Podcast Version
Transcript
Here’s what Whitney Huston taught me about living a happy and fulfilled life:
If you want a fulfilled and happy life, BE YOU.
You might have heard me talk about this before, when I mention the powerful documentary about Whitney Huston called Can I be ME, where at one point she’s asked by a reporter if it was success that destroyed her. Whitney Houston’s reply was such a powerful one. One that I have come to borrow and slightly modify to help explain how to live a happy and fulfilling life.
They way that I say it is like this, if you enter this life without knowing who you are, chances are, you’ll become someone else. And you might not like who you become. (here’s my personal addition) Because there is no lack of people ready to tell you who they want you to be for them. There’s the society, schools, teachers, parents, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, partners, managers, anything, and everything. They’re all ready to tell you who they want you to be. Now, if you don’t know who you are, if you don’t know who you want to be, then chances are, you’ll get lost. Chances are you’ll just end up somewhere else based on someone else’s terms
Now, when I say this to people, one of the most common responses is, “I don’t even know who I am or what makes me happy.”
To that I say, congratulations. You are about to embark on a very very exciting adventure. You are about to figure out what makes you come alive, what lights you up. That is a GOOD thing!
If you can’t be YOU, then be the next best thing which is BECOMING you.
Ask yourself, when was the last time I felt happy? And if you can think about a moment where you felt happy, ask yourself, what was the feeling connected to that, that moment, because happiness is really different to a lot of people. What I would define as happy or happiness can be different to how you define it. So therefore, I’m asking you to picture yourself in that moment and try to connect to the feeling of that moment. What was it?
Perhaps it was a feeling of love. It can be a feeling of adventure, a feeling of excitement. If you get to that feeling, you can then ask yourself what other activities could provide you with a similar feeling and experience? Do more of what makes you happy. I think this is a fantastic way to be on this journey of being or becoming you.
