Happiness is Not So Much a Goal as Being at Peace

Being content and at peace with your life trumps sheer happiness.

Happiness is somewhat overrated. I prefer to strive for being content and at peace. I’m not saying this just because I watched REVIEW last night as the character Forrest MacNeil had to review what being relentlessly happy all of the time is like. In case you’re wondering, he gave “happiness” 3 stars out of 5 stars, and in my opinion, after what he went through, he was generous. I’m saying this because happiness is often equated to giddiness and joy, and it’s short lived. Being calm and at peace with your life is long term.

People say I am way too cheerful, especially in the morning, and I possess endless amounts of energy. I started out purposely being cheerful in the morning as a way to annoy my family and it just sorta stuck. Given a choice of moping about, dragging my feet, shoulders slumped, stumbling through the house grumbling, I tend instead to lean into the anticipation of the day. That’s something to be excited about, a fresh day of hell and new beginnings.

Besides, I have much to be grateful for today. For starters, I got rid of the horrible website company in Oklahoma last week that messed up my website so terribly and overcharged. I realized my sanity could not take one more day and immediately fired them. This was after the owner threatened to hold my website hostage. He refused to release it back to my host because he knew it would not function because his team, which I think consists solely of his son in Texas, coded it incorrectly. That was a fairly stressful time. Within a few days of firing them, my website guy, who is local, fixed almost everything, and it’s working great. Lesson learned here is do not hire a website company out of state.

I have two listings coming up next week that I am very excited to represent. One is a condo in West Sacramento and the other is a duplex in Carmichael. And I am working on selling a home in Elk Grove, which is held open today, along with another home in West Sacramento, that is also open today. My Sacramento real estate priorities are focused.

The icing on the cake for me is a Mediterranean cruise we just booked for after next summer on the Regent Seven Seas. The staterooms are suites, around 300 square feet with balconies. You can dine whenever you want, no designated seating. There is a spa on the ship. It’s not one of those super-sized Disneyland cruises, our ship is much smaller, and we hit all the fabulous European ports. Ever since I was a kid, I have yearned to experience a luxury Mediterranean cruise. We will also spend about 5 days on the front end in Barcelona, in my book the most glamorous and exciting city in Spain. It’s an incredible journey to look forward to.

My husband and I could have saved this excursion for when I retire from real estate, but that’s still so far off, it makes a lot more sense to simply enjoy life now and not stuff our desired adventures into a bucket list. People who say they will do this or do that when they retire might never get there. Life has a way of interrupting our plans. Life is short. Then it’s over. The late Harry Chapin said: it’s got to be the going not the getting there that’s good.