Question: How can I have Right Attitude when someone promised to do something and then didn’t do it. I find my happiness level drops, and my anger level rises.
Answer: Have no expectation of others and they will never disappoint you. I’m not asking you to be a doormat. On the contrary, you take charge of your life; how you think and feel, and you don’t allow anything or anyone to affect it. Regardless of what a person has or hasn’t done, don’t let it affect you. Whenever I have practiced this, I have found that the situation actually changes. Sometimes the way I do this is by changing my thought to gratitude for what this person “does” do for me, or “has done” for me, rather than focusing on what I feel they’ve “failed” to do.
Question: What do you mean by “happiness without condition”? What’s there to be happy about if things aren’t going well in my life? I’m not good at faking it.
Answer: Two people can be going through the same difficult experience. One thinks: “Tomorrow will be a better day” and the other thinks “My life is over”. I’ve seen this time and time again. I don’t have to tell you that the first person finds a way to happiness quickly and the latter stays stuck in the mud, until such time he or she changes his attitude to a positive one. So why wait, think rightly now, and reap happiness now. Whatever you’re going through, find the silver lining in it. Even if you can only think of one thing, focus on that! The moment you focus on the positive of whatever you’re going through, you’ve pulled yourself out of the mud, and I can guarantee you “tomorrow will be a better day”.
Question: I really want to understand and practice this Right Attitude you talk about. Can you give me another practical example?
Answer: This has happened to each one of us. Let’s say someone else receives something you wish had come to you, for example, a promotion. Instead of feeling jealous, which is the wrong attitude, feel happy for that person! When you feel genuinely happy instead of jealous, you open yourself up to receiving what you want. It works like mathematics and doesn’t fail. You may not get the promotion you wanted (or you just might!) or you’ll get something even greater. Having the Right Attitude means feeling good, no matter what’s happening around you. You can always choose to be cheerful, and this will bring you happiness and abundance.