Your life is, of course, made up of what happens to you and the actions you take. But when it comes down to it, life is basically only your thoughts. It’s just you in there. It’s all about how you react to life. No one else shares your brain, it is only you. You come into this world by yourself; you’re leaving by yourself too. Your journey can be a good one or a bad one based on your thoughts. Some people lose a close game and are miserable for a long time; a teammate might not let that bother them at all if they tried their best. Someone can insult you in a store even though you didn’t do anything, and you can get mad and be miserable, or you can laugh it off. Marcus Aurelius said around 2000 years ago that “our life is what our thoughts make it.” He also said “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” These were pretty powerful quotes in my opinion. Being happy is all about how you control your mind. Just as we hear it’s good to not put junk food in your body, it is best not to put bad thoughts (or nonsense) in your mind. Yes, easier said than done like on a million occasions, but this takes work. Two people can experience the same exact thing and feel completely different about it. Strive to be the person who has the good experience.
You carry your memories with you wherever you go, the good things you did, the bad things you did. This is what you keep, what you take with you wherever you go. As you travel through time and space this is what stays with you, what you did, and what you didn’t do. Who you’ve helped, who you hurt. This should be important to you. You can look back years ago and feel good for someone you helped, or some good thing you did, this stays with you. You can’t lose it until you lose your mind or your life, and who knows if there is an afterlife and what you bring with you there. Money, friends, possessions, jobs come and go. What you’ve done in the past is always yours to keep, and remember, so choose your acts wisely. You also take your wisdom and knowledge with you. You should try to gain more of both. This doesn’t mean you dwell on your past mistakes or boast on your past accomplishments. Tell truths, treat people well, work on being happy, and try to bring good baggage on this journey, not bad baggage. You will be happier in life if you do, and probably live a lot longer also.