the Shakedown: slang. "a thorough search of a place or person." (dictionary.com)

Life is all about choices

Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2005 at 2:55 pm

I can remember when happiness and inner peace seemed so far out of reach for me. The key to finding those things is so simple and common knowledge, but until I actually put them into practice, I didn't understand that they could actually work.

Selfishness and pride are two major things that will keep you from being happy. When I made a conscious decision to start putting other people before myself, I honestly became a much happier person. I started to care about other people more and how they felt and what they were going through and how I could help them. And then an amazing thing happened. I stopped caring so much about my stupid problems that at one time seemed so big and now seem so small and insignificant.

Another thing I learned is that a positive attitude makes all the difference in the world. It literally blew me away how just a few positive thoughts can change my whole outlook on life. An optimistic attitude is so crucial, I can't even emphasize it enough. And here's the thing about optimism. . . it's a CHOICE! I swear it by everything that is holy, you can CHOOSE to be optimistic. I never understood that or believed that until I actually started doing it.

Sure, negativity and unfortunate events in life still get me down from time to time. It's safe to say I will probably always struggle with depression. But as for the big picture, I can honestly say I've finally found the road to happiness and peace. If you look back at some of my really old entries, you'll see me talking about what is happiness and how can I get my hands on it. Well, after years of searching, I think I finally figured it out. Funny thing is, I knew it all along, I just didn't believe in it, or myself.

Isn't life grand? It can be if you want it to be.



"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis