The Writer
Don Juan
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2001
- Messages
- 78
- Reaction score
- 6
These are the principles I use to be happy. They work for me, and I hope they work for you 
HOW TO BE HAPPY
1) Give more than you receive
Being generous makes me happy because it makes me feel like I'm overflowing with good things. I give more than I receive because I have so much to give to other people that it would make me burst if I didn't give some of it away. And I love putting a smile on a glum person's face.
2) Don't keep score
I don't think of life as a game with winners and losers. I think of it as a canvas that I'm painting, a book I'm writing. Sure, there are winners and losers out there, but I don't waste time on adding up numbers to figure out how far I'm ahead or behind. What's the point? I put the same amount of time into just getting ahead.
3) Hold the Groove
This is a tricky one. Call if the Funk, the groove, the beat, call it Jah, call it Ra, call it the Great Magnet, call it God, but whatever you call it, have it--not a deity, but a something that makes the day flow as smooth as a river. I love swaying my body rhythmically and listening to mix CDs of my favorite songs, whether I'm on the dance floor or on the street. I love walking down the street, playing music on the turntable inside my head, and grooving with the beat. I literally could not make myself feel bad in any way while doing this, no matter how hard I tried.
4) Treat time as a friend
I don't watch the clock. I try not to live my life by the clock. I play hooky from my social engagements when I feel like it. I make sure to call in sick every now and then for no reason. I gave away all my timepieces a while back, and it feels good. (If I really need to know the time I just ask one of the million people out there with watches). There's no pressure on me anymore, because the perceived length of each day now depends entirely on how I choose to spend it.
5) Be an optimist
Unlike pessimism, optimism can't hurt. Everybody knows the benefits of optimism. In short, I used to be a pessimist, and when I look back on that part of my life now I just shake my head with disbelief at how pointless my pessimism was. I love optimism and the feelings it generates.
6) Shake things up
Take risks. Do things differently, or do things that make no sense at all. I love taking pointless trips to places around the country, all by myself. There's nothing like the freedom of being alone and free in a strange city, with a million places you've never seen before in your life waiting for you to explore them, and a million people out there for you to meet. No obligations. No deadlines. Just me, my mind, a pad and pen, and a bunch of new experiences.
7) Exercise your mind
I try to always keep myself busy with some new project or idea or experience, and preferably two or three at the same time. I get very happy when I finish a project and rest just long enough to move on to another one. When my mind is busy working on something I am interested in, I am happy.
8) Work your body
I run and do simple push-ups every day to get the juices flowing. Like most people, I'm very happy when exhausted at the end of a good workout. If I skip exercising for a few days, I start to feel like a piece of stale moldy cheese, but when I exercise regularly I feel strong as a bull.
9) Smile and laugh a lot
It's self-explanatory, and it works.
10) "Specialize in having fun"
Thanks must go to Jim Morrison for the idea. It's a line from a song on the album The Doors. Anytime I have a lot of fun I try to figure out what got me there. What got me there once will get me there again, any time I please. There is an art to having fun, but I'm only beginning to discover this (and that's where the fun lies).
It's been good to be alive ever since I figured this stuff out! I hope it helps.
HOW TO BE HAPPY
1) Give more than you receive
Being generous makes me happy because it makes me feel like I'm overflowing with good things. I give more than I receive because I have so much to give to other people that it would make me burst if I didn't give some of it away. And I love putting a smile on a glum person's face.
2) Don't keep score
I don't think of life as a game with winners and losers. I think of it as a canvas that I'm painting, a book I'm writing. Sure, there are winners and losers out there, but I don't waste time on adding up numbers to figure out how far I'm ahead or behind. What's the point? I put the same amount of time into just getting ahead.
3) Hold the Groove
This is a tricky one. Call if the Funk, the groove, the beat, call it Jah, call it Ra, call it the Great Magnet, call it God, but whatever you call it, have it--not a deity, but a something that makes the day flow as smooth as a river. I love swaying my body rhythmically and listening to mix CDs of my favorite songs, whether I'm on the dance floor or on the street. I love walking down the street, playing music on the turntable inside my head, and grooving with the beat. I literally could not make myself feel bad in any way while doing this, no matter how hard I tried.
4) Treat time as a friend
I don't watch the clock. I try not to live my life by the clock. I play hooky from my social engagements when I feel like it. I make sure to call in sick every now and then for no reason. I gave away all my timepieces a while back, and it feels good. (If I really need to know the time I just ask one of the million people out there with watches). There's no pressure on me anymore, because the perceived length of each day now depends entirely on how I choose to spend it.
5) Be an optimist
Unlike pessimism, optimism can't hurt. Everybody knows the benefits of optimism. In short, I used to be a pessimist, and when I look back on that part of my life now I just shake my head with disbelief at how pointless my pessimism was. I love optimism and the feelings it generates.
6) Shake things up
Take risks. Do things differently, or do things that make no sense at all. I love taking pointless trips to places around the country, all by myself. There's nothing like the freedom of being alone and free in a strange city, with a million places you've never seen before in your life waiting for you to explore them, and a million people out there for you to meet. No obligations. No deadlines. Just me, my mind, a pad and pen, and a bunch of new experiences.
7) Exercise your mind
I try to always keep myself busy with some new project or idea or experience, and preferably two or three at the same time. I get very happy when I finish a project and rest just long enough to move on to another one. When my mind is busy working on something I am interested in, I am happy.
8) Work your body
I run and do simple push-ups every day to get the juices flowing. Like most people, I'm very happy when exhausted at the end of a good workout. If I skip exercising for a few days, I start to feel like a piece of stale moldy cheese, but when I exercise regularly I feel strong as a bull.
9) Smile and laugh a lot
It's self-explanatory, and it works.
10) "Specialize in having fun"
Thanks must go to Jim Morrison for the idea. It's a line from a song on the album The Doors. Anytime I have a lot of fun I try to figure out what got me there. What got me there once will get me there again, any time I please. There is an art to having fun, but I'm only beginning to discover this (and that's where the fun lies).
It's been good to be alive ever since I figured this stuff out! I hope it helps.
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