Happiness isn’t about winning and succeeding all the time.
In fact, if you think happiness is about getting it right all the time then … you’re wrong!
Happiness comes in many forms and what we learn from failure is definitely one of them.
Read on to learn more about failing your way to happiness and success…
via the Ladders by Benjamin P Hardy
Russell Ballard tells the story of a seven-year-old girl who started a tomato plant for a second grade project.
She was taught that one tiny seed had the potential to become a tomato, which contained many seeds that could make many tomatoes.
In the seven-year-old’s words, “And if all of those seeds were planted and grew more tomatoes, and you planted all of those seeds, in a few seasons you would have millions of tomatoes.”
Unfortunately, she almost killed her starter tomato plant. In her youthful immaturity, she left the plant in a dark room for a few days and totally forgot about it.
“When I remembered the plant, it was all wilted and dead looking. I cried because I thought of all of those millions of tomatoes that would never grow.”
She was devastated, and likely nervous to tell her teacher that she had killed her plant. Her mom told her that the plant might not be dead yet, and that with some proper nourishment — sunlight and water — the plant might revive.
The girl put the plant right by the window where it could get tons of sunlight. She regularly gave the plant water. And a “miracle” occurred, the plant almost immediately began thriving and growing tomatoes.
Nothing is permanent
Everything is in a state of movement. Nothing remains in a state of isolation without being changed.
Either you’re growing or you’re going backwards.
If you don’t continually hone your mind and body, you will become foggy and flabby.
Human beings, like tomato plants, are organic structures that need constant nourishment. Without a nourishing environment, it doesn’t matter how much potential you have. If you are in a dark room for long, you will wilt, and potentially die.
No amount of willpower in a dark room will save your life. You need healthy nourishment from the outside world. Gritting your teeth and trying to do it on your own won’t work. You need the right environment and you need the right behavior.
In order to even develop powerful characteristics and internal strength in the first place, you need amazing inputs from your environment. As Zig Ziglar said, “Your input determines your outlook. Your outlook determines your output, and your output determines your future.”
However, there is never a point at which you’ve arrived, and no longer need constant nourishment. Even after you’ve developed incredible internal clarity, motivation, education, and strength, if you don’t create an environment that supports the growth you’ve made, you will lose the growth you’ve made.
If you’re not continually being challenged to rise to new heights, you will become stagnant and stale as a person. If you’re not growing, you’re going backwards.
Alain de Botton once said, “Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.”
If you’re still the same person you were 12 months ago, what the heck have you been doing?
When was the last time you pushed yourself to exhaustion in a workout?
When was the last time you really learned something? And true learning is far different from acquiring information — learning involves a permanent change in how you see and act in the world. If you didn’t change, you didn’t learn. As Albert Einstein said, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
Rest and recovery are absolutely essential. But you won’t get the benefits from rest and recovery if you’re not truly pushing and expanding yourself regularly. Your rest will truly be sweet if you’re earning it through a life worth living…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE
Beverly Dole Blog 