Life Is Good - Pt 3

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 ESV). The third principle of living the good life is to face your problems. Everyone has problems, big or small. Ignoring or avoiding them only makes them get bigger and bigger until they've taken over your life. You don't have to face them all at once, but dealing with things as they arise, rather than waiting, will help your long-term ability to love life, because problems won't be building up.

There are few who have had as enormous an impact on our culture and entertainment as Walt Disney. As co-creator of Mickey Mouse he helped to create the most popular and well-known cartoon character in the world. He was an artist who changed animation and film-making forever and has been delighting and inspiring audiences for nearly 100 years. And, of course, when he brought us Disneyland he created a place unlike any other, one that still thrills the imaginations of children and adults today. But the road to this kind of success and influence wasn’t easy, and it couldn’t have happened without Disney’s ceaseless hard work and unwavering belief in his dreams. He was put to work at just nine years old, had only an eighth-grade education and almost no formal training in art, and suffered multiple business setbacks. However, he saw these not as failings but as the things that helped to make him the great visionary and businessman he became. He refused to ignore his problems in the face of his dream. Focus on finding a solution to the problem, rather than focusing on the problem itself. Ask yourself whether a problem is actually a problem. Sometimes you build something up into a problem without realizing why. Forcing yourself to come up with a reason for something that seems nonsensical can actually help you release the anxiety around what you feel is a problem. Walt Disney applied this principle like this: “A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” Living the good life! Certainly one practical behavior is to face our problems rather than ignore them. Live the abundant life!