Joy

For the first time in my life, I ran a full marathon.

And it was so enjoyable.

Now, for a person who used to believe she was never good at running and was always among the slowest runners at school, it is quite surprising that I didn’t walk a bit and still enjoyed to the finishing line feeling refreshed.

This is actually a good metaphor for me. Nowadays, I enjoy all sorts of things I didn’t think I’d enjoy before. And when I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t do well and it was never a pleasant experience.

Running has become part of my life and I now enjoy running regularly. The thing I despised became a part of my life that nurtures me and gives me so many great benefits.

So, if we’re not enjoying any part of our life right now or struggling to create a new beneficial habit, we can look at changing our approach and perceptions.

Then, our life can become even more enjoyable!

Oh, and I ran the marathon in 3hrs and 59 min. But the best part was the experience of being with other runners who were all doing their best and being totally sweaty!

In our business, I’ve played the role as an office administrator, bookkeeper, IT programmer, project manager, shipping person, graphic designer, copy writer, cleaner, coffee maker, movie and video producer, presenter, writer, event coordinator, inventory manager, HR officer etc. etc. Yes, that’s almost everything!

I admit I’m not good at everything. There are people who can do all those things much better than I can. So, probably it’s not smart that I get involved in everything. But I think I am lucky because I do what I love while some people say they don’t like their work.

When we don’t like what we’re doing, there are 2 things we can do to change that immediately:
- We stop doing it.
- We chose to enjoy it.

When we take the first option, the things we avoid could come back to us later in one way or another. When we take the second option, the world becomes even more full of things we enjoy doing. And I love doing what I do!

Choosing a gift for someone else is not easy. We think of what this person might like or find useful. And after all that, that person might already have enough of what we give them.

What we exchange everyday with the people surrounding us are gifts too. We don’t see it that way but we are giving and receiving many gifts everyday. Like the things we say to others or the helping hand we give out.

If we analyze what the other person likes or needs before we do or say something, our communication and relationship obviously gets more complicated. We just can’t make up our minds.

Whoever the gift is for in whatever circumstance is, the easiest way to come up with the ideal gift is to give what we like, what we need and what we love.

Even if the recipient didn’t really like what you gave, they would still appreciate the fact you gave something you really treasure. And when you are enthusiastic, whatever you are offering looks, sounds and feels great. Others might end up liking it.

Certain choices we make can change our lives.

Certain choices we repeatedly make change ourselves.
The great philosopher Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”

We are defined by our habits. The quality of life we live is not determined by the things we have, but by the habits we have.

Although habits are not easy to change or establish, only way to create a new habit is to do it once and then do it again and again.

So what we chose to do right now is the key component of our life.

Just because someone started a great cause and dedicated his/her life to something that serves others, it doesn’t mean this person is selfless. In fact, I think people who live like that are some of the most selfish people.

The reason why giving, sharing and caring feels great is because we see the connection we have with others. It’s easier to see this connection with our own family and friends. It makes us feel good when we feel we can do something for people we love. If it was not the case, our world would be full of homeless children!

So, it’s simply that amongst the most rewarding things we can do in life is to give. And if we could dedicate our life to doing that everyday, we can say we are living life of ultimate pleasure. You wouldn’t do that if you’re not selfish.

But recognising the fact that we are merely doing all those things just for our own sake-that we are actually very selfish, is not so easy. I said to my son this morning, “Say thank you!” after I helped him put his shoes on. Then suddenly I realised that I just spoiled my own pleasure.