The desire for happiness is universal: no matter what our differences are, we all want the same thing. Jim Ryan, a motivational coach and speaker, shares his message of living your best life in Simple Happiness: 52 Easy Ways to Lighten Up.
Each chapter has a simple message that may seem obvious to many of us. But even if we’ve all heard things like, “Think positive thoughts!” or “Follow your bliss!” have we really listened? Or instead thought, “That’s easy for you to say” or “Well, once X, Y, and Z happens and not A, B, and C, then…”? (I’m guilty of the latter.) It may not be an easy choice at first to break our old habits and it usually won’t happen all at once, but Ryan tells us that happiness is 1.) possible and 2.) not all that hard to achieve.
While I don’t want to ruin the book for you, as we are meant to experience it in different ways, I would like to share a few of the messages I personally took from Simple Happiness:
“Let’s discuss stress. It’s an epidemic causing countless diseases.” (55)
“You are the landlord of your thoughts.” (110)
“Have you ever checked out an acorn; the favorite nut of the squirrel?” (145 – Trust me, it will make sense!)
“Don’t die with your music still in you.” (153 – attributed to Wayne Dyer)
I really enjoyed Ryan’s writing style. He’s not talking as a self-righteous teacher who claims to have all of the answers, but as a friendly guide with sincere thoughts about how we can live more positively. He’s not telling us what we should do but what we can do.
Twisted Talk: What motivates you to live a happier life? Discuss below!
