Do What You Love

"Do what you love and the money will follow," says author Marsha Sinetar. A few million starving artists and struggling musicians might dispute her on that. However, one thing is true -- whether you're paid to do it or not, if you do what you love happiness will ensue. You won't even have to wait for it to follow; it will blossom right in the midst of the loving act itself!

It's so simple that it seems almost ridiculous to speak about it. But maybe its very simplicity makes it easy to miss. People piss and moan and complain all the time about their lives not being what they want them to be, when all they have to do is more of what they love, and they will be happy.

Like visiting with friends, visit (or make) more friends. Like swimming? Find a place to swim and jump in. Like reading, go to the library. Like cooking? Get creative with whatever you have in your refrigerator and cupboard.

There's no excuse for not doing at least one thing you love everyday. With practice, you will find the time to do more than one thing. Get really good at it, and you'll quit doing all that crap you don't love to do and make your life one big love fest! Happily in love with everything you do. What could be better than that?

What Do You Love to Do?

What do you love to do? Whatever it is do more of it, and you will experience more happiness. Even if what you love to do seems useless and a waste of time. Correction: Especially if what you love to do seems useless and a waste of time!

Happiness is not about usefulness or profit or productivity. It's about what makes your heart sing. And if collecting leaves, or singing karaoke, or browsing old seed catalogs, or collecting beer cans brings you joy, by all means do it!

For Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, one of the things she enjoys doing is taking notes. She used to berate herself a bit because she was afraid she was wasting her time. She now realizes that joy is never a waste of time; joy is a wonderful use of your time.

My dad, too, was an inveterate note-taker. While Gretchen seems to confine hers to her computer, my dad had them scattered on legal pads, post it notes, and assorted little scraps of paper all around the house.

Because of my dad's practice, it always seemed natural, and not a bit strange, to want to take notes, and so all the handouts and other materials that I create for my presentations and workshops have plenty of room for note-taking. What seems strange to me is how many people in those classes never take one note! And even stranger -- how many of them don't even have a pen or pencil with them to take notes!

But this isn't a blog on note-taking; it is all about how to be happy. And one great way to be happy is to do more, much more, of what you enjoy. The more trivial and idiosyncratic the better. Do what you love to do, and let you happy light shine!

Fin out more at:

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2007/06/in_which_i_ackn.html