This post contains affiliate links.
When I was young I used to think that the more money you had the happier you could be in life because money solves all problems. As I have aged I have run into several experiences that shifted my point of view on this subject and while I think having more income has potential to lead to less stress and more comfort it can’t make an unhappy person happy.
My most notable experiences was when on two separate distinct vacations several years ago, the first one in Hawaii where my wife and I had seen and met a homeless person who just seemed so happy, smiling and living on a beach. They had enough food to survive, never really faced unpleasant circumstances and had just an incredible glad to be alive personality that you wouldn’t think for someone who is in that scenario.
An almost exact same scenario occurred during a visit to Mission Beach years later in San Diego area, where we met a few homeless people who basically enjoyed their time on the beach during the day and collected cans for trade in at night from all the beach trashcans. Once again, it was the spirit, one of them setup umbrella’s, tents, had a cooler and just hung out with a ton of people talking, laughing and seemed to be having a good time.
I was told, better to be homeless on a beach and happy than be living like a slave in a cubicle trying to make ends meet. This stuck with me, and continues to influence my way of thinking in simplification and what really constitutes “need” vs “want” to be happy in life.
Material possessions do not make one happy for more than a short time, happiness is a state of mind and anyone can be happy in life provided they have the necessities of love, care, comfort and aren’t in dire situations. I have always strived to be stress free myself, I like to say that I am like a drifter on the river of life and just accept whatever may be will be. I try not to get stressed about things and sometimes it comes off that I don’t care about something, when really my philosophy is always “life is too short”.
Life is too short to waste it on stress, worry and unhappiness we need to be content and re-evaluate what is truly important to be happy. What specific things are causing unhappiness and rectify them or find happiness in spite of them.
Life Happens, we have to deal with unexpected situations all the time, but if we remember to focus on the things that are going right the things we have that are positive it helps us absorb and move past the negatives that occur in our lives. They are nothing more than blips that we overcome, life is what we make of it, we control our lives and shape which direction it takes. We decide how we choose paths, avoid obstacles or plow through them and remember you are in the driver’s seat of your life.
What life happens moments have you experienced that changed your point of view on life? Did you have an epiphany, positive or negative experience that inspired or soured you on a subject?
-Justin Germino
In honor of Life Insurance Awareness Month, the nonprofit LIFE Foundation is giving away great prizes for the best Life Happens moments. You can enter the contest any time before Friday, October 5th. Make sure to encourage your friends and family to vote for your story as the Life Happens moments with the most votes will win (voting ends Friday, October 12th). First place will receive an Apple iPad® , second place will receive a $350 Apple gift card and third place will receive a $150 Amazon gift card.
Life Happens. And while you can’t control the future, you can take steps to protect the good things in life. Take a look around The LIFE Foundation website and learn more about how life insurance can help safeguard a secure financial future for those you love.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The LIFE Foundation. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Contest Rules
WPX Support
Latest posts by WPX Support (see all)
- What Posts and Videos Will Get Popular is Still a Mystery - December 16, 2016
- Poem: Weeping Priest - October 30, 2016
- Reflecting on 8 Years of Dragon Blogger - September 29, 2016