Inspiration Archives: Gina Baker

Our life is full of many opportunities for us. Coincidentally, it is also full of many perceived barriers that we might allow to prevent us from engaging in these opportunities. I have loved living a life of opportunity and not predetermining my destiny with the thought "I can't".

Even with a great number of possibilities available to us, it is likely there are too many things to accomplish in this life and perhaps not everything is possible as we imagine it. The important thing here is while we may have a long list of 'to-do's', we are working on crossing items off, one at a time.

While we may never be able to do something like go to the Olympics, we can rise to the top of our own gold medal podium. I have a friend who has been on the top of an Olympic podium and while I will never be able to mirror that friend's experience as an athlete, I can achieve my own success and certainly enjoy it.

Given all the opportunities for you to select from, make sure what you do really matters. Yes, it is important to provide means for yourself, but learning to differentiate need from want can assist in true life-long happiness.

I am not perfect at this, but it's important to try. I want my child to remember that I came to play when he called. I want him to remember that I sat down to eat dinner with him instead of playing on the computer. At the end of the day, I feel that spending time with my family is what really matters. It doesn't matter that I answer that email right away, it will still be there tomorrow. Those dishes need to be done as well, but don't need to disappear right away either.

Don't miss out on life and don't let it pass you by. Instead 'be' life and live.

Positive energy is also just that, energy - and it drives you forward. Yes, there are some days you will be sad or upset, but I came to the conclusion a long time ago that for most days I didn't want to go through life being grumpy.

In several sports such as surfing, biking, or skiing, you inherently turn the direction you are looking. For instance, if you look right, you are going to turn right. I feel that a negative outlook almost always points downward and when this is your demeanor, you are unconsciously looking down on the world and that is the route you will likely follow. After trudging along this route a while, it can be hard to climb back up.

I choose to be happy. Not only is happiness good for your health, it is contagious. I choose to be the director of my life and not an 'extra'. I also choose to leave a legacy of quality and time, not 'things'.

I hope you will join me in living true happiness today.