HOW TO BE HAPPY!

HOW TO BE HAPPY ALWAYS

(TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK)

It's true. If you live your life full of ego and afraid to help others in case they "do better than you", you won't find happiness. If you WERE to help somebody and they WERE to do well because of your helping hand, how great is that!?! It doesn't mean your dream won't come true too. If anything, your helping hand encourages others to want to help you also! Isn't that a lovely circle to be in?

Cut the ties you feel for success because that feeling, driven by ego, could well be the very thing to hold you back. Enjoy the ride, enjoy the people around you, enjoy offering a helping hand and enjoy politely accepting other people's help. Ego can stop us from letting others help us too. Honestly, detach yourself from ego because it's lonely and isolating. It traps you, makes you unhappy and closes so many doors. You often find, the doors ego opens, are the ones that lead to loneliness in the future because those opportunities have been driven by an ego which is often stubborn and comes with a "go it alone/don't need nobody" attitude.

As a musician/actress/dancer/all round performing monkey, my environment is often full of fun, creative people, all with the same interests, all in the same boat. However, in this line of work, people tend to get into it for the love of attention (on a number of scales) which of course stems from ego. Ego I believe is the root cause of so many silly problems but it's a natural feeling that we have to learn to let go of and is definitely a natural quality in those who love the lime light. I mean, not everyone can be in the spotlight at one given time and it's a very competitive world. Ego can take over and it can become hard to be happy for those doing well at that moment in time, to congratulate and praise one another. Isn't that terrible? That underneath all the smiles and "friendships" there's this underlying tension? But once you let go of the need to do well, it's so easy and natural to be genuinely happy for others! And it's amazing! To all feel part of this team, helping each other make things happen!

Here's a couple of tips to help rid ego forever!!!

1) Live in the moment.

This is probably one of the hardest practices because of the lifestyle we lead but once you master it, you can rid yourself of most sad, negative feelings.

Think about some negative feelings. Sadness, ego, jealousy etc... all these feeling stem from thoughts about either the past or the future. Both times that do not exist. The only moment that truly exists, is this very moment. Truly be in this moment and tah dah, you have freed yourself from that negative feeling. The more you practice this, the more it becomes a part of your life and you no longer have to even think about it. People think that by doing this, you aren't focusing on your goals or you won't be motivated to succeed in whatever it is you want but i see it as the complete opposite. I think you are much more likely to do well living this way. Why? Because you, your time, your energy, your thoughts aren't being distributed towards thoughts that are trailing off into your past or your future anymore. All your energy is going into the work you are doing in that very moment. Think how effective it will be if you are putting all your power into your dream every second of every day? As long as you are completely in that moment, putting your energy into the next step towards your dream and most importantly, enjoying it... anything is possible. Live in the moment and enjoy the journey!

Notice every breath and see the beauty in everything.

2) Know your worth and NEVER look down or up and anybody.

We are all equal and the sooner we all live by this, the sooner we can all help each other and stop this illusion of being "better than somebody else" or "not as good as somebody else" because neither of those statements are true, they are just an illusion we create in our minds. We are all equal. Know this, love yourself and know your worth whilst knowing everybody else's worth also. We're all amazing, powerful beings with a dream. Let's help make each others dreams come true.

Lots of Love,

Samantha x

TWITTER: @DorranceTweets

www.samanthadorrance.com

What Does Christmas Mean To You?

It's that time of year again. That cosy feeling, that crept in two weeks ago, is at it's peak. the one that lured you into this sweet, festive hibernation. The fire burning away, the smell of pine needles, the urge to play board games for the first time all year, finding your outrageously flamoyant Christmas jumper out from the back of your wardrobe and wearing it loud and proud, the cravings for hot, comforting food followed by chocolates and lots of them! Guilt free of course. Chocolate at Christmas = No Calories. Just like homemade food and Birthday Cake! You and the family are wearing the cosiest slippers you own and it's completely acceptable to spend a whole day in your Christmas pyjama's or onesies! In fact, I'm sitting here right now dressed as a reindeer!

Christmas cheer! That's all we need to feel the magic of Christmas. But what is Christmas cheer to you? To me, Christmas is a time we can actually take a break from our busy lifestyles. No worries and being surrounded by the people we love. This is life. We are the only species who have to pay to live on our own planet! We live in a system that naturally creates struggle, disharmony, poverty... a system we don't ask to be part of but we are born into. Sorry, that sounded quite depressing for a Christmas post! Of course, life is filled with wonderful things! Real things! And if it wasn't for the hard times, we wouldn't appreciate the wonderful moments half as much!

Money. Christmas isn't about money or how much we spend on presents. We live in a world full of advertising, telling us we want all these shiny, pretty things! I've seen poverty, I've seen families struggling to keep up with this lavish lifestyle and I find it heartbreaking. This lifestyle lures us away from focusing on the true, real things in life and about Christmas. These sparkly, pretty things that advertising and media as a whole puts on such a high pedestal are soul-less, they have no true meaning. We as people have the ability to feel wonderful things and experience wonderful things without any materialistic possession. We are capable of feeling so much as long as we don't detach ourselves from real life. Be in the moment this Christmas and soak up every second. Gaze into the open fire whilst your snuggled up on the sofa in your favourite blanket, Drink mugs of hot chocolate over board games with the family, Notice the smell of pine needles, Christmas pudding and the Roast dinner slowing cooking. Take mental photographs every time you and your family/friends/loved ones laugh! Because these moments fulfil you like nothing else and will be the memories you cherish always. Not expensive gifts.

Merry Christmas to you all! Enjoy making memories :)

Lots of Love,

Samantha x