5 Rules

May you live all the days of your life.
Jonathan Swift

I have been thinking lately about when I started making an effort to be positive no matter what. I went thru a very ugly divorce; yeah I know they all are, it really got me down. For years, and in all honestly my whole life, I have been verbally abused and physically abused a few times. So I sort of had the mind set that I was pretty worthless and never expected much. I felt I did not deserve to be happy. But I think going thru those difficult times gave me a whole new perspective. My glass could be half empty or my glass could be half full. My choice. Since I have more days behind me than in front of me I picked half full. I now make an effort to be positive and enjoy what life I have left. So I make my choice to live a life full joy and happiness instead of stress and unhappiness. I still have bad days; I still get grumpy and lazy. (I have seen me do it.) But now I know and I believe I was made to be happy and joyful and so it only lasts a short time. No matter what you are looking for in this lifetime I am sure you are not looking for so you can be miserable. So I would say that anything you are working toward whether it is more money, a better marriage, or success in your job it is for happiness. I often wonder why it is so hard for us to be happy. We are sick, in debt or maybe in an unhappy marriage, I don’t think that you can ADD happiness to your life. I think happiness is what you are and how you feel. A lot of my life was spent mindlessly doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So I have started using these rules. It definitely takes a lot of effort, and unless I wanted to remain in a miserable, unhappy depressed state I could continue on my way as I had for years. Now I try and I stress TRY to follow the following 5 easy rules to improve my outlook on life and thus find some happiness in my life.

5 Rules for Happiness

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.