“Don't worry, about a thing. 'Cause every little thing, gonna be all right

Singin', don't worry, about a thing. 'Cause every little thing, gonna be all right.”

— Bob Marley

I love the words to this song.

“Don’t worry about a thing.

‘Cause every little thing, gonna be alright.”

What if that was actually true?

Here’s what I know.

Happiness and worry cannot co-exist.

Worry says, “I do not believe that things will be alright.”

Worry projects that unbelief onto situations, relationships, and every circumstance in your life.

And often times that thing you worry about becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We make come true what we believed would happen along.

We validate our fear and worry by saying things like…

“See, I told you we were going to lose.”

“I knew that wasn’t going to work out for me.”

“Nothing ever goes my way.”

And while you may get to be “right” in these circumstances, living in fear under a mountain of worry will eat you alive and rob you of achieving your most fulfilling moments.

I had a friend who believed he lived under a dark cloud. That the universe was conspiring against him every day to make his life miserable.

One day I challenged him.

I said, “Nick, you need to see the bright side of things. You need to be more positive!”

He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Oh, I’m positive all the time, KB. I am absolutely positive things aren’t going to work out for me.”

And he was one hundred percent right.

Every time.

You see, when we met Aunt Bea all those years ago at Disney, we were drawn into her orbit before she ever reached our table.

As she moved toward us her smile became bigger and brighter. Her eyes told a story before she ever said a word.

She exuded happiness.

Joy, really.

Which I think is a better word than happiness.

Happiness these days seems to fall on deaf ears.

We believe that happiness is elusive. That we somehow missed out on all things happy.

Besides…What is happiness anyway?

A feeling?

A response?

A thing or a place?

A person?

I believe that happiness is made up of three things.

Peace.

The people who bring their best stuff to every moment seem to have a quiet contentment. A peacefulness about them. A countenance that communicates reassurance that every little thing, gonna be alright.

Joy.

I like the word joy. It seems to come from a deeper place and is less fleeting than happiness. Its roots are strong and connected to the things that matter most in our world. It’s about who and what we are tethered to in life and whether they fill us up or leave us empty.

Gratitude.

Peace and joy are the direct results of gratitude. We live in a world that is becoming more cynical and jaded by the minute. We point the finger and blame others for what we don’t have. We play the victim and settle for small dreams when we were made for a bigger purpose. Being grateful is at the heart of good things in life.

This week I want to encourage you to focus on peace, joy, and gratitude.

Like Bea, let’s see if we can walk in gratitude. Look around and notice all the things that you have to be grateful for. Don’t focus on what you don’t have. Keep your eyes on what you do have and the opportunities that are yet to come.

Let the quiet calm of peacefulness guide you this week. Let your joy shine through in your smile, your eyes, and the words you use to connect with others. Let joy pour out of you and onto every relationship and situation you find yourself in this week.

Draw them into your orbit and leave them better than you found them. Be like Bea and make the world a little better because you’re in it.

Make it an amazing week.

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