As you believe, so it is for you

There are a few books that I go to every now and then whenever I need to think through some problems in life. One such book is — “Zen and the art of happiness”. It’s a small book, but it packs a punch. Within the first few pages, I got hit with a story that changed my point of view of my current situation completely.

The main idea of the book is that if you believe that whatever happens to you is the absolute best thing that could happen to you, you will have no problem being happy.

The story I mention is about a man who had a sandwich shop. He was a really generous man, he used to treat his customers very nicely, always giving them discounts and extra portions with their meals. Needless to say, his shop was quite popular and he was making a good living.

One summer, the shopkeeper's son came to live with him. After seeing his dad run the store for a month, he got concerned. He told him that he should stop giving away things like this, the economy is bad and many people are losing their jobs. If he doesn’t act smart, his business might go under as well.

The shopkeeper took his son’s advice and stopped the discounts and the generous portion sizes. Soon the customers stopped coming, and his income took a huge hit. One day the shopkeeper called his son and told him —

“You were right son, the economy is bad. I am experiencing it in my business as well!”

Was the economy good or bad? Who knows. The fact is that the shopkeeper thought that things were going fine, he was happy and successful. When he thought that things were bad, they eventually became bad.

I know that this single story will not be enough to convince you, so go ahead and get yourself a copy of the book. It will be worth it.