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  • Written by Eric North aka “The Happiness Warrior”

I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened—Mark Twain

Almost every single one of us will face or has already faced incredibly difficult events and happenings in our lives. We can create drama and trauma from these obstacles, or we can face them head on and anticipate that we will always have battles to fight in our rapidly changing world. This way of thinking might sound pessimistic but it’s a proven and powerful way to create more peace and happiness in our lives.

We can move forward and find happiness with the self-confidence that comes when we develop a “ready for anything” mindset. This creates a source of strength where we are always prepared for both the good and bad that comes with living our lives. When we know our powers and faults, we can better understand our adversaries in advance. We can be more resilient in the face of conflict and hardship. We can choose to be happy in the knowledge that we’re our own creation and external forces are just obstacles and a part of our life’s journey that provide depth of meaning.

The last few months of my life have been some of the most difficult and soul searching in all my existence. I had a very painful bike accident which in just a few seconds profoundly changed everything. I was out in the park on a beautiful morning and mistook a branch on the trail that caused me to flip and crash.

The pain was horrific, and I went into shock. I listened to my inner voice and told myself to breathe and calm my mind. I was deep in the woods, and no one could come rescue me.  Adrenaline kicked in and I reminded myself that I was a warrior and got back on my bike to make the painful three miles home. There was blood, open wounds everywhere, and I was a mess. My knees were bloody, and both my shoulders and elbows were jammed and raw.

That afternoon I heard a pop in my knees and was unable to walk. I didn’t know at the time, but I had torn both of my quadriceps from my knees. Things moved rapidly from there to the emergency room. I was fortunate for my great medical team, and after a series of office visits in a wheelchair I was soon scheduled for bi-quad repair, a delicate and lengthy surgery. It was my first surgical procedure and a big one!

Post-surgery I faced a twelve-week recovery period with eight of those weeks in straight leg splints. It was daunting but I told myself that I would make it an adventure. I knew instinctively that I would do my best as always and set out to heal and regain the use of my legs once again. Never in my life had I found myself so humbled and vulnerable. This was an opportunity to learn new lessons and create a better version of myself!

As if this wasn’t enough, the following week my beloved rescue pit bull Junior lost his leg to cancer and became a tripod dog. It was a very emotional time, but I knew that the love of my dog would help us both heal, and we would make our healing journey together.

Throughout it all I focused on maintaining a warrior mindset and continuously aligned my thoughts with my Happiness Warrior Core values. I try to live my life on a personal code, be prepared for anything, and remember the responsibility that comes from being a trusted leader.

I had one scary moment when my mind spiraled to despair and fear of the unknown. It felt like the end of the world. All my fears of what might happen flashed before my eyes and darkness tried to overcome me. It was too much, and I almost blacked out, but I managed to clear my head and begin calming breathing exercises. I told myself repeatedly that “all will be well” and gradually came to my senses. I would not succumb to fear. I knew that I needed to live in the present and when I opened my eyes, I took comfort in my familiar surroundings and felt a surge of inspiration. We become victims and stop growing when we fear the unknown and turn away from the light.

THINK OF WHAT COULD GO RIGHT

As The Happiness Warrior, I’m a firm believer in the power and spirit of our thoughts, spoken words, and intentions. Life has a way of taking strange turns and if we act as victims, we often see ourselves as hurt, broken, and deserving of our fate. If we focus on what could go wrong instead of seeing ourselves in a positive light, we’ll increasingly find that our negative thoughts are self-fulfilling. Negative thoughts equal negative outcomes.

Starting the day with an attitude of distrust and bad temper towards others will create unnecessary stress where we’re out of synch and irrationally angry. This creates a negative loop in an endless cycle of alienation and loneliness.

When we think about what could go right, we are tapping the great power of quantum physics. When we strongly believe in ourselves and our power to create our world, we are more capable of rising and overcoming life’s obstacles and disappointments.

HOW TO DESTROY FEARS AND CONQUER ADVERSITY

There’s a Latin phrase that resonates with me. Premeditatio malorum means the premeditation of evils and visualizing what could possibly go wrong when we enter a new situation. By visualizing or verbalizing possible negative outcomes we’re also setting ourselves up to find the path to make the right decisions that allow us to conquer these obstacles and move forward with a sense of purpose and meaning.

“The man who has anticipated the coming of troubles takes away their power when they arrive.” — Seneca

To effectively do this:

1. Sit down every evening or morning for a few minutes.

2. Visualize your day and prioritize your most difficult tasks.

3. Imagine multiple ways your day becomes a huge disaster. This is important because it often helps us to compartmentalize and remove any doubts.

4. Visualize yourself staying calm while dealing with anything that happens to you. Visualize the outcome that makes you happy and steer your mind towards the positive outcome that serves the greater good.

DEVELOP A SERENDIPITOUS MINDSET

Most of us are trained to think of lucky or fortunate circumstances as just random and unplanned. Some think we’re part of some cosmic plan and fate controls our destiny. As The Happiness Warrior, I want to show you another way of looking at “luck” by using the “serendipity mindset”.  When we develop a serendipity mindset we can evolve beyond planning and use our wisdom, intuition, and intention to capitalize on chance encounters and random events. When we open our eyes up and really see the world and opportunities around us, our creativity is unleashed. Random happenings become life-changing, and our dreams can become our reality. When we’re prepared for serendipity, life gives us more options for being happier, connected, and secure with ourselves!

Act as if the universe cares about you and your faith in yourself becomes a self-fulfilling and lifegiving journey.

I’ve always had a belief that when we’re doing the right thing and feel good about who we are that good things happen. The next step is always there to present itself when we move forward in life with positive intention and self-awareness. 

Everything we are looking for is always right in front of us when we’re present in our lives and learn to “show-up” for ourselves.

SEEK SOLUTIONS WHERE EVERYONE WINS

Always plan the outcome that you envision that will have the best results for everyone. Look at the alternatives and weigh the options, which will create the greater good and which will cause the least harm and help others to feel respected.

Life is what we make it and worrying about what might go wrong that will likely never happen is a sure way to an unhappier and more anxious life.

When we start loving ourselves a lot more and realizing that our lives matter, we can feel happy whether we choose to or not. This helps us create a mindset and motivation to really focus on doing the things that make us happy and authentic. When we realize that we have power to make our own solutions we can begin in greater harmony with our true nature and live in our truth.

My dog is doing well and is remarkably brave and resilient. I never doubted him for a moment and knew that he would thrive in the love that surrounds him. I’m ecstatic that I’m fully walking again without any braces or crutches and looking forward to riding my bike in the woods very soon!


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Eric North The Happiness Warrior

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