We cannot always help what we think or feel but we have absolute control over what we do about those thoughts and feelings. The ability to choose how we want to act and react is the ultimate freedom.

Here’s how I see my job.  I see the labs in our school as my private play rooms. I see my jobs as explaining how my toys work to all my new friends (students) so we can all play with them.

It is any wonder that I look forward to getting up and going to work each day? I commute 50 miles each way and do so willingly because I like my job and enjoy what I do.

It is perfect? Of course not!

Let’s look at both the good and bad parts of my job. I work for a private educational institution with all the normal politics, policies, procedures, etc you would expect in a large organization. Every time I turn around, the administrators are finding new hoops for the instructors to jump through. Many of my colleagues get angry because their students rarely appreciate anything you do for them even when you go above and beyond what is required.

But, my question is, why should the students be grateful for anything I do for them? I get paid to teach them. That is my job. It is what I get paid to do. Why should the students be grateful for me doing my job?

That doesn’t make sense to me.

If I hire someone to do a job, I expect them to do a good job because that is what I am paying them to do. Now if you do go above and beyond what’s required, when they ask you to do something, they usually appreciate it. If they did not ask for your help, they are more likely to resent what you are doing.

That’s the down side of my job. Now let’s look at the up side.

I like my job! I get paid to play with my toys. But the biggest reward I get from teaching is when I get to see that light bulb go in a student’s eyes when they finally “get it” … when they understand what I am trying to teach them.

The way I feel when I see a student get it is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had and I get to see that several times with several different students every time I teach a class.

I make an emotional profit every time I teach a class because I know I am using my god given abilities to help others which makes me feel good about myself. Feeling good about what I am doing makes me happy which also makes me content with my life.

Problems are a part of everyday living and I have never met anyone who has everything they want.

Contentment is the point in your life where nothing major is going wrong. It is a state where everything is OK.
Things aren’t fantastic … you are not on a “high” but you don’t feel that anything is missing in your life so you are not on a “low” either. In other words, you are comfortable … you are content.

I don’t feel anything missing in my life. I don’t have everything I want but I do have everything I need. I am grateful for and take the time to enjoy the things that I do have.

I have friends … people who love me … people that I love.

I am financially comfortable … I have enough money to pay my bills.

Do I have as much money as I would like to have?

No, I don’t. I can’t buy expensive toys, go on fancy vacations or spend a lot of money on entertainment or clothes.

Do I have as much money as I NEED? Absolutely!

Most people are really searching for contentment. Once you discover what you truly believe you will be able to decide what you really want out of life. At that point, if you start down the path to reach you true goals, you will begin to feel happiness and contentment. I can guarantee that because that was how I became content with my life.

Does that mean that you have to have everything you want? Of course not! I don’t know anyone who has everything that they want.

Is happiness having money, fame, fortune, good looks, etc?

No, if it was, people like Lindsey Lohan and Charlie Sheen wouldn’t exist. These people are obviously miserable with their lives. They are filthy rich, young, attractive, famous and yet, they are miserable.

If you feel that something is missing in your life then you are not content. If you are not content it is really difficult to be in a state of happiness. Anybody can be happy for short periods of time. We can be joyous. We can really be turned on by things and that is a good thing. Most people do feel that way periodically.

It is nearly impossible to be on a “high” all the time. That is what most people are trying to accomplish when they use drugs, alcohol, promiscuous sex, shopping and a host of other activities to EXCESS. They are trying to recreate that “high”.

However, there is absolutely no reason to be “low” either. You need to find the mid-point between the “low” and the “high” because that is where happiness lies.

Beliefs come from many different sources such as what our parents, family members and religious leaders teach us, from what we observe happening around us and the things we experience directly as well as from what our culture (including music, books, television and movies) teaches us.

We are constantly being programmed by all of these sources from birth to adopt a specific set of beliefs which are frequently called ‘values’. The primary purpose of all this programming is to keep us alive by teaching us to avoid danger and also to help us fit into society. Human beings have been using both laws and religion since the beginning of time as a way to get people to conform to what their society considers acceptable behavior.

Using laws is pretty obvious, but why religion? Because, you have to get caught doing something considered against the law before you get punished. If we believe that we will be punished by God, who is all powerful and all knowing, we don’t have to get caught to be punished so we are much more likely to do as we are told then if something is just against the law.

I am sure you can see that with our beliefs being influenced by so many different sources, serious conflicts are bound to occur. So, what do we do when there is a conflict? Small children adopt the beliefs of their parents and other care givers. Children need approval from their parents and usually will do whatever it takes to get their love and approval.

The basic foundation of our belief system is learned by the age of five. Most of the time, we are not consciously aware of what those beliefs are. But, if we don’t live according to our true beliefs, we cannot have a life of happiness and contentment.

Are you happy and content with your life?

Small children believe in Santa Clause, the tooth fairy and that everything mommy and daddy tell them is true. They also believe that the way their family, culture and religion do things is right, good and normal. As adults, we realize that Santa Clause and the tooth fairy are harmless fantasies that bring joy into the lives of children.

We all create beliefs based on the things we see, hear and experience. From birth on we are developing our belief system and it changes as we experience new things.

For example, if I eat something and it makes me sick, I might try the food one more time to be sure that it was the food that made me sick. But, if I get sick the second time, I will create a belief that I cannot eat that food because it makes me sick. Once I adopt that belief, you will have a very hard time getting me to ever touch that food again. However, I really have no idea exactly what made me sick, just that something in the food I ate did and I don’t like getting sick so I will never willingly eat it again.

Have you ever really examined your beliefs?

Who’s right? … Or is there really a “right” answer?

I define success as having enough resources to do the things I really want to do…the things that bring me happiness and contentment. The resources can be money, time, material things, friends, family, education, social status, power, etc. It all depends on what you want to do…what brings you happiness and contentment. The answer is different for each individual.

Do you know what you really want to do with your life?