So, another year is almost over and a new one is about to begin. At this stage in my life, it's amazing how quickly the years fly by. I've started to think about what I accomplished last year and what my goals are for the coming year. Mostly, I realize that if I want to achieve anything, I've got to get on it, ASAP.
One of my goals is to share with more people my ideas about how to be happier, healthier and more successful in the coming year.
I think a lot about happiness, health and success, and I work with people every day so that they can have more of all these things. One message I want to share with everyone is that the secret to greater health, happiness and success is not what you might expect.
The secret to greater health, happiness and success is in opening your heart to others.
Too many of us are going through our lives being greedy, selfish, covetous and in competition with others. To some, it seems like adopting these attitudes and behaviors is the best way to have more of everything, and that this is supposed to translate to a better life.
Sadly, this attitude only leads to loneliness, alienation, anger, frustration, depression, anxiety and poor physical health.
If, on the other hand, we open our hearts to others and practice generosity, kindness, consideration, sensitivity and compassion, we'll be rewarded over and over again for our efforts.
The benefits of having an open heart include greater self-love and better self-care. When our hearts are open to others, they're also open to our own true needs. We become more attuned to our own feelings, wants and well-being.
When I read the blogs of those who are experts in business and the most successful entrepreneurs and coaches, there's one consistent message: success comes when you offer a product or service that benefits other individuals and businesses. It comes when your philosophy is one of considering the real needs of your clients and consumers and sincerely wanting to support them.
The more you care about others, the more successful you'll be. The more you care about others, the healthier you'll be.
Studies have shown, over and over, that angry, selfish people are more prone to heart disease and cancer, whereas kind, generous people are generally healthier.
On an emotional level, being kind and generous are much more conducive to happiness than being greedy, grasping and selfish. Every time we're good to someone else, our brain releases endorphins - "feel-good" chemicals -- which have a beneficial effect on our physical well-being, also.
Opening the heart is pretty simple and straight-forward. Look outside yourself for a minute and try to put yourself into the other person's shoes. Imagine what they might be feeling; what their needs would be; how you could help them even in some small way.
You'll begin to feel moved; your caring and concern for others will grow, as well as a sense of greater connection.
People can have a scarcity mentality, and erroneously believe that in order to live a good life and be happy, they need to accumulate more and more money and things and then hold on tightly to what they've got. That's just wrong.
There's another way of thinking: the abundance mentality. This makes a lot more sense. It's only by thinking of others and sharing what we have that we discover a more meaningful and joyful existence.
The abundance mentality is the secret to greater happiness and success in life.
The scarcity mentality creates an us-against-them attitude, which perpetuates competitiveness, conflict and social isolation. This mentality promotes greed and frustration, as we never seem to have enough in order to feel secure, and we become anxious and/or angry at the prospects of losing anything.
The scarcity mentality also paralyzes us with fear and prevents us from taking risks, either in social situations or in business. Therefore, it minimizes our chances of success in friendship, love or career.
The abundance mentality comes from having an open heart. When your heart is open, it fills with love: self-love and love for others.
With the abundance mentality, we live knowing that every living being is interconnected and interdependent. We share what we have and trust that others will share with us, as well. We feel calmer, more peaceful and more content with what we have. This mentality promotes physical and emotional well-being.
The abundance mentality creates a deep sense of belonging with other living beings and in the world.
When we live with an open heart and an abundance mentality, life is more sociable, meaningful and joyful. We feel supported by our inter-connections and this gives us the courage to take risks in our personal and professional lives.
We make more of a contribution to others when we shift our mentality to that of abundance. We also receive more.
The scarcity mentality makes us feel tight and scared and small; it prevents us from fulfilling our potential in both the personal and professional spheres. The abundance mentality, on the other hand, is expansive and allows us to be our best selves and to live our best, most enterprising, adventurous and successful lives.
I invite you, therefore, in 2015 and onward, to embrace the abundance mentality and open your heart to love, happiness, health and success.\
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