Lessons in life... listen to your grandkids!

MAKE no mistake. Life is hard and the most you have are two options, either to keep going... or to quit.

You can quit by withdrawing into yourself as a refuge of sorts, but at the end of the day, it is only by confronting yourself that you will ever enjoy that elusive relationship with a condition we call happiness.

I’m prompted to write this piece by virtue of what my grandson said to me days ago when he told me that at 25 he is the happiest he has ever been in his life!

I want a bit of that. But how do I get it?

The closest I have come to it is employing the 4Ups Solution, a mish-mash of wisdom, common sense, hyperbole and bullshit.

NO. I: Get up. A songwriter friend of mine put flesh on that microsecond when you first wake.

He called it ‘that blessed moment before the pain’.

The correct response is to swing those old legs out of bed, however bad you feel and ponder on how early the bodily aches and pains are afflicting you.

Game on, but before you leave the bedroom ask yourself did you go to sleep with a dream and now that you’re awake, have you got a purpose?

NO.2: Dress up. Let your personality be your fashion statement.

I used to think that style was something we used to climb over a wall into a field.

I know now that style is how we present ourselves to the world and even if your clothes are old, wear them with flair and confidence like Kris Kristofferson dressing for Sunday in his ‘cleanest dirty shirt.’

If you love what you are doing you will be successful, so celebrate life by wearing a few bright colours.

NO. 3: Shut up. Don’t get stuck with windbags, ‘but that’s enough of me talking about me... what do you think about me?’

Shout if you want to speak, shout if you want to be heard. Don’t post that malicious rant. Give yourself 24 hours before the bombshell revelations appear on Twitter.

Silence is golden, a worthy respite from the noise and the clamour of the 21st century.

Don’t get involved in any arguments that are not your own.

It is a wise man who keeps his own counsel and the mobile phone has given us permission to talk to ourselves whilst perambulating along our city streets.

Learn to stay schtum, sing dumb. Hould your whisth agus dun do bheal.

A moment of patience in a moment of anger can save you a hundred moments of regret.

NO 4: Show up. There are two ways you can show up.

One, you can show somebody up and embarrass the bejasus out of them, this remedial action is a defence mechanism that should not be used lightly unless you want to cultivate deadly enemies.

But then again if you’ve got enemies in your life it means you stand for something.

The second way you can show up is to be committed, diligent and punctual.

YOU are allowed to scream, you are allowed to cry, but you are never allowed to give up! Showing up is an indicator of loyalty, friendship and trust.

Showing up is an indicator of enthusiasm, dependability and availability. If you’re not in you can’t win ! This home-spun wisdom is my blueprint and it is not mandatory that you follow these steps, but I base them all loosely on the philosophy of an eight-year-old boy, my eldest son who climbed Carrauntoohill on a dank and gloomy day, when they descended to the bottom of the mountain he announced that it was the second best day of his life.

So what was the best day of his life? ‘It hasn’t happened yet!’ That’s my boy!