Jen & Company

 

you can do anything you set your mind to

-Ben Franklin

My friend, Ben was really on to something here…I think it is so easy to get caught up in believing that our environment IS our reality, that we are a product of our circumstance and that basically we are along for a cosmic ride on the fate express.

Um, I have decided not to buy this.  While I am aware that there are many things outside our control, I also know that the power to decide how we will experience the world is a product of our mindset, not our circumstance.

The fabulous ah-ha in all of this, is that just as our thoughts control our perceptions, we control our thoughts.  You might be saying, “Jen, my thoughts just happen.  People don’t think about thinking, they just, you know, think.”  To this I say yes And no…let me explain.

We all have a way of being in this world.  Some people  have a natural tendency to see the positive, take a “what can I learn from this” approach to life and see all the great possibilities out there.  They believe there is plenty of good stuff out there and they are going to go out into this big, beautiful world and get some of it.  They know that happiness is not a scarce resource we have to go out and find, but rather a mindset that we can cultivate.  They know there is an inexhaustible supply of happiness but the key is to keep making it from within on a daily basis.

Then there are others, like me, who have a natural tendency to see the negative, fear the worst and feel that happiness is something that can be found outside ourselves and only when circumstances are favorable.  This, my beautiful bff, was Jen version 1.0.  In the last few years I have developed an updated version with bug fixes leading to a much greater sense of clarity, ability to see the humor, belief in my own abilities and super powers and I can now unveil Jen version 2.0.

So, you see, I only differentiate between people with a positive, productive, happiness producing mindset versus those who get in their own way to emphasize that all of this is a CHOICE.

Yes, you might be naturally optimistic, naturally pessimistic, naturally pragmatic or naturally a bit of a goofball, but your tendencies are all just part of version 1.0.  YOU are the architect, the engineer, the designer, so YOU get to decide if your programming needs a bit of a tweak, an update or a more significant overhaul.

I imagine that those who are naturally optimistic and light-hearted, those who are inclined to see the good, believe in abundance, etc.  might need fewer tweaks, but then again, they might have other programming issues to work out that I can’t even imagine.  Either way, it really isn’t my business…

Everyone has their own work to do and a finite amount of hours in the day.  That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t help each other along this awesome adventure, certainly we should!  But, it does mean that there is no need to compare version numbers with others.  What does it matter if it took me 10 revisions to get where I am but it only took someone else 5 to arrive at a similar mindset?  No matter how long it takes, or how you get there, I invite you to come here and join me.  No one is a “finished product” but let’s decide right now that life is happier, more beautiful, more peaceful and that good things come our way more often when we “set (or reset) our mind” to seeing, believing and focusing on the good stuff.  No excuses.  No victims.  Just our fabulously imperfect selves making a conscious choice to choose HAPPY each day.  And, if we can’t muster HAPPY on a certain day, we choose LEARN and GROW until we can choose HAPPY again.

xoxo,

Jen

featured, goals, happiness

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