Happiness Is...
Me, Myself & I
Friendship
Times they are a Changing
Hard Stuff
100
I am about as happy as I make up my mind to be. -Abraham Lincoln
Happiness can be a decision. If we choose it, we can feel it.
100
My "self" is not something I find, it is something I create. -Thomas Szasz
You can't "find" yourself somewhere. You are what you make yourself to be.
100
To have a friend, I practice being a friend. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
You can only make a friend if you are a friend to others.
100
There is nothing permanent except change. -Heraclitus
Change is always happening. That's the only thing that doesn't change!
100
Thinking will not overcome fear but action will. -W. Clement Stone
Give an example of this....
200
The best way to cheer myself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.
Making others happy can make me happy.
200
I am not afraid to admit mistakes. This is how I learn.
Making a mistake gives you the opportunity to learn from that mistake.
200
A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself. -Jim Morrison
Friends accept you as you are....they don't expect you to be somebody else.
200
Life is one big transition. -Willie Stargell Bonus: What is a transition?
We go from one thing to the next, all the time. Transitions are times of moving from one thing to the next - the ending of something and beginning of another.
200
The greatest remedy for anger is delay. -Lucius Annaeus Seneca Bonus: give an example of how to do this.
If I wait to respond to something when I'm angry, I'll be less angry when I respond. Bonus: count to 10, breath, walk away....
300
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. -Dalai Lama What is compassion?
Compassion is the ability to feel for others and offer support. This helps others to feel happy.
300
No one can make me feel inferior without my consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt
I can only be insulted, or feel inferior, if I CHOOSE to feel insulted or inferior.
300
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. -Helen Keller Bonus: Who is Helen Keller?
Having a friend in a time of need can be better than celebrating something all alone. Helen Keller was a blind and deaf person who became a great teacher.
300
When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves. -Viktor E. Frankl
We have two options when we don't like something: 1. change the thing we don't like or 2. change how I see it / deal with it.
300
Fear is a question. What are you afraid of and why? Our fears are a treasure house of self-knowledge if we explore them. -Marilyn French Bonus: Give an example
If we know why we are afraid of something, we learn more about ourselves. Example: I'm afraid of the dark might mean I'm afraid of not knowing something....
400
Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Giving generates happiness more than receiving.
400
My greatest strength is to recognize what I don't know and ask a few questions. -Peter Drucker
Being able to admit you don't know something and willing to ask or find the answers, is a mark of strength, not weakness.
400
A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. -Walter Winchell
Friends don't leave when things get hard. They stick around.
400
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. -George Bernard Shaw
If we don't move forward, we are staying still = no change. This includes how we think. Changing our mind about something = changing how we think = progress.
400
The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together. -Saadi Bonus: Give an example
I can't be happy without knowing what sadness feels like. An example might be the yin yang symbol / positive and negative qualities....
500
Be happy with what you have and are, be generous with both, and you won't have to hunt for happiness. -William E. Gladstone
Happiness comes from liking what you have instead of wanting or getting more. Giving what you have (and are) to others, creates happiness in others and yourself.
500
Life is very interesting... in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths. -Drew Barrymore
What is considered a weakness can also be a strength. Such as "I get too angry" (weakness) = "I care a lot" (strength). Name one of yours!
500
Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. -Albert Camus
Don't ask me to lead you. Don't ask me to follow you. Be at my side as an equal. That's friendship.
500
Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality. -Nikos Kazantzakis
Changing how I look at something, changes things. Give an example.....
500
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. -Buddha Bonus: give an example.
When I hang onto anger (refusing to let it go) about someone, I'm the one who gets hurt the most.