Be happy now. It's a great Western disease that we'll be happy in the future - when we get higher status or that BMW or that promotion or this project finished. Instead, be happy now.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of finding happiness in the present rather than postponing it for future achievements.
Marshall Goldsmith's quote highlights a common mindset in Western culture where people often believe they will find happiness in the future through external achievements and possessions, such as status or wealth. Instead, Goldsmith urges individuals to embrace happiness in the present moment, advocating for a proactive approach to joy rather than a future-dependent perspective.
In practice
This quote can be shared at a personal development seminar to inspire attendees to focus on present happiness.
Active questions are the alternative to passive questions. There is a huge difference between, 'Do you have clear goals?' and 'Did you do your best to set clear goals for yourself?' The former is trying to determine the employee's state of mind; the latter challenges the employee to describe or defend a course of action.
Treat every piece of advice as a gift or a compliment and simply say, “Thank you.
The only thing I don't think people don't understand about good leaders is that they're both good and lucky. A lot of it is timing.
Life is short. Do whatever you can to help people - not for status, but because the 95-year-old you will be proud if you did help people and disappointed if you didn't.
If we become aware of what's happening before we act, behaviour becomes a function of choice rather than a result of an impulse or trigger. You begin to control your world more as opposed to the outside world controlling you.
A leader who is self-aware enough to know that he or she is not adept at everything is one who has taken the first step toward being a great leader.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.
Don't postpone your happiness until some perfect future date. Be happy now, tomorrow will take care of itself.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
It turns out that the process of working toward a goal, participating in a valued and challenging activity, is as important to well-being as its attainment.
It is possible to live happily in the here and now. So many conditions of happiness are available-more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don't have to run into the future in order to get more.
Every object, every being...is a jar full of delight.
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