“What makes for ‘the (a) good life’ ?

“The secret to having everything is knowing that you already do.” What makes a good life? What a question. It seems quite simple, right? Hardly. Many would say money, success, love, power, friendship, and so forth and don’t get me wrong, I’d agree. All of those things definitely have the ability to make life “good” in one way or another. However, I believe above all else, perception, the way we view the world and how we choose to see the things, experiences, and situations that make up our everyday lives, determines whether or not we will live a good life.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” In the simplest sense, life is all about how we see things. Perception is everything and contrary to what many believe, very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. Accordingly, the happiness of our lives depends on the quality of our thoughts. We are confined only by the walls we build ourselves. In fact, we have complete control over only one thing in the universe, that being, our thinking. We decide what we are going to think in any given situation. Our thoughts and feelings determine our actions and thus the results we get. We must choose positivity. If we want to feel good we must train our minds to see the good in every situation. Negativity breeds negativity and can put our minds in a very dark and scary place. Thus, positivity is key. After all, a bad attitude is like a flat tire, you won’t get very far if you don’t change it.

Accordingly, as Winston Churchill once said; “the pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” Happiness is a state of mind. Thus, those who live a good life are those who choose to see the world and all that happens to them in a positive light. They are the ones who not only believe that the glass is half full, but they believe the glass is refillable and there’s nothing stopping them from finding the nearest faucet and filling it up. They are the ones who recognize that life can be tough but equally recognize that bad things happen to everyone. They don’t carry what has happened to them around on their shoulders letting it weigh them down, instead they use each passing life experience, good or bad, as a stepping stone to stand on and grow from. They understand that it is not what happens to us that determines whether or not we will live a good life, rather, it is our response to what happens to us that determines whether or not we will live a good life.

How then shall we live: the good life?

We shall live in a constant state of gratitude, recognizing that every given moment is a gift that can be taken away from us in a blink of an eye. We should recognize that right now while we all take a breath, someone else is taking their last. We must recognize that we all make mistakes, we all have struggles, and we all regret things we’ve done in the past. However, we must also understand that we are not our mistakes, we are not our struggles, and we cannot ruin a good today by thinking about a bad yesterday. We must recognize that every day is a new day and understand that we are allowed to have bad days and inevitably going to have bad days. Thus, to live a good life we must realize that we grow through what we go through. We must realize that we can either allow our experiences to strengthen us or strangle us. We must realize that failure is the very condiment that gives success it’s flavor. We must believe that everything happens for a reason and although it may take time to realize the reasons behind why things happened the way they did, in time we will look back on this darkness and smile because it made us unstoppable. We must realize that the greatest successes have been born in times of immense adversity and recognize that an arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. Thus, when life is dragging us back with difficulties that just means that life is going to launch us into something great. Further, we must recognize that life is a learning experience in and of itself. When you believe that things will work out, you'll see opportunities. However, if you believe things won't work out, you'll see obstacles. Thus, those who live a good life, always remain thankful and optimistic. They always look on the bright side, and keep their face toward the sunshine, allowing shadows to fall BEHIND them. They close the door on things that are damaging their life, granting them the ability to open the doors that will bring growth and happiness! They recognize that happiness is an inside job, and do not assign anyone else that much power over their life. Overall, I believe to live a happy life, you don’t have to get rid of all your negative thoughts, feelings, and life situations. That’s impossible. You simply have to change your response to them.

So what makes for a good life?

Merely our ability to recognize that we have the ability to make life good, if we so choose. Our ability to recognize that every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day. Our ability to recognize that while we can’t rewrite our past, we can grab a clean sheet of paper and write our future! Our ability to understand that no matter how long we’ve traveled in the wrong direction, we always have the choice to turn around! Our ability to recognize, that the one thing that we have that nobody else has is our voice, our mind, our story, and our vision, so we should write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only WE can. Our ability to recognize that life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well! Overall, Confucius once said life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. Thus, to live the good life, we must lighten up, we must smile more, laugh more, sing more, dance more, and refrain from getting so worked up over trivial things, after all no one gets out alive.