By Suzanne Wiggins
I’ve been consciously working on enhancing my happiness for a little over four years now. It’s definitely been a life changing journey and I’ve discovered that becoming happier doesn’t always “feel” happy. There are some daunting and downright scary challenges that must be faced in the dark and hidden recesses of the heart and mind.
I’ll be honest, the greatest moments of enlightenment often come at the most unexpected times. Case in point, I had my most powerful revelation to date while standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes this morning. I was mentally flow charting the “why” of an ongoing emotional struggle and suddenly the answer revealed itself to me. I was astounded by the obvious simplicity of the answer. And as hokey as it may sound, I found myself without conscious intention going through the motions of unbuttoning the clasps of an imaginary garment. When the buttons were undone I shrugged from my shoulders what seemed like a heavily weighted jacket. As it fell to the ground I breathed a deep sigh of relief while relaxing and rotating my shoulders. It was a very real physical response to the lightness I felt in my body. Quite involuntarily I said aloud, ‘I no longer need to carry it. It’s not my load to carry.’
I finally understood that someone, or more likely a series of people, had saddled me with ideas and beliefs that were harmful to my self-esteem. As the load got bigger and heavier over the years, I carried it without much thought, complaint or awareness because it was given to me by people who were credible and influential in my life. But this morning…THIS morning I was able to let go and truly accept that the past is done and behind me and I have all the power and ability I need to create whatever future it is I desire. I’ve read it. I’ve written it. But it feels really amazing when you finally believe it.
So my challenge to you is this…I challenge you to be brave. To bravely acknowledge what it is you carry that is not of your own making. The voices that say, “you’ll never amount to anything, you have no value, you’ll fail, you’re not pretty enough, smart enough, thin enough, young enough, you’ll never find love, you’ll never have success, you’ll never do it, you’re too old, you’re not wanted, if you haven’t done it yet you never will, it’s impossible, you don’t deserve it, you don’t have what it takes, happiness is just an illusion, dreams don’t come true, no one truly gets what they want…”
The Active Listener, Inc. 