It’s Your Duty to be Happy
written by Terry - January 25th, 2011 at 8:15 am
Choose to be Happy
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world.” Robert Louis Stevenson
A message from Terry: Gee, a tough homework assignment, huh? Go forth and be happy! Sometimes, it’s just that simple. But the world isn’t always a happy place. If the world is acting like it’s a windshield and you’re a bug, how can you move your mood from sad to glad?
Maybe by taking a page from Neil Pasricha’s book – literally. A few years ago, when several serious problems in his life threatened to sour his outlook on life, he started a blog entitled “1,000 Awesome Things,” which can be found at www.1000awesomethings.com. Each day, it features one of life’s simple pleasures, like being the person who gets chosen to start the new check-out line at the grocery store on a busy day.
He has now turned that blog into a successful book, “The Book of Awesome.” So if your day gets off to a rocky start, open his book at random or pop on over to Neil’s website. He believes the three secrets to a happier life are:
- Attitude – Be willing to make happiness your default mode.
- Awareness – Be awake to the rich details of the world around you.
- Authenticity – Be yourself, and stay true to your own heart.
We opened with Robert Louis Stevenson, so let’s close with him, too. Given the nature of the first quote, it should come as no surprise that, in his timeless A Child’s Garden of Verses, he also wrote:
The world is so full of a number of things, that I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.
Be happy. Claim your kingdom. It’s your duty…and your right.
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