No, You’Re Not Crazy!: Get up and Get Your Happy Back

By Kimberly Cousins

We can all feel a little crazy sometimes, but when your anger drives you mad, you risk trekking a deep downward spiral that ends only in defeat. You can, however, be caught before you hit rock bottom. If you have ever felt as if life was simply driving you crazy or passing you by, you are not alone. But there is good news! You do not have to go through life feeling that way. You do not have to allow the trials of life to write your ending or steer the direction in which you sail.

Break the many habits that you are unknowingly acting out due to erroneous thinking that hinders your understanding, growth, and potential.

Explore the hard-core truths of how to get out of your own way and live.

Find out who you really are by beginning to live according to your own path instead of the one that others have designed for you. Dare to distance yourself from doubt and believe that you are capable of actually achieving that dream that you've placed on the shelf.

Today is the day that you no longer allow crazy thoughts, madness, or anger to distract you from living your own life. We only get one chance to live here on Earth. We might as well enjoy the experience, and what better time to start than right now!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512705805

Kimberly Cousins

Kimberly Cousins is an established ghostwriter and freelancer who has written several books for renowned pastors and Christian authors throughout the country. She worked as an editor for a Christian publishing house for 12 years and as a freelance writer more than 18 years. With a passion for the written word, she aspires to continue tackling the welcome task of awakening the blank page with words of wisdom from talented wordsmiths. She quotes: “Many do not realize what a powerful word they contain within, until the pen of the ready ghostwriter pulls onto the page the message that quietly entangles the heart.” While embarking upon her own path of revelatory insight in the form of her own first published work, she continues her passion of awakening the ready writer within those whose voices cry out to be shared with the world.

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Copyright © 2015 Kimberly Cousins.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-0581-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0582-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0580-5 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/13/2015

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Food for Thought…

Chapter 1

The Body Snatcher

Chapter 2

What You Get, Is What You See

Chapter 3

The Therapeutic Truth

Chapter 4

Social Media’s Sticks & Stones

Chapter 5

The Invisibles

Chapter 6

Fragments of Your Reflection

Chapter 7

Don’t Get Mad, Get Empowered

Chapter 8

Your Peace Is Worth Protecting

Chapter 9

Troubled but Not Destroyed

Epilogue: Getting Your Happy Back

About the Author

Dedication

In loving memory of dad, James L. Cousins; also to my best friend, my brother James D. Cousins—God’s angels.

Introduction

I went crazy for a day. I pulled the blinds, powered off the phone and ignored the nagging knocks on my door. OK, I wasn’t literally crazy, but at that moment, I felt as if I were losing it. So for that moment, for that day, I allowed myself to go there. I allowed myself to wallow in my woes, to be angry, sad and to pout about my plight. I owed myself the release and the right to owe no one an explanation. To simply be left alone long enough until I found the strength to come to my senses. It was my way of starting over—hitting the mental re-set button, so-to-speak. Still, in the end I realized that I could not remain in that place of pity, of anger, of rage. So I made a conscience decision to unleash the blinds and permit the sun to penetrate the deep dark secrets of my truth. An unexpected arrival at a crossroad forces some tough decisions: 1) stand still and wait 2) go in the wrong direction 3) travel the path your God has chosen. It sounds like an easy decision to make, but what happens when you have no clue which direction is associated with the correct choice?

When you become enraged at the universe, it can seem as if the whole world has a vendetta against you for no apparent reason, when in actuality, the world keeps spinning whether we lash out at the universe or not. Many times, it can feel as if you are going crazy, when actually you are just simply feeling overwhelmed. One problem creates the domino effect of knocking down things that were once sturdy and unscathed. Your once-perfect life is now littered with imperfections and you simply do not know how to fix it. Whatever the it is in your life that seems to be driving you crazy and making you mad, just know that you are not crazy. You are just overwhelmed and in need of some answers and positive direction.

