Give more. Expect less. Be "happy".

I've been contemplating whether or not to start a resolution for 2012 and I haven't yet. I'm not sure if it's because I'm already in physical shape that I'm beyond these New Year's changes or that I'm quite a case that needs a lot of work... and I don't know where to start.

Yes, it's true.  The book has been paired with a cup of coffee.

I'm currently reading The Happiness Project where the writer, Gretchen Rubin, spends a year discovering what makes her "happy" through trial and error and a great deal of research. Halfway through the book I'm filled with a great deal of information, memoir, and challenges to try for myself, while being overwhelmed with the many approaches researchers and philosophers have taken on what it means to be happier. It's been a great read to learn how to live better days: what this blog is all about.

In the middle of Rubin's journey in The Happiness Project she discovers what she has coined "A Splendid Truth" that is two fold:


One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy.


One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.

Upon reading these truths I shouldn't have been surprised because I believe God has designed us to connect with other people in community, seek out those that are in need of love, help those that are in trouble. However, I was in fact intrigued due to the fact that I'm living in an age where success is often based upon what you accomplish and how much you have, yet, even the most "unChristian" research insists that these things do not make us happy. They don't fill the void.

For some reason I've believed that because I've worked hard to receive the best grades, accomplish athletic goals, contributing to my church, school, community, and by generally being nice to people that I deserve a great deal of respect and love. Perhaps this has come from an encouraging pair of parents that have made an effort to make me feel special, living in this society that reaffirms these achievements as important, but I believe it's due to innate selfish tendencies that I must desire to tackle each day. It's humbling to realize how much I believe I'm entitled to receiving.

Despite what I think I've achieved in this world, how nice I am to others, or how good of a person I think I am, does not earn love, respect, or a perfect life. So, inspired by Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project, I'm beginning a new resolution: 

This is a picture I took of our chalkboard where I now have sealed my resolution.

This year, instead of trying to achieve more, I'm going to invest in love. 

I'm going to cut people slack, lighten up, show grace, give more, and expect less. Seek out relationships with those that are hurting and those I've chosen to judge or be jealous of, and be especially humbled in the places in my life where I believe I'm better then the rest. 

It's astounding to me that when I was looking for ways to live better days that I'm brought back to this underlying, ultimate truth: love like Jesus... only because He first loved me.