12 Ways to Center Your Life Around Love and Happiness

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a daily basis.

Today is a new day – a new beginning.  You have been given this day to use as you please.  You can waste it or you can use it for something worthwhile.  Either way, what you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.

When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever.  In its place will be something that you have left behind.  Please, let it be something worthwhile.  Let it be something that spreads love and happiness.

Here’s how:

1. Be kinder than necessary. – You will never fully understand some things until these things actually happen to you.  So be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of unique battle.  And remember, you will come across some people in life who always seem to create conflicts.  When you meet them, smile and walk away.  The battle they are fighting isn’t with you, it’s within them.
2. Put sincere effort into your relationships. – Don’t confuse the people who are always lingering around with the ones who are truly there.  Good relationships don’t just happen, and they aren’t built solely on a foundation of convenience.  They take time, patience, effort, and two people who want to be together and are willing to meet in the middle.  Read The 5 Love Languages.
3. Remind your loved ones that you love them every chance you get. – It doesn’t always matter where you go, what you do, or how much you have.  Sometimes all that matters is who you have beside you.  So be grateful for the wonderful people in your life, and let them know how much they mean to you on a regular basis.
4. Stretch yourself, and make yourself proud. – You can’t grow unless you do.  Yes, as you stretch you will feel some discomfort.  You will have to deal with the pain of the unknown as you work new emotional and intellectual muscle groups.  But don’t let that stop you.  Far too many people are fearful of the unknown, comfy with putting in the least amount of effort, and not willing to put up with short-term pain for long-term gain.  But not you – you know better.  Stretch yourself, be all you can be and seize your true potential.
5. Let your tears nourish your healing. – If tears could talk, this is what they’d say:  I am the raindrop that nourishes your healing.  Open your door to me in times of angst.  I will not stay forever.  Only long enough to clear the path of debris so hope and joy can reach you.  Only long enough to cleanse your eyes so your vision will be clear enough to recognize goodness when it comes.
6. Don’t wait for a reason to be grateful. – Just be grateful for everything you have now, and the reasons will quickly find you.  Being happy doesn’t always make us grateful, but being grateful will always make us happy.  And if you’re finding it hard to be grateful for something, sit down, close your eyes and take a long slow breath, and be grateful for oxygen.  Every breath you take is in sync with someone’s last.  Read The How of Happiness.
7. Express your appreciation daily. – Before going to bed tonight, take a moment to appreciate yourself for three things you accomplished today.  If you are in a relationship, take moment to openly discuss and appreciate three things you each accomplished today.  What we focus on expands.  What we appreciate, appreciates in value.
8. Say less when less means more. – You are as beautiful as the love you give, and you are as wise as the silence you leave behind.
9. Rediscover your inner child. – If you’ve forgotten the feel of joy, and don’t remember when you last felt wonder, let a child lead you back to the days when rocks breathed, and leaves sailed, and happiness was watching water dance through your hands.  Back to a time when you knew that every treasure worth having could be unearthed in your own back yard.
10. Be good to yourself. – Look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I love you, and from now on I’m going to act like it.”  It’s important to be nice to others, but it’s even more important to be nice to yourself.  When you act as your own best friend, you allow yourself to be happy.  When you are happy, you become a better friend, a better family member, and you inspire others to be happier too.  Read The Mastery of Love.
11. Stop waiting for the perfect moment. – Take each moment, appreciate it and make it perfect.  If you want to get really good at something or get somewhere new, let go of the notion of perfection and replace it with the notion of endless, playful exploration.  And don’t be afraid of change; oftentimes we will shed something good, and gain something even better.
12. Inject a little goodness into the world whenever you can. – When you become overwhelmed because it seems the whole world is exploding with hatred, violence, ignorance, and apathy, you have two choices:  You can either bury your head in the sand, or you can rest your cheek upon it, breathe until you feel whole again, then lift your head and ask, “How can I add some goodness?”

And remember, although every story has an end, in life every ending is just a new beginning.  Life goes on – not always the way we had envisioned it would be, but always the way it’s supposed to be.  We usually can’t choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.

Photo by: Jamie Grant