What I Want
Posted on: June 27, 2011
A few days ago I had one of those, “what am I doing with my life?” types of days. Why do I sit in traffic on the 405, 10, and 110 freeways? Why do I spend 30 minutes looking for parking every time I go somewhere? Why do I listen to Ryan Seacrest on the radio? Why do I spend $14 on a cocktail? Why do I do all this without gaining a dime in my pocket?
These thoughts became so frustrating that I had to turn to venting in my kitten pocket journal. I was going to tackle the, “what do I want out of life?” question once and for all. As I sat at Berri’s Cafe by myself (love this place, btw!), I began to unravel the mystery of Cleo’s Dream Life.
1. What do I want? The answer to this question can either be simple or complex. I choose simple. I want to be happy, but not only that, I want to be the happiest person you know.
2. How do I become the happiest person you know? To answer this question, I have to think about all the happy people I know in order to see what they have in common. My ex-boss at the finance place is definitely one of them. The F&B director at the restaurant I work at is one. My little cousin is one. The blonde girl from my high school swim team. The round guy that works at the Starbucks across the street. My goddesses. My girlfriend that started her own kick*ss company. My friend’s roommate from Mexico. As I am creating this list however, I can not be 100% sure that any of these people are actually happy. The only way I can judge their level of happiness is by how I intuitively feel around them on a consistent basis, whether their eyes are happy more often than not, how frequently they laugh, and how they treat other people.
All of the people I mentioned have widely different financial statuses, live in different parts of the world, are of all ages, and range from married to single to everything in between. They are of all different zodiac signs, have extremely different professions, and some have a lot more chiseled abs than others. What is the conclusion?
1. Money does not make you happy.
2. A relationship does not make you happy.
3. Being a gym rat does not make you happy.
4. Living in LA does not make you happy.
5. Being a Taurus does not make you happy.
6. Your Gucci bag does not make you happy.
The common denominator between these happy people I mentioned and those I did not mention is not what they have in their life or what they do to fill up their time. What sets these few people apart from the rest is the outlook they choose to have on life, day in and day out. How happy you are is your own choice. You choose if you let that parking ticket ruin your day. You choose if you laugh at someone’s joke. You choose if you smile and if you genuinely mean it. You choose if you spend more money than you make. You choose if you walk with a spring in your step and your shoulders back. You choose whether you judge another person. You choose if you get jealous. Your outlook on life is all up to you.
This is an empowering concept.
Today I choose to do my best to have a happy outlook on all of my circumstances. I choose to declare that I am the happiest person you know, even though I may not be in reality… yet. I choose to pursue interests and people in my life that make me feel happy and supported. I choose to be as picky with my thoughts as I am with my food, my men, and my wardrobe. I choose to smile because it feels good (and everyone always tells me how pretty it is). I choose happiness because this means I will enjoy the journey of today as much as the arrival of tomorrow.
Luv,
Cleo
6 Responses to "What I Want"
June 28, 2011 at 4:28 pm
First time reading your blog. High quality! Thanks for your words…great content!
June 29, 2011 at 3:32 am
I loved philosophy back in high school. The subject of Happiness was definitely a tough one, mostly because of its subjective nature, and its duality with pain and sadness. I guess you can choose to seem happy to others by putting a smile on your face, but I don’t think it really affects how you feel on the inside. I believe that happiness is divided between the short-term (material) and the long-term (moral). When you make decisions to benefit your immediate desires, you may be happy for a certain amount of time, but your consciousness may catch up to you in the long run (say for example, that you’ve enjoyed a long day at the beach, you might regret not having been more productive the day after). On the other hand, making choices that do not benefit you immediately may make you feel better in the future (ie: you’ve helped your friend move instead of going to this pool party, one week later you’ll feel happier because you would have liked him/her to do the same thing for you). That said, I suppose the happier people are those who can look back on their lives without regret, for they have acted in accordance with their moral values. But is it possible to be happy in the now while constantly worrying about the future? I have to work in the morning, but I really want to watch that Family Guy episode on TV, what am I gonna do!? ;)
Cleo's Dating Blog 
June 27, 2011 at 11:21 pm
ahh ur amazing!
love you…
ps. im your biggest fan Clo-Money <3
June 27, 2011 at 11:53 pm
you are a GODDESS jazzy-poo <3