Life happens; each day you have a choice — to either go through the motions and get through the day, or make the day great.
I found three quotes that I can live by to make sure I am not going through the motions. These are not sure-fire ways to be happy, but they have been working for me, and I wanted to share my experiences in the hopes that it will make someone else’s life a little easier.
“First we make the habits then the habits make us,” Yogi Bhajan said.
My first quote comes from a yoga book. Now, I know that yoga is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think everyone could learn something from this quote.
I decided to make it a habit to read something inspirational each night before I went to bed. Usually these inspirational quotes come from Instagram or Twitter. I started this habit at the beginning of the semester, and I have noticed that it has made me happier each day. If I read a quote that is particularly interesting or pertinent to my life, I take a screen shot and set it as the background on my phone. That way, when I check my phone, I am able to re-read the quote and keep it at the forefront of my mind.
Developed habits don’t have to be life-changing or complicated; they can be as simple as taking pictures of inspirational quotes and putting them somewhere they will be seen every day. I chose this small habit because I love to read, so it was a perfect fit. Choose something, anything, you want to do better and keep with it. Before you know it, you will have a habit that will stick and make your life better.
“Life is good if we live in such a way as to make it so,” Benjamin De Hoyos said.
This quote stems from the habits we make. As our good habits become a part of our lives, we can more easily see the differences they make.
A week ago, as I was thinking about my life, I came to a realization. I realized that my life was excellent. This might sound like an exaggeration, but I was so happy as I thought more and more about it that I could not stop smiling. My life is amazing, but it is not necessarily the kind of life that society would say is amazing. I don’t have excess amounts of money or endless friends; in fact, some might say my life is hard. I am a college student surviving off the money I made during the summer, and instead of endless friends, I have endless homework. The only reason my life is good is because I say it is. I don’t have all of the material things, but I wouldn’t trade my life with anyone else.
Make your life good. Don’t sit around and dwell on things you haven’t been able to do. Each one of us has the ability to turn our lives into something from a dream. A positive attitude can change everything.
“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life,” an unknown author said.
The lesson I learned from this quote is to do what you want and have no regrets.
I took this quote to heart because up until the start of this semester I always did things to make other people happy. I was doing what I had to do to survive and wasn’t living life for myself. By giving myself the go-ahead to do something for me, I changed my life for the better. I don’t worry about how my actions will look to other people; if I want to do something, I do it.
Be happy. Learn to be happy with who you are and you won’t ever be down. You will be able to make the most of your life in every situation you encounter if you know who you are and you do what makes you happy.
