I'm usually described as a very happy, positive person.
Here are my secrets. This is not from some checklist that I read in
an article, these are actually the things that give me great happiness.
- If possible, stay close to your family. Be generous with your
time. Do them favors all the time, not looking to get anything in return.
- You are the average of the five people you spend the most amount
of time with. Choose those people carefully. Invest in close friends
and long conversations. I would give up a lot in order to have another
long conversation or walk with
people I have lost. Those long dinners
with close friends are it for me, those are the nights I remember.
- Invest in experiences over possessions, especially shared experiences.
- Travel a lot, always be looking for new experiences and the joy of
meeting new people who have different experiences from you.
- Learn how to delete anger, practice
forgiveness and to
trust other people.
- Study mindfulness, and develop a gratitude practice. I think of
something I am grateful for each time I brush my teeth. :)
- Be kind to other people -- people you know, and, strangers. Dolly
Parton says "if you see someone without a smile, give 'em yours".
- Be generous. If you can afford it, tip generously, but also be
generous with your time.
- Assume good intent.
- Lead a multi-generational life, e.g.,
Tom,
Jack,
Nicholas,
Tracy.
- Honesty is a form of kindness.
- Choose activities that put you "in flow", where you are so focused
on the thing that you love, that you lose track of time. For example,
on the day that I wrote this little article, I spent half an hour
editing sugar granules on a gumdrop logo for one of my companies. :)
- Don't watch much TV, especially TV with violence and dark themes.
- Other: sleep, nature, dogs, music, dark chocolate :)
See Also
