The
zenhabits blog has a post up this morning that includes some good, simple advice on staying happy. In
Five Great Ways to Achieve Happiness Through Serving Others, guest blogger Stephen Smith of
HD BizBlog 1.2 writes about lessons he learned working in the service industries. He writes that he found something truly rewarding in serving others:
I remember going home after many 12- to 16-hour days, having served hundreds of people their meals and watched them dance and celebrate a special day with family and friends. At these times I felt tired, of course, but also invigorated and gratified by the display of human connection.
From his experiences he offers five ideas to consider as a way to increase our level of service to others and thereby increase our own happiness:
- Show respect and courtesy.
- Listen more than you speak.
- Give genuine praise.
- Keep your promises.
- Practice forgiveness.
These seem very simple, and they are, but they are often lost in the rush of our busy days. It might be worth taking a moment to consider trying each of these as we make our way to and from work, deal with issues at the office, and struggle with the challenges of being good spouses, partners and parents.
2 comments:
Hi Mike- Good advice! I joined the Milford Mispillion Rotary a few years ago and learned about the Rotary Four Way Test. It was adopted by the Rotary International in the 1940's, and we end each weekly meeting by repeating it aloud--and we are supposed to ask ourselves these four questions as we make decisions in our lives: IS IT THE TRUTH? IS IT FAIR TO ALL CONCERNED? WILL IT BUILD GOODWILL AND BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? IS IT BENEFICIAL TO ALL CONCERNED? Something to think about...
You are right, Bill. When you look at them from the right perspective, most of the ways of being that are suggested by major religions and service organizations amount to pretty much the same thing: Bbe nice.
I somewhat jokingly suggested the related corollary in a post back in May: Don't be a Jackass.
I think maybe Bill and Ted said it best when they said, "Be excellent."
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