Is Being Right Getting in Your Way of Being in Relationship?
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Benjamin Franklin started every morning asking himself, “What good shall I do today?”
And during Hurricane Harvey, we watched the Heroes of Houston put Franklin’s practice into action:
1. The Bakers Baked All Night
When bakers at El Bolillo Bakery were trapped inside the bakery during the storm, they worked around the clock baking through 4,000 pounds of flour. When the rain stopped, the owner drove the loaves of bread around Houston, donating them to first responders and shelters.
2. Mattress Mack Offered his Inventory
Jim McIngvale (nicknamed “Mattress Mack”), owner of Gallery Furniture chain, opened some of his stores for displaced people to spend the night on his inventory.
3. The Human Chain that Saved a Man
More than twenty strangers formed a human chain to rescue an elderly man from his sinking SUV.
4. A Man in his Boat Rescued Neighbors
When a boat owner set out in his boat to help people, he declared, “I’m going to go try to save some lives.” And many boat owners followed in his wake.
5. Houston SPCA Rescued 200 Dogs
Volunteers worked tirelessly to rescue dogs stranded on rooftops and get them into shelters.
6. The Louisiana Cajun Navy Showed Up
Volunteers from Baton Rouge, LA drove their boats 9 hours to help rescue residents.
Why? As one volunteer put it, “The best way you can thank somebody for helping you is to go help somebody else.”
Why do we need a Ben Franklin habit? Because it’s hard to live a joy-filled life without doing good. It’s like letting toxins in the house and then consciously living there.
So how do we do good without waiting for a catastrophic event?
Doing good takes action and intentionality, not just a crisis.
Do you have a Ben Franklin habit? (Email it to me – I’d love to be inspired by you!)
In the movie, Bridge of Spies, lawyer James Donovan represents convicted Soviet KGB spy Rudolf Abel during the Cold War. At his sentencing, Donovan asks Abel, “Are you worried?”
Abel replies innocently, “Do you think that would help?”
Of course not! So then why do we worry? It’s our reaction to a perceived threat. And without the ability to fight or flee that threat, we get stuck in torturous thought.
A Harvard study recently revealed that 47% of our time is spent lost in thought. Instead of being engaged in our current activity or the immediate surroundings, we ruminate about the past and worry about the future.
The problem with worrying? We focus on uncontrollables, fear the uncertainty, and fixate on the nonpresent.
Here are 3 ways to Worry Like a Warrior:
1. Converge on Controllables.
Worrying about that which we cannot control is wasted time and energy. Watching the news, for example, reinforces our helplessness which then increases the intensity and impact of our worrying. We can sympathize with those who suffer without also suffering. Instead of worrying about an uncontrollable, let’s think about ways we can make a difference and express our sympathy.
2. Change Lost-in-Thought Time to Process-in-Thought Time.
Some activities are prone to auto-pilot. When I walk my dog, I have blocks of lost-in-thought time. But when I intentionally set out on my walk with an identified problem to solve or a situation to prepare for, my lost-in-thought time becomes process-in-thought time.
3. Practice Shisa Kanko
This Japanese skill cultivates our mindfulness by stimulating our five senses, forcing us to stay connected to immediate activities. Literally it means checking and calling, and that simple act aligns our thoughts and actions, making mind-wandering almost impossible.
When over half of our lives are spent in our thoughts, we are best served to make them valuable thoughts!
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According to psychologist Martin Seligman, founder of positive psychology (the study of happiness and emotional health), there are 3 types of happy lives:
Pleasant life: we gain happiness from pleasures, such as money, cars, toys, hobbies, adventures, and vacations
Engaged life: we gain happiness by creating social connections and fostering strong relationships
Meaningful life: we gain happiness by using our strengths and gifts to help others
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the easiest one – pursuing a pleasant life – has little bearing on our overall happiness and satisfaction…. that is, without engagement and meaning.
Seligman found that the pursuit of pleasures only mattered when it was complemented by engagement and meaning.
Matthieu Ricard, a Tibetan Buddhist monk explains, “Thinking about yourself all the time and how to make things better for yourself is exhausting, stressful, and a quick route to unhappiness.”
O.K. Conceptually, it’s ideal to pursue a meaningful life, but how does all of this apply in the reality of our days?
Through moments.
An engaged and meaningful life must first start with engaged and meaningful moments.
Lucky for us, opportunities to engage with others and create meaning (while pursuing pleasures) are plentiful!
Example:
Example:
The secret ingredient: benevolence. When we approach situations with compassion, generosity, kindness, friendship, and humanity, it’s impossible not to boost our own happiness and satisfaction …even while enjoying the pleasures of life.
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