Andrew Matthews-Happiness in a Nutshell-Seashell Publishers (2000)

8/11/2019 Andrew Matthews-Happiness in a Nutshell-Seashell Publishers (2000)

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ANDREW MATTHEWS

Happiness

in a Nutshell


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www.seashell.com.au


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HAPPINESS IN A NUTSHELL

Dedication:To my precious wife, Julie:

Thank you for your idea to create

this little book, and thank you forediting and putting it together!

Happiness in a Nutshell


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Happiness in a NutshellCopyright 1999 by Andrew Matthewsand Seashell Publishers

Published by:SEASHELL PUBLISHERS PTY LTDPO Box 325, Trinity BeachQueensland, AUSTRALIA, 4879

Fax: 61 740 576 966Website: www.seashell.com.auEmail: [email protected]

Layout and design by:Seashell Publishers

First Published October 1999Reprinted 11 times

No part of this publication, text or illustrations, may be reproduced in any form

or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwisewithout the prior consent of the author and the publishers.

ISBN 0 9579802 5 6


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Happinessin a Nutshell

written and illustrated byAndrew Matthews

Seashell PublishersAUSTRALIA


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Usually, the best placeto make a new start

is where you are!

Before changing your address,consider changing your thinking!

When you change,your situation changes.It is law.

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We all fail.But it is not failing that hurts.What hurts is knowing thatyou didnt give your best.


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-

Have the discipline to dolittle things you dont like -

and you can spend your life

doing the big things you do like.


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Happy people dontjust accept change,

they embrace it!

They are the people who say:Why would I wantmy next five years

to be like my last five?


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The moment you gettoo attached to things,

people, money ...you screw it up!

The challenge of lifeis to appreciate everything

and attach yourself

to nothing.


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On giving advice:If people arent asking you,

they usually dont want

the information!


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The first law of expansion is order.For something to grow, it needs system.

Look at a flower, cut an orange,check out the symmetry

of a tree or a beehive.

There is discipline.

Nature keeps what is essential

and gets rid of the garbage.Its called organisation.


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You get motivated by doing things,

not thinking about them.


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Next time you are upset,remember its not so much

people who make you angry,as your thoughts about them.

Whatever thoughtsare causing you pain,

they are only thoughts.You can change a thought.


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The more emotionalyou are about things,

the less control you have.

Most people arevery emotional about money -

so they are out of control.


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Following your dreamis no guarantee of an easy ride.

Life usually becomes more challenging,but you embark on an outer journey

which starts the inner journey.

You have a chance to blossom -to see who you really are.


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Where did we get the idea thatif we dont forgive people, they suffer?


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For the world to treat you well,

you have to treat yourself well.

How can you feellike a mover and shaker

when you have holes

in your underwear?


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Every disaster in your lifeis not so much a disaster,

as a situation waiting for youto change your mind about it.


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Most of us learned things inside out!We learned:

If you dont like your job, change it.If you dont like your wife, change her.

Sometimes its appropriateto change your job or your partner.

But if you dont change too,

you are setting yourself upfor more of the same.


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When we forgive ourselves,we stop criticising other people.


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Because we are always attractingthe learning experiences we need,we often attract what we fear.

If you fear loneliness,youll attract that.

If you fear embarrassment,

youll fall on your face.Its lifes way of encouraging us to grow.

The only way to beat fear is to face it.


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When your body hurts, pain reminds youto take a rest, or maybe to change your shoes orto find a better way.When your mind hurts, pain reminds youto quit worrying or to be more forgiving,

or to think a different way.Pain is not your enemy.

Pain is your friend!


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!


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Courage is not the absence of fear -courage is acting in spite of fear.

People who do nothing

with their lives are just as scaredas people who take major risks.

Its just that the first groupget scared over tiny things.

Why not get scaredover something significant?


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Start anywhere you can.Give your best shot

to whatever is in front of you,

and opportunity will begin to find you.

Its called developing a reputation.


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The happiest peopledont worry too muchabout whether life is fair or not.

They just get on with it.


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The universe is alwaysnudging us with gentle signals.When we miss the signals,it nudges us with a

sledgehammer.

Growth is most painfulwhen we resist it.


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Your mission in lifeis not to be

withoutproblems -your mission

is to get excited.


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What youfocus on expands ...

so think aboutwhat you want!


