Better than everyone else or just better than you were before?

Who are you trying to outdo?  Why?  Why do we think we have to be better than someone else - in whatever mythical way - in order to feel good about ourselves?

There will always been someone smarter than we are, more attractive than we are, wealthier than we are, or seemingly better than we are.  So what?  Each of us is unique.  Each of us has our own past that makes us who we are.   We all have different strengths and weaknesses.  Why not celebrate our strengths?  Why can't we just be happy with that?

I spent a lot of time trying to "be" better than other people, whatever that was.  It's a competition that is impossible to win. So instead of that, now I just want to be better than I was yesterday.   Maybe it means I stuck with the diet one more day.  Or learned something new at work.  Or finally finished a project I had been putting off.  Or any other little things that make up our mental to do list.  

I accept there will ALWAYS be people who are thinner, prettier, more successful, or whatever but I can be a better ME tomorrow.  That much is entirely doable and far more rewarding.

A good life or the right life?

So I was reading this book and one of the lines was something like "Am I living a good life or the right life?".  Huh, funny how a simple sentence can strike a person.  The woman in the book was choosing between her career and following her heart to marry a man who was in love with her.  The time period was around 1900 and her employer would not allow the women that worked for him to get married.  

She ended up choosing marriage and love over her career.  

I suppose our choices are a little more complex, or so we make them seem that way.  There are some people who don't even appreciate the fact that they HAVE choices.  They go through life going along with whatever comes their way.  Reacting instead of creating.  

It's no secret to most people who know me that I have an actual written Bucket List.  Yes, indeed.  I started it a few years ago when my parents were ill.  You see, my parents worked hard all their lives mostly getting by living paycheck to paycheck.  I suppose they had things they wanted to do "some day" or "after retirement".  They both fell ill shortly after they retired and never really got to do what they wanted to do.  Mom and Dad likely would have said they had a "good life" or a "decent life" but was it the "right life"?  

I have a pretty good life.  Decent job, reasonably nice house, good friends, good health, and so on.  But is it the "right life"?  Am I - or are you - doing what you WANT to do so you live your "right life"?  Do you have goals?  Do you have a plan?  Do you have a bucket list?  If YOU don't have a plan, I guarantee someone else will make a plan FOR you.  

I blogged about this at the "other place" when I was rambling on about what to do for my 50th birthday which is coming up in a couple of years.  Someone suggested looking at the bucket list and choosing, say, three things to accomplish that year which is a great plan.  

A good life or the right life?  I hope to figure that out.....

Why the title?

Ok, so I feel the need to explain the sort of sappy title to this blog.

I figured almost anything with "positive" in it would already be taken so I decided to go this route.  I am also a self professed animal lover.  Dogs mostly, though I don't really have anything against cats.

A while ago, I read somewhere that dogs treat every day and every moment like "the best".  Each day is the BEST day and every meal is the BEST meal.  My dog thinks every walk is the BEST walk even though we go the same route every time.  He is intrigued every time by the sights and smells (not sounds, he's deaf) like he hasn't seen or smelled it before.

Imagine the joy we would have in our lives if we thought more like that.  Every day would be a great day.  Every moment would be an adventure.  There's something to be said for living in the moment instead of wishing our lives away.  

So that is sort of what this blog is about.  Enjoying the moment and appreciating where we are in life.  Yeah, I wanna be more like my dog. 

 Dogs have given us their absolute all.  We are the center of their universe.  We are the focus of their love and faith and trust.  They serve us in return for scraps.  It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.  ~Roger Caras

What I wish I had known years ago

All these things....these are all the things I wish I had known years ago.  I have spent far too many days, weeks, months and years trying to be someone I'm not to please other people.  Being afraid to have dreams or wanting to achieve the things that mattered to me most.

Time to change things up and just enjoy life.  :-)

What's it really all about?

After spending a while (almost 2 years!) blogging on a different site, I noticed the way people became popular was to be negative, mean, or just generally ornery.  Whatever happened to supporting your friends and fellow human beings?  What happened to looking for the good in people instead of the bad?  Why is it now more "fun" or popular to be negative?

There ARE good people in this world and there IS more than trying to be better than everyone else by making others seem less than you.  I think we would be better served just being better than we were the day before.

So I'm not sure where this blog will go, just getting my feet wet here.  I'd like to it be a sunny spot.  Someplace that is fun, maybe uplifting and inspiring, but definitely not negative.  Welcome aboard!