It is the crazy world that you create within your own mind that will ultimately drive you over the edge if you are not careful and if you do not take the time to rationalize reality. Rationalizing reality means confronting the truth—not your truth, but the truth that actually exists. You cannot rationalize your own truth when your perception of truth is distorted. I often hear people say, Well, that’s my truth! Well no wonder your life is such a mess! Your truth as you know it or as you see it is not reality. Instead, it’s an opinion or a perception contaminated by life’s trials, and it is causing you to buy in to a false perception of reality.

Can a refusal to be happy drive you completely mad? Mad in terms of anger versus madness attributed to gradual psychological attrition is often divided by a very thin line. I don’t think that anyone initially chooses to be unhappy, but eventually unhappiness can become the crutch that guards you from the inevitable future fall that torments the mind. In other words, you can be unhappy and miserable for so long, that even when life is good you find cause for pause and shut down your happiness for fear that something bad is about to happen. Take a moment to look around your immediate environment and count the number of mad or sad people you see: family, friends, coworkers, strangers: those who don’t say hello, and never say, Have a nice day. Why has the world become such a grouchy place? Does it have to remain that way? What can you do to change it? What can you do to change yourself? The world around us is replete with clichés, positive power points, and inspirational messages. I even use them myself from time to time. Still, we remain mad, angry at the world, and lashing out at invisible vendettas. Emotion is contagious. It spreads like a bad disease or cures like a miraculous antidote. If you could attain one thing in your life right now to make you happy, what would you seek? Find the cause, you find the cure. The cause is not always as clear cut as you might think. It’s not the surface issues that block your unhappiness but the unresolved root causes that remain the culprit of our own demise.

Before We Begin….

Have you ever barreled down the highway to catch up to a stranger who cut you off in traffic? Have you ever blocked the doorway to force your partner to hear you out as he or she was attempting to leave the room? Thrown something against the wall in a fit of anger? Sabotaged a co-worker? Screamed at someone in a fit of uncontrollable anger? Would this behavior be defined as crazy? Insane? Hmmm … Though you are not literally insane, the momentary lapses in good judgment drive us to do some crazy things! Why are we so angry? Why do we allow our anger to drive us madly over the edge, dangling so carelessly between life and death? Regardless of the situations of life, we are all left with a choice. For even when we find it difficult to move on, we can still choose to be happy. The hard core reality is that even when we remain still, life keeps moving. We can choose to participate or allow life to simply pass us by. The school of hard knocks is designed to teach us to thrive, to learn to become pacesetters, to defy the norm, to create, and overtake. Happiness is a learned behavior. Our behavior, when left unchecked when we are young, carries over into adulthood. That is not always a good thing. When we are not taught that happiness comes from within and not from the tangibles of life, we spend a life-time seeking outside sources to fix something within ourselves that only we can make a conscience decision to fix through a willingness to change.

Food for Thought…

It often seems the more we get, the more we want, and the angrier we become when we don’t get it. How crazy have we become to continually remain so mad? Has our madness become so overwhelming that we no longer see how happy others would be simply to have enough to survive? This is not to imply that we should settle for lack and be happy without the things we want and need. This is simply to remind us to be aware. Don’t focus so much on everything that is wrong in life that you fail to recognize or even enjoy the beauty of life. Daily, we walk amongst the psychologically unstable … those suffering because they are inwardly going mad. They are dying beneath the parachutes of pride that lied to them with empty promises of a safe flight to a solid foundation: You will land on your feet if you just remain sweet and promise to keep the secrets of your eminent defeat. Then, a loud … thump!

Consequently, I dedicate this book to those who long to escape the madness and for once wallow in the wiles of having simply enough … and even when they so desire, more than enough. No, this does not only pertain to financial insufficiencies. Many are rich in wealth and poor in spirit. They too have given in to the lie of societal definitions of happiness and joy. This is not a speech regarding more political hoopla nor a soap box to reveal more ignorant irrationalities. This is an enlightenment call, so to speak. This is simply a way to reveal the goodness lurking beyond the madness. The word hope does still exist in the world and the possibility of progress remains among us. We simply must