Secret to happiness? Do what you love
If you are wondering how to be happy, take a look at what your gifts are and what your purpose is on the planet. Sharing your gifts with the world is one of the best ways to create happiness. People who do what they love and extend that love to those around them by simply being themselves are the happiest people on the planet.
Discovering and owning your purpose can sometimes be a confusing task. A few lucky people seem to have always known what they were meant to do, and they propel themselves forward by setting goals and achieving them. But I believe we are all here for a reason, even if it’s not immediately apparent. If you don’t know what yours is, finding it can make the difference between a life of misery and one of joy.
Once you set a path and begin taking steps to make things happen, it will have a huge impact on your selfworth. Some people are afraid to set lofty goals because they don’t want to fail, but the only true failure is in not trying. If you don’t reach your goal, you will learn what you need to do differently the next time. It’s a process, and as the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” If you feel bad about giving up something, remember that changing directions is not the same as quitting. Learn from your missteps and take another crack at finding your path to happiness.
If you aren’t sure of your purpose here or what your gifts are, take an inventory of your life. Look at the times when you’ve felt at your best, which could be when you were helping others or raising your family or creating something special. It may be hard to acknowledge the good things you’ve done or to pat yourself on the back, so another idea is to consider times when other people have pointed out what a great job you were doing. This may help you find a new direction.
Goldsmith
Music to stream
■ “The Border,” Willie Nelson’s 152nd album — you read that correctly, at least, according to Texas Monthly — arrives today. Across the release, Nelson offers idiosyncratic interpretations of compositions from country songwriting greats: Mike Reid (“Nobody Knows Me Like You”), Rodney Crowell with Will Jennings (“Many a Long and Lonesome Highway”), and Larry Cordle with Erin Enderlin (“I Wrote This Song for You”) among them. The title track, “The Border” is another reimagination of Crowell, a track from his 2019 album “Texas.” It’s a love letter to the Lone Star state, the kind Nelson knows better than anyone else.
■ It wasn’t so long ago that every conversation about the K-pop girl group aespa focused on their digital avatars. The quartet are actually an octet, if their AI counterparts are to be counted — an inventive exercise in transmedia storytelling to match their forward-thinking pop sound. But that was then. Now the group is preparing to release their debut full-length studio album, “Armageddon.” Lead single “Supernova” samples Afrika Bambaataa’s ‘Planet Rock’ from 1982 and brings their electronic experiments even further into the future.
■ Grammy-, Tony- and Emmy-winner Ben Platt brings his Broadway-sized pop to a third studio album, “Honeymind.” It’s a cheery pop-rock record deeply informed by his own love story and Peter Gabriel melodies. It’s an ideal record for musical theater fans looking for a change of pace.
■ Tanerélle, Republic Records latest signee, is preparing to release a new EP, “Electric Honey.” The Atlanta singer-songwriter’s strength is her rich vocal tone – classic and futuristic-sounding in the same breathy delivery of her grounded R&B. She might be a new name to some, but she’s already landed some impressive co-signs in the form of A-list syncs: Her music has been used in Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It” and Issa Rae’s great HBO drama “Insecure.”
■ And now for something completely different: Today, BMG Records will release “Pepito y Paquito,” the earliest collection of recorded material from flamenco legends Paco de Lucía and Pepe de Lucía — restored partially by using AI technology — originally captured when they were 11 and 13 years old, respectively. (Before working under their own names, they were known as “Pepito y Paquito.”) There’s a lot to love here, but begin with “Me Falta La Resistencia,” the boys’ adaptation of the La Repompa de Málaga tango. — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
Shows to stream
■ It’s 1980s New York in the new Netflix series “Eric” and Benedict Cumberbatch plays a curmudgeon puppeteer named Vincent with a crumbling marriage. When Vincent’s son Edgar goes missing, he becomes obsessed with finishing a puppet that the boy was drawing, convinced its key to bringing him home. “Eric” premiered Thursday on Netflix.
■ Peacock’s acclaimed British musical comedy “We
Are Lady Parts” returned for a second season Thursday. It follows the members of a female all-Muslim rock band in London. The new episodes pick up after a time jump. Lady Parts now has fans, a rival music group to compete with, and they’re gearing up to release a full album. Activist Malala Yousafzai makes a guest appearance.
■ A new Lifetime docuseries called “The Life and Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson” shares details of her life before she and Ron Goldman were murdered outside her home, 30 years ago on June 12, 1994. Her ex-husband, O.J. Simpson, was acquitted of their murders after a lengthy trial that aired live on TV. Simpson, who died in April from cancer, always maintained his innocence. The two-part docuseries premieres Saturday and Sunday on Lifetime and will stream on mylifetime.com. Both parts will also be available for purchase on VOD platforms.
■ Chip and Joanna Gaines get a taste of #lakelife with their latest project filmed for TV. They’re fixing up a mid-century modern lake house near Lake Waco, just in time for the 10-year anniversary of “Fixer Upper” on HGTV. “Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse” premieres Sunday on the Magnolia Network and HGTV. It will also stream same day on Max and Discovery+.
— Alicia Rancilio