Success and Happiness

Who's in Control?

“Your success and happiness lies within you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

                                      Helen Keller

I have a friend who has a difficult boss. The boss is a woman who flies into rages and belittles her employees in front of their peers. She pitches tantrums when they do something without her approval, and when they fail to do something without her approval. She is the perfect example of Catch 22, and she's in complete control of everyone's livelihood. In these difficult times, no one can afford to lose their job, so my friend and the other employees take these abuses and carry on. The question is, how can one work in such an environment and stay well and sane?

The answer is this: keep your happiness with you and don't allow that woman, or anyone else, to part you from it. Don't give your power over to a tyrant. When she, or he, is yelling and berating you, think of it as wind blowing through trees. The trees that are the most flexible are the ones that don't break or lose their ground. Let the wrath pass over you like water over rocks. Keep telling yourself that she is not in control of your success or your happiness. You are.

We ARE in control of our success and happiness, and our attitude, even in the face of hateful attacks. It IS possible to hold on to self-esteem, even when someone is trying to strip it from you. Staying positive is a choice. No one can take your power unless you allow it. Stay positive, and you and your joy will become an invincible shield against life's difficulties.

                                     In the spirit,

                                        Jane