Happiness Interview - Sarahb

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Everyone has their own idea of what happiness is. So let us ask you…..

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What does Happiness mean to YOU?

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Our names are David and Heidi. We are undertaking a project to find out from people all over the world, what happiness means to them. Each and everyone of us has a different idea of what true success and happiness is and wouldn’t it be great if we could all learn from each other? Find out what makes people just like you, happy. You might be surprised by some of the answers!

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Interview with Sarah Bashforth 8:20pm Wednesday 29th April 2009

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Vital Statistics Name: Sarah Bashforth Sex: Female Age: 31 Marital Status: Engaged Occupation: Lead Bank Teller Children: Nil Lives: Bundaberg, QLD, Australia

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Q. Success means different things to different people, what does success mean to you? Being happy is probably the main thing that comes to mind when you say what success is. To be happy with your life and what you’re doing in your life, yeah I would say definitely being happy. Q. What would you define as being happy Sarah? What makes you happy? Having my friends and family around, having a roof over my head, and being financially secure are the things that make happy?

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Q. What would you say was the greatest yes moment in your life? A moment that was so magical where life could not be better.   Probably when Clayton proposed to me. Another moment would be when we bought our house last year. That certainly was a Yes moment alright!

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Q. Why was that - with the house for instance? Probably because it too us such a long time to get it! It was such a long journey for us to get to the stage where we were able to buy our first home. It was kind of like for 10 years, 2 steps forward 3 steps back, so many things financially coming up that stopped us from getting there sooner. And it’s funny because both Clayton and I have always worked so hard and long hours in our jobs, always wondering if we would ever get there, so achieving this was extremely significant. Although, I’m sure there are many other people who are in the same situation we were in, wondering if they will ever get there. It is hard but it definitely has been worth every bit of frustration, tears and hard work along the way.

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Q. What was your worst moment, a time that you wished would just end? The one thing that stands out the most was when I was running two businesses at the same time for a few years and I got to the point where I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was completely exhausted and nearly on the verge of a breakdown after 3 years of doing that. It was physically and mentally draining and it took it out of me in so many ways. It was almost like a weight was lifted off me when I decided to just focus on one business which was my Barber Salon. It was such a hard decision to give up the other business as I could see the potential and opportunities but I realised I had to do give it up for my own wellbeing.

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Q. What did you learn from that experience? Self-confidence was definitely the biggest thing I learnt from doing that. It was really hard at the time because the business really pushed me well and truly out of my comfort zone but doing it increased my self-confidence dramatically. Ever since I was young, I have been a really shy person lacking in self-confidence. So I definitely have no regrets going through that experience because what I got out of it was so incredible. It has made a huge impact on my life.

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Q. What wisdom would you pass onto others who experience similar difficult situations. Well that’s hard, I feel a little uneasy about passing on wisdom because I didn’t succeed in making it work, but I did realise I had to stop doing it. Q. When you say actually quitting, did you learn some wisdom from doing this? Quitting isn’t actually failing. Quitting is coming to a point and saying this is not working for me.…. I know what the limitations are and this is not treating myself well. Yes that’s true. I guess the wisdom that I did learn from it was that I had to give it up because you can’t always do everything. Yeah I did come to this conclusion.

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Q. What are 5 things in your life at this very moment that you are grateful for? I’m grateful for my job because it pays me! I’m grateful for Clayton in my life for his support as my best friend and my lifelong partner. I would be lost without him.  My other best friend – my twin sister. I’m very grateful that I have a wonderful family. I’m grateful that I can pay the bills, you know, you look around and there are lots of people who don’t have a home or food to eat.

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Q. What is the biggest goal you would like to achieve before you die?   I would really like to be remembered for being a good person when I die. That’s one big thing that sticks out for me. I would also like to see other parts of the world as I haven’t been overseas before . I’d love to have the freedom to not have to go to work if I didn’t want to. It would be fantastic if Clayton and I could do what we like when we want.

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Q. What is one thing you would like see change in the world before you die?   I would like them to find a cure for cancer. Q. Why is that? I lost my beautiful Aunty to cancer and it’s such an awful disease with so many people losing their life to it and having families go through such heartbreak and loss because of it.

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Q. What’s some personal wisdom you can share with others? I guess I’ve always learnt things the hard way, so find the easy way first! Seriously, I think that learning things the hard way is all part of the journey and as they say, this is more important than the destination. That life is all part of learning and the mistakes you make along the way are all part of this journey.

What does Happiness mean to YOU? : 

What does Happiness mean to YOU? We hope you enjoyed reading our interview with Sarah. We would love to hear what happiness and success means to you also - it only need be a few lines if you like. Also, you can remain anonymous if you wish. We are in the process of developing a website with everyone’s stories on it so people from different countries all over the world can share in others’ amazing stories, learning what happiness means to them. How amazing will that be, we can’t wait! So take a minute and click below to tell us your story CLICK HERE