void and you must work hard to get back where you were originally.

Q - Quit

Quit the Good things for the Best things.

Many of us jam our schedules with good things (sports, work, gardening, etc.) that we don't have enough time time for the best things (family, friends, ourselves). Once we have the strength to quit the good for the best, we will see an increase in happiness.

R - Respect

Earning the respect of others requires a lot of time and effort. How much time and effort have you put into earning respect for yourself? As we develop a respect for ourselves, we will be suprised at how much happier our lives are.

S - Serve

A major cause of the pain and evils of the world is selfishness. As we break out of "our" world and serve those around us, our walls of selfishness become replaced with arms of love and joy.

T - Time

"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Don't let time run out on you before you get done, what you are always "planning" to do. Just remember time really stand for: Today I Must Execute.

U - Unity

For where your treasure is, there will your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)

We must unify our "treasure" with our goals in order to find true joy and happiness. What is your treasure? Does it align with your goals in life?

V - Venture

True happiness comes from having the courage to venture the unbeaten path. If a path starts with "Everyone else does it" or peer pressure, the destination is not happiness but servitude to the demand of others. What path do you choose?

W - Work

The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.

X - Xiao
(Xiao in Chinese means smile or laugh.) The cheapest gift you can give someone that will have a lasting effect on them is a smile. Share a smile daily!

Y - You

You are critical to your happiness. If YOU see the bad in everything, YOU will not be happy. If YOU think you are treated unfairly, YOU will not be happy. A great way to be happy is for YOU to let YOU be happy!

Z - Zero

How many problems have you had in your life? Ask a Jamaican and they will say ZERO. They say there are no problems, only situations. Jamaicans are the happiest people I have met. We must take their view in our own lives and say: We have ZERO problems, only situations.

Josiah's ABC's to happiness.

A- Appreciation

There is nothing in life that we are entitled to. Anything and everything could be taken from us in 1 minute, 1 hour, or 1 decade. Because of that, we must appreciate everything we have while we have it or it might be too late.

B - Be

There was once a question posed: "To be, or not to be...?" The answer is BE! Shakespeare describes "being" as living with pains and troubles, but describes "not being" as a place from where "no traveller returns." Then who/what should you BE? We should not worry about who we are not, but we should BE who we are and the joy will follow.

C - Choose

We cannot always choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we react. Choose to be HAPPY!

D - Delight

A true measure of your happiness is the extent to which you delight in other people's happiness. It is easy to be excited when things are going well for you, but how hard is it to be happy when things may not go as planned and others are having success at the same time. Your happiness in life will increase 100x as you learn to delight in the happiness of others.

E - Endure

Doctrine and Covenants Chapter 121
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

When tough times come your way, if you are able to endure it, you will come out happier than before. This is a promise from God, not me.

F - Forgive

Forgive and the joy will follow.

Withholding forgiveness from someone is the same as withholding happiness from yourself and your offender. Forgiveness will lighten the pain felt by all parties and will replace it with joy.

G - Gratitude

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur

We may say "Thank you" or "Thanks" a lot, but do we really mean it? Express your gratitude to others and you will enjoy life and in turn allow others to feel valued. All in all, Gratitude is what makes love deepen and friendships strengthen.

H - Humor

Humor can cure even the worst case of the blues. Life is too short to not fill each day with laughter and joy.

I - Integrity

Having personal integrity and being honest in all your dealings will set you free from your own mental and emotional traps and will allow you to experience an increase in joy.

J - Joy

There is a Chinese saying...知足常乐 (jer zoo chong le). What this says is: If you find joy in what you have, more happiness will come your way. It is not just saying be content with what you have and don't strive for anything else. It is saying that you need to put forth your best effort and be happy with the result and then more happiness will come.

K - Knowledge

Knowledge gives us the perspective needed to look past the small things and focus on what is important.

Although knowledge learned in school and through life experiences is important, that is not the knowledge I am talking about. I am talking about the knowledge about the 3 pillars of our existence: Where do I come from? Why am I here?and Where do I go when I die? Knowledge related to these pillars will help us understand the broad picture and will help to put any trials or heartaches we may encounter in our lives in perspective.

L - Love

One big problem in the world today is that love is viewed as a noun rather than a verb.

To me love is ...
...being a shoulder to cry on.
...a mother who sacrifices so much for her children, even if they are not appreciative.
...a soldier who goes to war to defend and protect those he/she doesn't know.

All in all, love is Lifting Others and Valuing Everyone. What is love to you?

M - Marvel

Marvel at the small things in life, for God created ALL things, not just the big things.

N – Navigate

You are the captain of your life. As you navigate the waters of your life, don’t let the winds and storms of life dictate where you end up. When the storms blow harder, remember your goal and do everything in your power to get back on course.

O - Open

Open your mind and unleash your potential.

I can't do that..., That's impossible..., and other similar phrases are self-imposed obstacles. We must break through these barriers by having an open mind thush allowing your full potential to shine through.

P - Progress

There is a Chinese saying 不进则退(boo jean ze tway). What this means is that if you are not going forward, you are going backwards.

Don't give up, but press forward otherwise your efforts are null and void and you must work hard to get back where you were originally.

Q - Quit

Quit the Good things for the Best things.

Many of us jam our schedules with good things (sports, work, gardening, etc.) that we don't have enough time time for the best things (family, friends, ourselves). Once we have the strength to quit the good for the best, we will see an increase in happiness.

R - Respect

Earning the respect of others requires a lot of time and effort. How much time and effort have you put into earning respect for yourself? As we develop a respect for ourselves, we will be suprised at how much happier our lives are.

S - Serve

A major cause of the pain and evils of the world is selfishness. As we break out of "our" world and serve those around us, our walls of selfishness become replaced with arms of love and joy.

T - Time

"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Don't let time run out on you before you get done, what you are always "planning" to do. Just remember time really stand for: Today I Must Execute.

U - Unity

For where your treasure is, there will your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)

We must unify our "treasure" with our goals in order to find true joy and happiness. What is your treasure? Does it align with your goals in life?

V - Venture

True happiness comes from having the courage to venture the unbeaten path. If a path starts with "Everyone else does it" or peer pressure, the destination is not happiness but servitude to the demand of others. What path do you choose?

W - Work

The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.

X - Xiao
(Xiao in Chinese means smile or laugh.) The cheapest gift you can give someone that will have a lasting effect on them is a smile. Share a smile daily!

Y - You

You are critical to your happiness. If YOU see the bad in everything, YOU will not be happy. If YOU think you are treated unfairly, YOU will not be happy. A great way to be happy is for YOU to let YOU be happy!

Z - Zero

How many problems have you had in your life? Ask a Jamaican and they will say ZERO. They say there are no problems, only situations. Jamaicans are the happiest people I have met. We must take their view in our own lives and say: We have ZERO problems, only situations.