What Would It Take to Make You Happy?
PAGE 2
PM: So what you really want is a sense of accomplishment? What would it take for you to feel that?
J: Well, it'd have to be difficult—I mean, nothing that you want in life is really easy.
PM: So you'd have to face some challenges?
J: Right.
PM: And if you had faced those challenges and had accomplished a few goals, how would you feel then?
J: I couldn't just stop there. I'd think, There's got to be something beyond this. There's always more.
PM: So what you really want is to feel as if you're on the move in your life. What will you have to do to feel that?
J: I'd have to stop denying that I'm stuck.
PM: How are you going to feel when there's no more denial in your life?
J: Fulfilled. And proud of myself.
PM: And how will you feel when you can honestly say, "I am really proud of myself because I've got a step-by-step plan—no more denial"?
J: On top of the world.
PM: And what exactly does that mean?
J: Free.
PM: So what you really want is to be free—free of a sense of being bogged down, free of a sense of living in denial.
J: Yes.
PM: Jackie, you've said, "I want to be proud. I want to be fulfilled. I want to be free." And you know yourself better than anybody else does. What will you have to do so that you can feel that way?
J: I'll have to be disciplined. And I must be open to the challenge of change.
PM: Very good. If you started living your life in a disciplined way, instead of in a "if it feels good, do it" sort of way, and if you opened yourself up to challenge instead of running from it, how would you feel?
J: I'd feel like I have a place in the world—and I won't always be wishing that I were somebody else.
PM: So what you really want is to accept yourself for who you are and feel like you belong somewhere in this world?
J: Yes.
PM: What a great goal that is!
What really makes people happy
J: Well, it'd have to be difficult—I mean, nothing that you want in life is really easy.
PM: So you'd have to face some challenges?
J: Right.
PM: And if you had faced those challenges and had accomplished a few goals, how would you feel then?
J: I couldn't just stop there. I'd think, There's got to be something beyond this. There's always more.
PM: So what you really want is to feel as if you're on the move in your life. What will you have to do to feel that?
J: I'd have to stop denying that I'm stuck.
PM: How are you going to feel when there's no more denial in your life?
J: Fulfilled. And proud of myself.
PM: And how will you feel when you can honestly say, "I am really proud of myself because I've got a step-by-step plan—no more denial"?
J: On top of the world.
PM: And what exactly does that mean?
J: Free.
PM: So what you really want is to be free—free of a sense of being bogged down, free of a sense of living in denial.
J: Yes.
PM: Jackie, you've said, "I want to be proud. I want to be fulfilled. I want to be free." And you know yourself better than anybody else does. What will you have to do so that you can feel that way?
J: I'll have to be disciplined. And I must be open to the challenge of change.
PM: Very good. If you started living your life in a disciplined way, instead of in a "if it feels good, do it" sort of way, and if you opened yourself up to challenge instead of running from it, how would you feel?
J: I'd feel like I have a place in the world—and I won't always be wishing that I were somebody else.
PM: So what you really want is to accept yourself for who you are and feel like you belong somewhere in this world?
J: Yes.
PM: What a great goal that is!
What really makes people happy
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