The key to happiness? Make the best of what you have!

There are any number of motivational speakers/authors that are quick to tell you that if you don't have certain things, live in a certain house or drive a particular car - you haven't made it.  There were in fact a number of years where I actually believed that to be true.  What I've learned over time however is that some of the happiest people I know are those that on the surface shouldn't feel that way.  I wondered why that was the case until I started looking under the surface of their lives and began to understand the 'secret' of their success.

In our world, those with outward success (if we are being honest mainly focused on the financial) are held up as those who have 'made it'.  That said, today's quote points up a truth that I have found time and again over the course of the last decade.  There is an old saying that the best iron is forged at high temperatures, and for those that don't have the resources to get ahead in this world - those temperatures can be high indeed.  Does not having the best of everything make everyone better?  Absolutely not!  Just as those who have outsize resources can oftentimes be less than optimal people (yes - you can read this as one Donald Trump), so too can those at the other end of the spectrum devolve into anger at the world and in the worst cases bitterness about the 'unfairness' of it all.

As a believer, one of the things that I take to be true is that this world is NOT fair.  Great people fall ill and die, injustice is rampant, life appears to be unfair,hard work,effort and commitment sometimes don't bear the fruit you think it should, but I know that this world is a passing thing. What we can control is what we do while we are in it and what positive impacts we can have on those around us.  As you start your Wednesday, give some thought to what drives you and think about what for you is true happiness.  What I think you'll find is that in the end - if we make the best of what we DO have  - life is infinitely richer and more interesting than we ever thought possible.  Make it a great day today - and take a moment to truly make the best of what you have! #NoLetUp #WhateverItTakes #ThankfulForMyLife #Grateful #MakingtheBestLifePossible #Thriving