My husband turned to me and said, "Everyone here is so nice and so relaxed and so happy". I thought about it for a minute and replied, "Well if you can't be happy here, where can YOU be happy?"

The HERE in "Well if you can't be happy here..." was one of the most beautiful tropical islands in the world. My thought was how could a person be unhappy when they are in the middle of paradise? I would think you would have to be really miserable or a major jerk to become upset in a place like this.

For some reason this thought stayed with me and as I walked around, a few different perspectives flitted through my mind. The first is that, I suppose some people might get so caught up in the 'I am in paradise and on vacation, everything should go perfectly' mindset and that they might allow any issue or imperfection to really spoil their mood. Another mindset could be that of the person who is always discontented or is hesitant to admit something is good because they are afraid it will be taken away from them. This person either does not realize they are in paradise or will never admit that they are in paradise.

But for most of us, remaining happy and relaxed when we perceive ourselves to be in an ideal situation is pretty easy. Our environment is a strong influencer of our mood, but our mood is still determined by our mindset. I was relaxed and happy because I assumed that on this fabulous vacation I was going to be relaxed and happy. I was where I wanted to be. I had already made up my mind that I was going to be happy.

Why can't we have this mindset ALL of the time? Why wait for vacation to find it easy to be happy and relaxed. It really is all about how we choose to look at things. And if we keep finding ourselves in situations where we think, 'This is no paradise, this is hell on earth.' Then WHY put ourselves in these situations. We must either change our mindset or change our situations or both.

So this year, I invite you to join me as we each make our own paradise.

Keywords:
different perspectives, mindset, perceive, environment, choose to look at things, change our mindset

Author's Bio: 

Margaret developed a passionate belief that it takes courage and skill to be human at work and that all individuals have a responsibility to treat each other with dignity, respect and compassion.

Motivated by her beliefs and the desire to make a difference in the lives of others, Margaret acted on her vision by founding Meloni Coaching Solutions, Inc. Her vision is to create a group of successful individuals who are at peace with their authentic selves; a group of people who help and support others; a group who bring humanity to the office and thrive because of it. Margaret sees a world where achieving peace and achieving success go hand-in-hand.

Margaret’s students and clients often find that what she really brings them is freedom to bring their authentic selves to the office. As a former Information Technology Executive, Margaret always knew her preference was for the people behind the technology. Now Margaret brings those beliefs to individuals from many professional backgrounds. The common thread across her client base is the desire to experience peace at work and the recognition that peace is not absence of conflict, peace is the ability to cope with conflict. For these people, Margaret Meloni is truly ‘A Path to Peace’. ™

You can learn more about Margaret and her courses, programs, and products at: www.MargaretMeloni.com

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