My Stretch Rules of Happiness

Here are some rules that I live by.  I call them my Stretch Rules if you will.  No matter what happens in my life, I don’t let anything violate my core essence which is based upon these rules.  That is what Stretch Yourself is all about.  Asking yourself a simple honest question, “What do you truly believe?  When you understand that, and create rules around what makes YOU happy in your life and focus, you give clarity to your beliefs and you will create the relationships you deserve in all aspects of your life; whether it is eliminating scarcity, creating abundance, enhancing your relationships, or just doing what you truly love.  I hope you enjoy reading these and hopefully they will inspire you to create your own Stretch Rules of Happiness.

1.      Stretch Yourself.  I believe that success doesn’t come when we're in our comfort zone.  I hear people say, "But I'm afraid of what would happen if I fail.”  My response to that is simple: "How would you know if you don’t try and give it all you have?"

2.      Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that ONE way you‘re doing it’s not working.

3.      When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.  “There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true.  It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4.      Whatever fear you have, whatever you imagine would be the worst thing that could happen, wouldn’t be as worse as you not trying or asking.  “Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as what you mentally perceive it would be."

5.      Focus, Focus, Focus!  Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

6.      Take things in the present one a day at a time.  No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you focus on the present moment.  You can get through anything one day at a time. 

7.      Keep Pushing.  Never stop creating.  Never stop improving yourself.  The moment you stop improving, you kill the momentum of change.  Your goal should be to better yourself each and every day, in some small way.  Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen.  “Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.”  

8.      Be Decisive.  Never second guess your Intuition.  Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9.      Measure everything of significance.  Anything that is measured and watched, improves.  

10.  Never place your expectations on someone based upon how you deal with your relationships.  Understand people are on different levels of consciousness.  Don’t place your expectations on others based on how you treat them.  They will disappoint you every time.  Be the BEST YOU!

11.  Solve your own problems.  Seek counsel; get assistance after you find a solution to your problem.  That is your lesson to be learned.  Don’t expect someone to help you solve your problem; it is not as important as the problems of their own.

12.  Don’t take yourself too seriously, laugh, have fun, enjoy life.  Lighten up and enjoy the PRESENT.  They only thing we are in control of are they way we react to problems.  None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are. 

13.  Appreciation.  Find reasons to appreciate everything that happens in your life.  After all, you're really lucky just to be alive.  You overcame a BILLION to one odds to make it here.  Life is too short to be sad, complaining, worrying, and wanting more just to feed your ego.  You only have one life to live, so you enjoy every moment of the ride.