Episode 19: Happiness and Miracles: How to Be a Victor in Life with Marci Shimoff

“The first big happiness question to ask is, are you a victim in your life? Or are you a victor? ” – Marci Shimoff

Happiness is what everybody wants, and we can all have it. It’s actually our birthright. And being happy is really about living in the Miracle Zone.

In today’s episode, I’ll dive into my 25 years of research into happiness and what I learned from unconditionally happy people and people like Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl. I’ll share with you what I mean by happiness, and then I’m going to share with you what I think is a deep foundation for both happiness and a miraculous life: showing up in your life as a victor.

Finally, I’ll guide you through a breathing practice that will keep you grounded in the present moment.

What I talked about:

  • My years of trying to be happy inside by “lining things up” on the outside, and my 25-year journey to discover true happiness (1:29) 
  • Learning what happiness is and what it isn’t through studying unconditionally happy people (3:42) 
  • Learning to take responsibility for your life as the key to unconditional happiness; learning from the Happy Hundred and Jack Canfield; and how Victor Frankl chose to be a victor even in the Holocaust (04:55) 
  • The three patterns of playing the victim – blaming, shaming, and complaining – and how to break through them into happiness (10:42)
  • Guided meditation to connect to Mother Earth (14:03)

Favorite quotes from the episode:

  • “The first big happiness question to ask is, are you a victim in your life? Or are you a victor?” – Marci Shimoff. 
  • “What I mean by happy…doesn’t mean that you’re walking around 24/7 with a silly grin on your face or that you’re in some Pollyanna state of denial. But what it does mean is that you have that inner unshakable happiness that nothing or nobody can take away.” – Marci Shimoff.
  • “The idea of taking responsibility can sound like a lot of work, but I promise you the moment you let go of the belief that other people or outside circumstances have the power to make or break your happiness, then you’re free because you call the shots for your happiness.” – Marci Shimoff
  • “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a person, but one thing, the last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Victor Frankl
  • “It’s not the events in our lives that determine our life, but it’s our responses to those events that determine our outcomes in life.” – Marci Shimoff
  • “When we are present, we are happiest. We are not stuck in blame, shame, and complaining. We are in the victor mode rather than the victim mode. And that’s when we are happy. Happier for no reason and living in the miracle zone.” – Marci Shimoff

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