Preferences

We have a good life when we manage to live with both
satisfied and unsatisfied needs,
when we are not obsessed by what is beyond our reach.
- Kjell Magne Bondevik

To know what you prefer
instead of humbly saying Amen
to what the world tells you you ought to prefer,
is to have kept your soul alive.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued,
is always just beyond your grasp,
but which, if you will sit down quietly,
may alight upon you.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Smile.
Today would be a wonderful day
not to take life so seriously.
Today may end up the way you prefer -
and it may not.
Happiness is not about being a winner -
it's about being gentle with life -
being gentle with yourself.
Let life be a dance,
and choose the kind of
dance you want for today -
perhaps a gentle loving dance.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Having preferences is a wonderful thing. It is great to know what you want, and to work hard to get it. However, be clear that your preferences are not needs. You can live a fulfilling and joyful life even if you get the oatmeal rather than the cake, the apartment rather than the house, fewer (or more) grandkids than you prefer - even if your preferred political candidate loses the election.

Further reading: Appreciate the Unexpected

Commitments versus Demands

Disappointment

Joy is a Choice - but Not an Easy Choice

Demand

Need

Reach

Acceptance

Serenity

Expectations