50+ Lifestyles

How Dare You Be Happy! – GUEST PUBLISHER’S CORNER

By Dave “The Shef” Sheffield

One of the things that I am amazed by is when people come up to me after a speaking event and say, “I don’t mean to brag or want to make anyone feel bad, but things are really going good for me right now.”

I usually respond to them by saying something outlandish like, “How dare you be happy! Don’t you know that there are kids starving in Africa?” As if having a bad attitude solves anything at all, let alone world hunger problems.

Why do many people feel guilty about feeling positive? We can blame negative attitudes on everything from negative programming in schools, poor home life, and the media. Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “Successful people are lucky, just ask any failure.”

If you think about it, successful people often put in amazing amounts of blood, sweat, and tears (not to mention their money) with the hopes of creating something that they can call their own. They bust their butt for years, only to earn the right to have people call them “Lucky.”

Life is not a zero sum game. Just because you are having a great day, doesn’t mean that someone else’s day needs to be equally bad. Life if what you make of it. The pie is not only “so big”. There is more than enough to go around. Whether it is financial, physical, relationships, or anything else; you deserve nothing but the best. Surround yourself with those people who lift you up, not tear you down.

Dave “The Shef” Sheffield has impacted the lives of 450,000 people from 58 countries with his motivating “Always Better Your Best” messages. He is a co-author of 5 books and lives with his family in the Quad Cities Area. Visit his site at www.theshef.com for additional information.