put one foot in front of the other , and then ... you fell flat on your face . Your parents might have rushed over , but you stood up again . You took another step and face-planted onto the carpet again . You kept repeating this until you experienced success . You learned to walk , but only after experiencing pain .
To rise to the heights of joy , we have to risk the possibility of falling .
Something unexpected happens as we open ourselves to negative emotions : we grow more resilient to them . This resilience makes us stronger , so we persevere in creating lasting change .
Contentment
Contentment helps us detach from the results of our efforts .
When we feel frazzled by our circumstances , the temptation is to try to change those circumstances . We think the path to being okay internally will come when we change our external reality . But contentment doesn ’ t depend on what ’ s happening in our lives . This is how Paul in the Bible was able to have joy while he was in prison . He wasn ’ t trying to force his way to freedom . He didn ’ t need to change his situation to find satisfaction . He had the kind of contentment that allowed him to rejoice even though his circumstances were far from ideal .
If our joy isn ’ t dependent on a change in our situation , we don ’ t have to be held hostage by something outside our control . Contentment allows us to have a lightness of spirit and
40