I found the solution to getting through life ...

My Dad was an interesting man. He was a bad husband, but a loving father. He enjoyed the pleasures of life and refused to grow up ... ever. He was a salesman and could sell anything, to anyone. Like a chameleon he knew exactly what camouflage to wear in any given situation to allow him to fit in. People absolutely loved him. They flocked to him like adoring fans. He was the life and soul of every party he ever attended. He was never a religious nor even spiritual man. In my lifetime I have both hated and adored him and in the end, love won out. Why am I telling you all this, I hear you ask. Well, it was my father who shared with me his life philosophy .. and for someone who was not philosophical, it is truly BRILLIANT.

This is it ... "everything costs something. NOTHING in life is free." Or, sometimes he would say ... "for everything you want in life, you have to pay your school fees".

Now those who know me know I am one of the most (apparently annoyingly) optimistic, happy people on the planet. I LOVE being happy. I wake up in the mornings in a good mood, virtually every single day. I sing in the office and annoy my colleagues all the time. Don't get me wrong ... I understand that this world can be a horrible, horrible place. and more often than not, it is. But ... I believe that in life you can choose to be happy ... or unhappy ...and I choose happy as life is simply too short to waste time on anything else. So when I heard this profound life message ... I found it to be more than a little cynical, I won't lie.

But then I thought about it .. and I thought about it some more. I spent months and years thinking about it and finally I came to the conclusion that he was right. Yes, I know there are always exceptions to any rule, but 99.9% of what happens in my life follows this rule. Let me give you an example:

I am an animal lover and always wanted a big yard. In order to afford a bigger house with some land (reward), we had to buy in a little village about an hour away from where I work. Therefore the cost of getting what I want is a long commute. Here's another one ...

You're ambitious and you want to move up in the corporate world. The higher you move up the ladder (reward), the more you earn (reward), the busier you become (cost), the less time you get to spend with your family (cost). How about this one ...

You date someone that no-one in your family or circle of friends approves of. You decide to continue the relationship (reward) but lose touch with many long standing friends and even some members of your family (cost). Here's another ...

You decide that pizza is the only food you want to eat (reward) - who wouldn't? You gain 100 pounds (cost).

Sometimes the cost isn't immediately clear, and sometimes it takes a while before the cost becomes obvious to you, but eventually it will.

As Newton's Third Law of Motion tells us "For  every action,  there is an equal and  opposite reaction."  

In my humble opinion, once you come to terms with this little life law ... it makes getting through life every day a whole lot easier. In fact, there is only one thing to do. You simply need to decide whether the cost is worth it or not. If it is, great! If not, don't do it.

Happy living Everyone.