Are you a “success”?

Your life is whatever you make it. A business is whatever its employees make it. A nation is whatever its citizens make it. And the world is whatever the human race makes it. Don't blame your problems on other people or mysterious forces.

One way to understand this concept is to imagine that you are dead, and God is asking you about your life.

“Tell me about  your life.”

Imagine God tells you,

“I am interested in knowing what is going wrong with people's lives. I did not create the universe so that humans would suffer. I already know of the events of your life. I want to hear from you why you believe you had so many problems and so much unhappiness.”

If you are divorced, you might be asked to talk about your marriage; how your feelings towards your spouse changed; and why you think the marriage broke down.

If you had a business that failed, you might be asked for your thoughts on business activity; why you decided to become a business owner; what you experienced as you were struggling to maintain your business; and why you think your business failed.

Would you blame other people?

When we talk to our friends about our problems, we often blame our problems on our parents for doing a lousy job of raising children; or on discrimination by other races or religions; or on bad luck. If we had a business that had failed, we might blame our failure on selfish and dishonest competitors, or we might blame the Mexicans for undercutting our prices, or the black business owners for getting special privileges from our government, or the Liberals for interfering with the economy in the name of the environment.

I have heard some people complain that they cannot enjoy life because Republicans want to restrict freedom; some women complain that they are discriminated against by men; and some people blame their problems on the school system.

Would you explain your problems to God the same way you explain them to your friends? Would you blame your problems on Republicans, Liberals, Mexicans, blacks, bad luck, or the military establishment? Or would you take responsibility for your problems?

If you proudly boasted to God that you are responsible for all your problems, what would you say if God asked you to explain yourself: 

“How are you responsible for your failed business? Or your divorce? Your loneliness? Your alcohol problems? And how are you responsible for the crimes you committed?

“Are you taking responsibility for your life because you think that is what I want to hear? Or did you actually spend time contemplating your life, and did you find intelligent reasons to believe that you caused all the problems in your life?”
 

Imagine that God then tells you that there are dozens of volumes that have detailed records of every moment of your life.

What if there are detailed records of your life?

God then tells you: 

“Here are the details of your life.  Let's look through them to see if we can determine why your life had so many problems.”

What caused you to make so many bad decisions?

God continues:

“Because humans have both emotions and intelligence, there are endless conflicts between your feelings and your intellect.

“When I look at your life, there are times I wish you had followed your feelings, and there are other times I wish you had followed your intellect. I would like to understand why you made the decisions you made.”

If you and God were to analyze the records of your life, you would find that discrimination, Mexicans, bad luck, and the military establishment had little or nothing to do with the problems you suffered from.

You would find that you spent almost every moment of every day in the manner that you wanted to spend it. Only occasionally was your life altered due to discrimination, Republicans, or bad luck.

For example, the records would show that almost every morning of every day you got out of bed when you decided to. Only rarely can you find an entry in the records of your life where somebody or some natural disaster forced you to get out of bed when you did not want to.

After getting out of bed, you then ate breakfast, or did not eat breakfast, depending on how you felt. If you ate breakfast, you ate whatever you pleased. And you ate breakfast at home or at a restaurant, depending on how you felt.

Only rarely would you be able to show God an entry in the records of your life where somebody or some natural disaster forced you to eat breakfast when you did not want to, or forced you to skip breakfast, or forced you to eat something you did not want to eat.

God might ask you,

“Where in your life where you abused? When I look through the records of your life, it appears that 99.9% of your life was spent as you wanted to spend it.”

You might respond,

"Well, for example, I did not want to wake up early in the morning from an alarm clock. I was getting up early because my job required it. So I would say that I was forced to get up earlier than I wanted to.

“I wanted to get up in a more relaxed manner, and have a pleasant, relaxed breakfast with my friends or family. But I never could do that."

God might respond,

“Who forced you to get up early? The records of your life show that you made the decision to accept and keep that job, which means you agreed to accept the conditions of the job, such as getting to work at a certain time.

