WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PROVE

Do you spend your time and effort in a futile attempt to live up to someone else’s standards? What are you trying to prove? And why? Fulfillment comes not from impressing others, but from being, as completely and magnificently as you can, the person you are.

Consider how much of your anxiety, worry and frustration come from your striving to live up to the

expectations of others -- to say the “right” things, drive the “right” kind of car, wear the “right” clothes. Of course we must be respectful and accepting of the people around us. We must also be careful not to become enslaved by their arbitrary definition of what has value and what doesn’t.

Break free from the need to be accepted. The value of your life comes not from what others think of you. It comes from the degree to which you become the person you’ve always known you were meant to be. The admiration of others cannot be truly gained by chasing it. Paradoxically, the more you become your own person, the more you’ll be admired by others.

Set your own standards, and set them high. Pursue excellence with sincerity. Forget about trying to prove anything. Just go ahead and be the best you can be.

LAUGHING AT TROUBLE

When you suffer a setback, find a way to be joyful, not because of what has happened, but because it’s your most powerful response. Seek to laugh at your troubles, not because they are funny or trivial, but as an effective way of taking positive control.

It’s easy to be happy when things are going great. The real power of happiness, however, comes in times of difficulty. A dismal, dejected attitude will only hold you back. A positive, joyful approach can move you quickly ahead.

Sure it’s tough to be positive when there’s no reason to be. It’s difficult, and yet it is possible. Accept for a moment that it is possible, and that it is beneficial. Then ask yourself if you would like to reap that benefit.

Find your joy not in mere circumstances, but rather with that part of you which transcends the circumstances. Live that joy with vigor and sincerity, and you’ll begin to see how even the most difficult of situations can be turned in your favor.

Seek to truly lift up life and make it impossible for life to get you down.