Words of Wisdom from Happiness is the Way by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
This book is a testament to Wayne’s belief that, “There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” We can’t “find” happiness, we need to choose it, to be it. This book is packed with Wayne’s words of wisdom on how to live life to the fullest. His advice is surprisingly simple, straight forward, and usually involves challenging our perception of situations. This is what resonated most for me…
1. Have respect for yourself
“Each one of us is part of a perfect universe, which works on harmony and cooperation and love. You could never be a mistake, because you are a part of the perfection of the universe. If you believe that about yourself, then when you see other people abusing this perfection, this object of beauty and importance, you’ll react the way you naturally would to someone who is abusing something beautiful. You simply would not allow it.”
2. Do the things you love, and love will find you
“Do you know the secret of getting most anything in your life, including success and abundance? It’s the secret of love. Those who demand love never get it. Have you ever seen people who are looking for love all the time? They go to singles’ bars and are looking at one another, constantly trying to find love, but they never do. There are several people in my life whom I really love a lot. Do you know how I met them all, other than my family? By doing the things I love to do. I like to play tennis. I used to teach it, and I still get out there and play as much of it as I can. I’ve met others who share that interest, and we’ve become good friends.”
3. Your life is made up of your choices
“It’s all just an attitude. It’s what you decide to believe. The fact is, anything that goes on inside you is a choice. Anything in your life that gets in your way, that keeps you from functioning in the way you would like to function, that stops you from reaching your goals – you have chosen it. It’s yours. You own it all. I cannot emphasise this point enough: You are the sum total of the choices that you make in your life.”
4. We’re not “human doings”, we’re “human beings”
“I’ve often said that we’re not human doings, we’re human beings. If we were what we did, then somehow the term human doing would have evolved. But no, we’re not. We’re beings, which means not to judge or evaluate, but to be.”
5. Get through challenging situations 5 minutes at a time
“It shouldn’t have happened. How could they have done this; what could I have done differently? Oh no, I don’t understand.” The awakened person says, “This is what has happened, and I’m not going to choose to be depressed. I’m not going to pretend I like it, but I’m also not going to allow myself to be depressed by it. I won’t. I’ll get through the next five minutes. Then I’ll get through the next five minutes, and so on. And that’s how I’ll handle it.“
6. You don’t have to get happiness, you can have it
“Happiness is an inner concept. That is, you can have it if you decide to have it. If you have it inside you, you bring your happiness to everything you do. You bring it to your work. You bring it to your relationships. No matter what, you just have it: you don’t have to try to get it.”
7. Life is how you perceive it
“If you want to be a truly happy human being, the first thing you must do is really absorb this notion: everything that you experience in your life as a result of your perception of whatever is out there in the world. In other words, you have to take responsibility for all aspects of your life.”
8. We can all respond with ability
“To me, the word responsibility means “responding with ability. “It doesn’t mean responding with disability, otherwise the word would be responddisability. No, it is responsibility: I have the ability to respond. I can respond with ability. It means taking responsibility for everything that goes on in your life, which I have spent so many years of my life trying to teach.”