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Detachment is a major reasonwhy rich people get richer.

They dont care so much -theyre not desperate.

Theres a big differencebetween a poor persons attitude -

wishing you had it -and a wealthy persons approach -believing youll get it.


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To see things differently,you dont need willpower,

self confidence,

or brain surgery.You just need the courageto think the unfamiliar.

Your beliefs determineyour quality of life.


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The balance

in your bank bookis not the measureof your abundance.

Abundance iswhats circulatingthrough your life.


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Your life will only workwhen you take full responsibilityfor your choices.

Your choice of vocationis at the top of the list.


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Nature seeks balance,and you cant be

desperate and balanced.

Life doesnt have to bean endless struggle.Let things flow.


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The universe has no favourites.Your success and happiness

depend on natural laws and principles -and how you use them.


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Every eventhas the potentialto transform us,

and disasters havethe greatest potential

to change our thinking.


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Life happens in waves.This means family crises,wedding invitations and car repairstend to travel in bunches.

When you strike a monthwithout bills, you say to yourself:

Ill put something asidefor the next wave.

When you get swamped by thenext wave, you say to yourself:

This is only temporary.


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We are not hereto be punished.

We are here

to be educated.


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Simplify your life.Quit doing things out of habit.Eliminate some of the garbage

from your routine so you can seeyour path more clearly.


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Your life is

a perfect reflectionof your beliefs.

When you changeyour deepest beliefs

about the world,your life changes

accordingly.


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Once we make a decision

to do a thing,the means appear.

We might explain awaythese lucky breaks

as coincidence.

But with keen observation,we notice it happens regularly.


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To succeed at anything,you dont need to be a genius.

But you do need a good plan!

Most people quit!


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Start every daywith an intentionto be balanced and peaceful.

Some days you willcruise through until bedtime,

and some days you wont

make it past breakfast.

If peace of mind is your daily goal,you will get better and better.


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Your mission in lifeis not to change the world.

Your mission is to change yourself.

There are no outside solutions,only inside solutions.


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You give your best

not because you needto impress people.

You give your best becausethats the only way

to enjoy your work.


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Get off your butt and do something!


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The joy is in doing your thing -and stretching because you choose to,not because you have to.Whatever you do for a living

is a vehicle to connect

with people.


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Fred says:I think like I do

because my life is a mess!

No Fred, your life is a messbecause you think

like you do!


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III


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God is nevergoing to come downfrom a cloud and say:

You now have permissionto be successful!

You have togive yourselfpermission.


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The question is always:

What are you doingwith what you have?

While the answer is not much,nothing gets better.

The universe rewards effort,not excuses.


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The law of the seed:effort + patience = results.

You reap your harvest

after you do the work.


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Doing what you loveis not a recipe for an easier life.

It is a recipe for an interesting life.


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When life is sweet,and that little voice says:

It cant last!Tell yourself:Maybe its about to get better!


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Life goes like this ...We get hit by little pebbles -

as a kind of warning.

When we ignore the pebbles,we get hit by a brick.

Ignore the brick and we getwiped out by a boulder.

If we are honest, we can see

where we have ignored the warning signs.And then we have the nerve to say:Why me?


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!

Peace of mind doesnt comefrom having less problems -

it comes from being less critical!


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Sometimes I ask myself:Why am I the lucky one?


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When have you madethe most important decisions in your life?

When you were on your knees -after disasters, after knock-backs,

when youve been kicked in the head.Thats when we say to ourselves:

Im sick of being broke,sick of being kicked around.Im tired of being mediocre.Im going to do something.

We learn our biggest lessonswhen things get rough.


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To find, you have to seek.If you have lost your life direction,

you probably wont find itbetween drinks at the local bar.

Give yourself a break,give yourself some time and spaceto examine what counts for you.


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Act as if every event has a purpose,and your life will have purpose.

Figure out why you needed

an experience, conquer it,and you wont need it again.

Ultimately, you can onlydepend on your inner guidance -

in other words,

follow your heart.


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ISBN 095798024-8

llll

Also by Andrew Mahews:

BEING A HAPPY TEENAGERISBN 095788143-6

The international bestseller.

This book is about:lmaking friendsldeveloping self condencelsaying No to drugslfeeling good about yourself


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Andrew Matthews-Happiness in a Nutshell-Seashell Publishers (2000)

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