Jaime Jackson Safety Blog: ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY

Jaime Jackson Safety Blog: ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY:   “I do not believe that God put us here to be ordinary.”                                                   Lou Holtz Ordinary. Such an ordi...

ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY

 

“I do not believe that God put us here to be ordinary.”

                                        Lou Holtz

Ordinary. Such an ordinary word. If you add extra to it, does it make

it that much better? Extraordinary. What exactly does it mean to be

extraordinary or ordinary? We do not always have to be “extraordinary.”

Sometimes ordinary is simply fine if it means doing the right thing,

or avoiding doing negative, counter-productive things. Comparisons

again are not always on a meaningful scale. Ordinary according to

whom? Do your best. Do what is right. Look at yourself in the mirror

and know you can be proud. It may be quite middle of the pack, but

did you help someone else? Did you contribute in any way to making

our world a better place? What may be an ordinary act of kindness

to you may make an enormous difference in somebody else’s life.

What may be an ordinary piece of work for you may be instrumental

or monumental in somebody else’s life. It is ok to just be ordinary. Just

do our best. Be the best version of ourselves in the moment. Ordinary

by whose standards? We are quite good enough. Be who we are and

there is no need to judge ourselves. There is no need to compare

ourselves to others. (They are probably fake anyway) Comparison

is the thief of joy. Never compare yourself to anyone on Instagram!

You can get the International bestseller The Shi*t I Wished I learned in College here:

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5FMWDGW

Jaime Jackson Safety Blog: HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESS

Jaime Jackson Safety Blog: HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESS:   “Happiness cannot come from without, it must come from within.”                                      Helen Keller What makes someone else ...

HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESS

 

“Happiness cannot come from without, it must come from within.”

                                    Helen Keller

What makes someone else happy may not make us happy. What makes

us happy may not make someone else happy. For thousands of years

human beings have struggled to define “happiness.” No more so than

last 30 years in the United States. With so many so called “experts”

trying to tell us what “happiness” is and what we should do or be feeling.

No one can sell “happiness.” We should look at what happiness is not.

We have a better intuition for what we do not like, what causes discomfort,

or makes us miserable. But recognize the difference between real

discomfort versus the need to get out of our comfort zone. The “pursuit

of happiness” is different from the avoidance of “unhappiness”. We

may not know what happiness is or what makes us happy at any given

point in time, but we do know what makes us unhappy, what we can

do about it and the choices we make. If we start with being aware of

and recognizing what makes us unhappy then we can make the right

choices for ourselves and start building a foundation of “happiness.”

Avoiding the unpleasantries and what drags us down. Be mindful that

often in life it is the struggles or when we are pushing through something

uncomfortable that when we come out the other side, and we will, that

we feel a true sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, and “happiness”.

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness

consists of. You will never live if you are constantly searching

for the meaning of life. Everything worthwhile in life is won through

struggle, effort, or plain hard work. We think we and our lives should

just be perfect. It is not. It is messy. It is difficult, but only as messy

and difficult as we choose to see it in our minds and what we choose

to dwell on. Focus on what is important to you. Your family. Helping

others. Let the rest go. Focus on what you can control. Let the rest go.

Everything worthwhile is gained through some sort of very epic struggle.

It is what gives us satisfaction from a job well done. A life well lived.

What is happiness anyway? I have heard it been said that happiness

is the joy of pursuing your life’s purpose or having purpose. What

then is the purpose? There are many purposes: family, kids, spouse,

support, so everyone is content and “happy.” Happiness is grace, joy,

poise, standing tall, doing the right thing, helping others, doing what is

right. Taking care of your mind, body, and spirit. Being the best version

of yourself at the moment. Tackling what the universe is asking of you

in the moment. Then there is the opposite of happiness. You feel bad.

Pleasure or overindulgence leads to feeling bad. We feel good with

exercise. Sleep. Reading. Learning. Resting. Meditating. A good poop.

Still not sure what the purpose is big picture? Then look at what is

right in front of you. What is your purpose for the day? What is being

asked of you right now? Focus on that. Take care of the trivial things

right under your nose. Simple acts of kindness to other people improve

our own happiness. Perpetual kindness leads to perpetual happiness.

“A person becomes happy to the same extent to

which he or she gives happiness to other people.”

                                        Jeremy Bentham

You can get the International bestseller The Shi*t I Wished I learned in College here:

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5FMWDGW