Forget Your Own Happiness, You Owe Me

Today I received the latest newsletter from Barbara Sher, author of Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams and other inspiring books on living the life you were meant to live. In her newsletter she points us to the video above where she stresses the importance of doing what we were put here on this Earth to do.

In preparing us for the video Barbara points out, “You won’t hear one word about how you should treat yourself well, make yourself happy, put yourself first. It’s not about that. It’s about a debt you owe to the rest of us. ”

Even though I do talk a lot about making yourself happy, I remembered that I ended my book, Color Your Life Happy, on a point similar to the one Barbara is making in her video.

Happiness is the state of mind that enables you to reach within your reservoir of strength, joy, love, and peace to find purpose and meaning. Carrying out your purpose will help you and others. Being grateful will give meaning to your life and to the lives of those you help.

A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives you roses. ~ Chinese Proverb

I challenge you to suspend your skepticism; open your mind to the possibility of happiness and incorporate some of the ideas I’ve shared into your own life. Commit to balancing your family and work, finding your spiritual path, insisting on a job you love, releasing your leader within and leaving a worthy legacy.

I believe that each of us is born with a gift to share. Life is not just about finding ways to give yourself pleasure while neglecting to share your talents and brilliance with the world. Embracing happiness and doing what you were meant to do are one in the same.

How dare you neglect your gift to write beautiful poetry and deprive us of the inspiration it would give us?

How dare you have within you a deep love for scientific research that could lead to a cure for cancer but bury it under a 9 to 5 job you hate?

Wayne Dyer urges us not to die with our songs still inside of us.

You owe it to me, to us, to do what you love, for by sharing your gift, your purpose, and your passion, you fulfill your life mission and leave the world a better place for it.

What is your take on this? Speak up.