My Happiness Project - Part Three

I highlighted lots of information as I was reading The Happiness Project. Some of the pieces became part of my Personal Commandments. But there were many more aspects that I thought were important to consider as I work on boosting happiness. They are like valuable little nuggets of wisdom. Rubin calls these little reminders her Happiness Manifesto.

Even though the commandments provide some overarching principles, I liked having these things to remember during the course of each day to keep me on track. These got added to my bathroom mirror too. So….without further adieu….here is my Happiness Manifesto:

• The days are long, but the years are short.
• "One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; one of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”
• Don't compare yourself to others.
• Accept the things you can't control.
• Don't gossip.
• Enjoy the process.
• Don't complain.
• Honor God.
• Be positive - in thought and speech. Re-frame negative thoughts.
• Live simply.
• Don't take it personal.
• Look for reasons to laugh.
• You're not happy unless you think you're happy.
• Lighten up.
• Be forgiving.
• Don't buy useless crap.
• Make footprints: "I was here!"
• If you can't get out of it, get into it.
• "It is easy to be heavy; hard to be light." G.K. Chesterton
• Do it now.
• Choose to be happy, not right.
• Imagine the eulogy - how do I want to be remembered?
• Be a haven.