J.P. Hansen - Find Your Bliss: Break Free of Self-Imposed Boundaries and Embrace a New World of Possibilities

Find Your Bliss

BREAK FREE OF SELF-IMPOSED BOUNDARIES AND EMBRACE A NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES

J.P. HANSEN

Copyright 2016 J.P. Hansen

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.

FIND YOUR BLISS

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An old man and his little grandson were at the zoo watching the monkeys wrestle in their cage. The man placed his hand on his grandsons shoulder and said, Theres a battle between two monkeys going on inside every one of us. One is evil and downright mean, constantly criticizing, angry, jealous, greedy, selfish, inferiorI call it ego. The other is love, joy, peace, bliss, compassion, unity, hope, kindness, and truth. I call it spirit.

The boy squinted at the monkey cage, then glanced up and asked, Which monkey wins, Grandpa?

The one you feed.

In your own life, you feed both ego and spirit, so the better question is, Which one do you feed the most? We all have two competing inner voices:

Spirit: the intuition that is always guiding us in the right direction.

Chattering monkey/ego: the incessant critic that says, Youre stupid! Or You cant do it. Or Who do you think youre fooling? Not me.

Were going to delve into spirit and ego, but lets start with that chattering monkey. If someone constantly insulted you, would you be friends with that person? Im guessing you answered no. Now, take a step back. Do you recognize the above comments?

The answer is obvious on this page youre reading, so why do so many people still listen toand in turn feedthat chattering monkey? When you do so, you imprison yourself inside an invisible fence, limiting the way you think about yourself and closing off your options.

Maybe you think, Wait a minute, chattering monkeys and invisible fences doesnt sound like me! Let me illustrate two very different days.

After a fitful sleep, during which you woke up in the middle of the night and worried about all the tasks you had to do when your alarm sounds, you awaken feeling tired. Your first thoughts are of all of the things you need to get done, first at home, then work: shower; dress; feed the dog; make sure the kids are awake, dressed, and fed; then flip on the TV. If its any of the big threeCNN, Fox News, or the Weather Channelthe news is negative. Your newspaper has a bunch of negative headlines, so you speed read enough to be adequately informed. Next, you turn to the local network and learn of an accident that will slow down your commute to work, then a quick check on your local weather: a dour prediction.

You cringe at the time, gulp your coffee, and cut your breakfast short because it just dawned on you that its trash day. After getting most of the junk to the curb without destroying your work outfit, you start the car, and sure enough, hit the extra delays of traffic, thinking, Why do they call it RUSH hour?

All this before you even start your workday: emails, deadlines, memos, more deadlines, meetings to update meeting the deadlines, more emails that need your attention right now and create more deadlines. The boss is in a bad mood again because you missed your deadline. You skip lunch so you can prioritize your deadlines. Then, after a stressful afternoon during which your boss and stomach take turns growling at you, its time to go home. You mutter, Theres not enough time in the day to a coworker, then shut downthat is, transfer your calls and emails to your smart phone.

As you limp home through sluggish traffic, you listen to talk show hosts bantering about politicians. Once home, you down a stiff drink, spend your quality time with your spouse growling about your stressful day in between gulps, eat dinner with the TV on, then a night of continued negative news. Finally, you have difficulty falling asleep because you cant stop thinking about what you didnt accomplish.

I know this may be an exaggerationor for some, an understatementbut admit it: The typical 24-hour cycle is laced with stress. But it doesnt have to be this way.

Q: If all the religious traditions and great teachers throughout time tell us our natural birthright is bliss, why are so many people miserable all the time?

A: Exactly!

Imagine waking up each morning feeling well-rested, happy, and eager to start your day. The morning goes by effortlessly, then you enjoy your work during the day. You experience joy from all of your relationships with coworkers and a boss who appreciates you. At the end of the day, you enjoy the company of your family, then fall asleep with enthusiasm for an even better tomorrow. Everyday bliss!

Is this already you? If so, great, then you will love this book; if not, great, then you will love this book. Simply reading this book will improve your life. All of my life-coaching clients have discovered an important truth: Everyday bliss is a choice; for many, it starts with being able to simply imagine feeling positive, then practical applications, and then bliss will follow.

Everyday bliss, for some, is a contradiction of terms. Many people believe that bliss is some far-off place that is only reachable when you dieand certainly not every day. During the promotion of my first book, The Bliss List, I was often asked in TV and radio interviews, Is The Bliss List like The Bucket List? I usually replied, Sort of, but in my book, you dont have to die.

Many feel bliss is some divine gift bestowed on a chosen few: Mother Teresa, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Jesus. This is puzzling to me because all four of those people (and many more) believed and professed that bliss is inside all of us, that bliss is our birthright. For starters, lets demystify the term bliss by defining it as meaningful happiness. Sound more approachable? Maybe even possible? Good! This is the first step in breaking free from your invisible fences, a metaphor for self-imposed boundaries, and obtaining bliss: the I-can-do-it attitude.

We are spiritual beings living in a physical presence. Find Your Bliss combines the mystical with the practical. The insight you gain from this bookobtaining meaningful happinesswill inspire you to transform your life in every area.

I have been blessed with good fortune throughout my career and life. My dreams have been realized many times. I graduated from Boston College, my first choice, and then obtained several dream jobs with blue-chip companies like Nestl, Bristol-Myers Squibb, S.C. Johnson Wax, and ConAgra. I worked with some very talented people and was lucky to have several mentors who taught me the ropes and who continue to help me.