Therefore, nobody forced you to get up early. Rather, it was your own decision to do so. Why would you make a decision to get up early if you truly did not want to?

“Was the thought of finding another job so upsetting that you preferred to suffer getting up early rather than look for another job? Or was there something about the job you enjoyed so much that you are willing to sacrifice for it? Was money so important to you that you decided to sacrifice some of the things you loved?

“Regardless of how you explain your behavior, can't you see that it was your own mind that made almost all the decisions in your life? All the suffering that you complain about was the direct result of some decision that you made. I don't understand why you made so many decisions that caused you to suffer. What did I do wrong when I created your mind?”

All adults have freedom

Your job does not control you, nor does poverty, nor does the military establishment. If you do something that you do not like, or if you make a bad decision, it is your fault, not somebody else's. All adults have the freedom to do whatever they want each and every day.

Only occasionally does a situation arise in which an adult is forced into doing something he doesn't want to. The only adults who are routinely pressured into doing things they don't want to do are prisoners.

It is self-destructive for you to complain about a life that you chose for yourself. Instead, you should try to understand why you make so many bad decisions.

The earth is a paradise

Our planet has beautiful sunsets, gorgeous flowers, spectacular mountains, a wide variety of foods, and lots of different types of people and animals. With the technology we have in the 21st century, we could be living a wonderful life. We could make beautiful cities, and we could have plenty of time to get together after work for dinner and social affairs.

So why are so many people fighting and cheating each other? Why are so many people complaining of abuse and suffering? Why are most people struggling to find happiness rather than enjoying their freedom in this beautiful paradise?

If you are suffering, your misery is the result of decisions your own mind made for you. Unfortunately, most people assume that their suffering is coming from outside of their mind.

Is there something wrong with the way the human mind has been designed? Or are millions of people picking up self-destructive attitudes? Or are some minds malfunctioning due to pollution, industrial foods, or genetic disorders?

You have tremendous freedom to spend your life as you please. Your life is what you make it. If your life is miserable, it is because of decisions that you made. Take responsibility for your life; try to understand what you are doing to ruin it; and try to make it better.

Accept what you are

Millions of people believe that they are incredibly intelligent and educated, but if you were as intelligent as you believe you are, it would be obvious to everybody. You would be able to solve problems faster and easier than anybody else. You would be able to learn faster and with less effort than other people. You would find solutions for problem when nobody else could find them.

Considering that most people have ordinary lives that are full of mistakes, it is ludicrous for most people to claim that they are among the most intelligent people on the planet.

Don't pretend you are something you are not. Try to understand what you really are. Try to understand your limitations, abilities, and weaknesses. Use the information about yourself to set up a life that you enjoy.

If you pretend you are something you are not, you can end up in situations that cause stress, and even death. For example, fooling yourself into believing that you can climb mountains when you lack the ability can result in your death. Fooling yourself into believing that you are an electrical engineer, or a carpenter, or a car mechanic when you really don't have the ability or desire can result in a lot of stress, and you may be fired from your job, which can create more problems for you.

Who among us is "successful"?

The typical attitude is that a person is "successful" when he is rich or famous. For example, people such as Bill Gates, Julia Roberts, and Warren Buffett are considered to be successful because they are rich and famous.

I would say a person has become a success when he has figured out how to set up a life he enjoys. If a person enjoys his life, he has been successful. Conversely, if a person does not enjoy his life, he is a failure, regardless of how much money he accumulated.

Have you heard that song called, What A Wonderful World? Louis Armstrong sang that song when he was very old. When you are old and about to die, will you be singing such a happy song? Or will you be crying:

"Please, if there is a god or a budda or whatever, it is not fair that I die now. I have suffered so much. I want to have real friends, and I want to enjoy the world. Why did you give me life and then torture me? Please, let me be happy first. Then I will die."

If you die without enjoying life, you have been a failure, and your life has been a waste. It does not matter how much money you have, nor how famous you are.

How do you know if you have been happy? Anybody who wonders if they are happy probably isn't. In which case, why not help change the world and possibly bring some true happiness to your life and the lives of others?