Sunday, August 26, 2012

Rule #11 -- Love More!


"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. The bless the ones who receive them, and they bless you, the giver." - Barbara De Angelis


Karl Moore, in this 11th part of the 18 Rules of Happiness, states that in order to be happy, you need to love more. It's not the clingy, relationship love that most people might have in mind. Instead, the kind of love that a mother gives to her child, or the kind that a child gives for his/her puppy or kitten.

Love your life as it is.

Love your family, even if at times, it is easier to hate them.

Love nature and the beauty that surrounds you daily.

Love your friends for all their good and bad points.

Love both sides of the coin.

Just simply love more -- and you will be happy.


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Rule #10 -- Be More Social


"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. " -- Marcel Proust


In the 10th part of the 18 Rules of Happiness, Karl Moore says that the happiest and most successful people in society have a large social network.

One has to have lots of friends, lots of colleagues, lots of people you can call just to banter with for 10 minutes. One shortcut to becoming happier is to make more friends.

You need to be proactive about it. You can't wait for interesting people to stumble into your life. Join local clubs, take classes, or just be friendly and chat with neighbors. In this computer age, social networking sites are in! You can join Facebook and similar sites and join groups with people of the same interests. Making friends isn't difficult if you make the effort.

Be a friend with a positive attitude. No one wants to be around people who spend their time moaning and complaining. Sometimes you need to exert a little more effort. Some people take time to warm up and open up. Keep making friends and expand your social circle.

Be more social -- and you will be happy.


Sunday, August 12, 2012

Rule #9 -- Appreciate Both Sides of the Coin

 
"You don't know when you've hit a peak until you're coming down. And you don't know when you've hit a trough until you're climbing out. It's all good." - David Brent


In this 9th part of the 18 Rules of Happiness, Karl Moore talks about the duality that exists in life. Indeed, can you truly know what happiness is if you have not experienced sadness at all?

Life is full of opposites. This concept is one of the things we learn early on in school. When there's up, there's down. When there's hot, there's cold. In order to appreciate light, you must experience dark.

Opposites, right? But they exist as pairs. How can you indeed know one without the other?

Indeed, how many people want to experience only the good, the positive, and the happy. To be truly happy, you will need to embrace the duality of life experiences.

Perhaps it's time to stop judging individual experiences as good or bad. Simply accept them as part of your life adventures. When negative things seem to happen, just accept that it's the other side of the coin. It's part of the equation.

So, appreciate the other side of the coin -- and you will be happy.



Sunday, August 5, 2012

Rule #8 -- Experience, Don't Hoard!





"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do." - Walt Disney


Karl Moore talks about living and truly experiencing life in this 8th part of the 18 Rules of Happiness. He says that when you experience life, you feel more whole, fulfilled and authentic.

I would generally agree. However, there are times when you are limited by your financial capacity to do what you want. Having the material resources, on the other hand, doesn't guarantee lasting happiness.

So instead of indulging in material goods, how about creating mini life adventures? Why don't you learn a new skill, like a new language or a new dance step? Or you can have a "tour" of your local neighborhood, taking time out to admire everything around you.

It can be anything.. doesn't have to be big or expensive. It's something that you can do on your own. Maybe you want to set up your own blog and write about your experiences. Or you can dine in a new restaurant every day for a week. Just try to experience life.

Experience - don't hoard - and you will be happy.