In the office, yesterday, Coach Kim and I had a great discussion...
She's been with us for just a few short months, and she really has been diving in deep not only to learn the ins and outs of Spurling but learn the personalities of each team member.
We chatted about my personality, happiness, and what I would want as a wedding gift.
It all stemmed around the same thing...
What is your personality and what makes you happy?
For me, it's tough, as I find all my happiness by giving to others. I never want anything, I don't like to own anything more than what I can fit in a shoebox, and just want to make others happy.
As always, I pondered on our conversation pretty hard last night.
It made me realize something...
I'm super happy with every aspect of my life, and I don't think many people can say that about themselves.
I think happiness should be the number one goal in life.
So, for what it's worth, here are my three keys to happiness:
1. Self-Awareness: This is the golden ticket. If you can be self-aware of who you are, you can't be stopped. Do you. I can tell you my keys to happiness, but ultimately, you have to know you and know what makes you happy. Self-Awareness is having a clear perception of your personality, your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. Self-Awareness allows you to understand other people, how they perceive you, and your attitude and response to them in the moment. Self-Awareness is the key to happiness. It all starts here.
2. Empathy: I'm still working on this one, but through self-awareness, I've learned to be more empathetic, and in turn, it has made me happier. Empathy is sensing others emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking an active interest in their concerns. I try to see where everyone is coming from before jumping to conclusions. This could be a client, a team member, or my fiancee'. This usually avoids confrontation and leaves us both feeling happy. I also understand that no one is like me. Just like no one is like you. I have my strengths, and I have my weaknesses. I understand that someone's weaknesses may be my strengths, but that doesn't mean they're a lesser person. We live our lives surrounded by others. Understanding where someone is coming from, their perspective, is a major key to your own happiness.
3. A Sense of What Matters Most: I have a really deep understanding (again, go back to self-awareness) of what really matters most to me. This starts at the macro level and goes all the way down to the day-to-day micro level. At the macro level I have one word that matters most to me; legacy. I want to leave a legacy. We're all put on this earth one time, and I plan on doing everything I can with the time that I have. That includes leaving a legacy with my family, a legacy amongst the people I surround myself with, and leaving a legacy with my brand. On a micro level, in order to leave that legacy, I need to do day-to-day actions that bring me closer to that goal. Every day I have a massive sense of what matters most to me and I make sure I do those things every day and they include: telling my fiancee' I love her, reading to better myself, writing to help clear my thoughts and communicate with people, building and communicating with my team, and exercising to take care of my mind and body. Not a day goes by that those things don't happen. What matters most to you? Do that.
The point of this was not to tell you what makes me happy, as you and I are different, so we can't just copy and paste these examples. However, the three umbrella terms are what I really want you to focus on. Use my examples as context, but spend some time thinking about what makes you happy!
Start with self-awareness and go from there...
So this is a fitness e-mail, right?
Yes, but fitness and nutrition is just one tool that moves you closer to the ultimate goal in life.
Happiness.
It's all connected :)
Dedicated to Your Success,
Doug Spurling
PS ~ Have a great weekend, and I'll be back on Monday with some killer content!