I’m not one to advocate “Barbie-Dolling” it (don’t you just hate that?), but one thing I’ve learned is that the happier I am, the happier I am. Happiness is not only contagious to others, it’s contagious to ourselves. My grandmother had multiple sclerosis, yet she was one of the happiest people I’ve known. She taught me that happiness is not a condition – happiness is a choice.
At 5:50am this morning, I was waiting for Starbucks® to open before we started the Las Vegas CLNC® Certification Seminar. It’s hard to believe that in Vegas a Starbucks doesn’t open until 6:00am, but that’s why I was in line. Waiting. Patiently. For. My. Caffeine. Fix.
I love the joy of the Christmas season, but I can’t help but notice that we are a society that’s becoming more and more obsessed with happiness at the expense of happiness. You can practically hear people thinking: “If I get this I’ll be happy. If I look like that I’ll be happy. If I drive this, wear this, watch this or eat this… I’ll be happy,” You know what I’m talking about, you’ve probably got your own “If I” working right now. Admit or deny. Mine is “If only I had more hours in the day…”
I was getting off an airplane yesterday and saw that a woman had left her cell phone in her seat. I picked it up and asked the flight attendant to stop the woman who was just leaving the aircraft. The traveler came back for the phone, thanked me profusely and then said, “I guess this just isn’t my day.” My response: “It is definitely your day.” After all, in one moment she moved from starting her trip without her phone to starting her trip with it.
Yesterday, a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant shared that she was afraid to take her CLNC business to the next level because she didn’t want to create jealousy among her legal nurse consulting colleagues. This strong woman is afraid it will be lonely at the top. My response: “It sure can’t be any lonelier at the top than it is at the bottom. At least at the top you can afford good wine for your friends and you never have to put your holiday shopping on layaway at the dollar store.”
At least once a day I hear someone say, “When I lose that 10 pounds I’ll be happy” or “When I get one more attorney-client for my legal nurse consulting business I’ll be happy” or “I’ll be really happy when my husband finally cleans out the garage.” Seeking happiness or anything else we desire outside of where we are now, or making our happiness dependent upon some extraordinary incident occurring, pins those expectations on the future.
A recent analysis of the stream of Twitter “tweets” reveals that people are happy in the morning, less happy throughout the day while they’re at work and then happier again after work when back at home. That’s a pretty revealing study which suggests that most people are compartmentalizing their life into a work life and a personal life. But the reality is, we don’t have two-compartment lives. We only have one life. Most of us spend more time at work than with our families. You can’t turn happiness off at work and go home and turn it on and expect to have a passionate, purpose-filled life.
*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
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