Sun Tzu and the Art of Happiness: How to Declare War on your Unhappiness Today

Photo by vlasta2, found on Wikipedia,

under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Never thought Sun Tzu, the ancient war expert, had advice to share on happiness, huh?  Truth be told, he didn't directly.  But indirectly, his concepts on war can be launched against the enemies of happiness.  Specifically, this week, I am looking at the following idea:

. . . though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

How do we apply this advice to a war against unhappiness?  By deciding upon one simple thing--you have to find your happiness before the enemy and war's fatigue takes it away.  How do you do that?  Well, I wrote an article about motive statements for writers that can be adapted to life in general through answering two questions:

• What do you want to do?
• Whom do you want to do it for?

The second question is easily answered--you do this for yourself.  The first question, however, is tougher and involves examining closely your drives and desires.  But once you find the answer, you can attach your happiness to your motives, and it will be like the horses pulling Sun Tzu's chariots--not only has your happiness come along for the ride, it is being carried into the war against its enemies.

So take some time this week to uncover your motives.  I will post articles and exercises periodically this week to help you do just.  That way we both can harness Sun Tzu's advice and take the war to unhappiness and conquer it.

Challenge Your Fears - Campaign for E-Literacy - A is For . . .

Introduction:  In a previous post, I wrote about challenging your fears to get what you want in life.  I want to let go of my fears along side you as you let go of yours.  So, I'll let you in on my program.

What I am challenging:  Incompetence.  One of my fears is incompetence.  I've had it all my life, and it will take more than one program and one challenge to exorcise it from my life.  But it is standing in the way of my want.

What I want:  My dream job.  To have that, I need strong self-esteem to weather any storms.  I need to live up to the abilities and gifts God gave me.  I need confidence.   

What my program is:  My first program is Campaign for E-Literacy.  What is Campaign for E-Literacy?  In a nutshell it is:  Studying twenty-six non-fiction ebooks from Project Gutenberg.  I will select the books by using a title from each letter of the alphabet.  I also must read all ebooks on my nook e-reader.  I am doing this all in the name of increasing my knowledge and competency in life.  And I am starting today.

My reasoning:  I will enjoy this challenge immensely--reading, learning.  I love both.  If one could make a living by reading, I would be a millionaire already. 

If that were not enough, here is a quote by John Kieran, an American journalist.  He once said, "I am a part of all that I have read."  I believe that.  So, if I read about knowledgeable, competent people writing about their area of competence, then I become competent, bit by bit, piece by piece, book by book.

A win-win.

Book choice:  What is first up in the Campaign for E-Literacy?  The letter A.  In this case A is for . . . Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Book reasoning:  It is a classic that survived millennia, and by that reason alone is worth listening too.

Format of the program:  I will post updates on my progress, interesting outside material I have read or learned about the subject/author/work, related books I want to read eventually, and the knowledge acquired thus far.  These will mostly be weekly and at milestones as I read through the book--i.e., the beginning of it, the quarter mark, the half-way point, the three-quarters mark, and the ending.  All of this will be posted on its own blog.

Conclusion:  That's it.  Consider joining me in reading the Art of War, in starting your own literacy program, or in challenging your fears.  I would love to know what fear you challenge today.