Time and How to Spend It: The 7 Rules for Richer, Happier Days

If you’re not happy with how things are in your ordinary world, for instance, maybe you’re refusing your call to adventure? Perhaps what you need is to hear and accept your call and maybe a mentor will help. Or, if something or someone seems to be deliberately trying to stop you achieving your aims – no need to fret, this is just a test or an enemy

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 = no change at all and 10 = drastic and complete change, by how much have your ideas, beliefs and preferences changed in the past ten years? On the same scale of 1 to 10, by how much do you expect your ideas, beliefs and preferences to change in the next ten years? If you’re like most other people, including me, you’l

were you giving

Story – for two reasons. First, experiences give us a sense of identity that’s both inward- and outward-facing. They tell each one of us who we are, and they enable us to tell others too. Second, when you have a story, you set in motion a domino line of positivity that almost inevitably leads to happiness: experiences give us stories, stories give

Third, there should be clear goals, and fourth, there should be feedback. You should know as soon as possible if you’re reaching those goals.

What’s interesting here is not only that the shape of redemptive stories mirrors the man in hole and hero’s journey shape. What’s really interesting is that people who tend to describe their life through contaminated stories are more likely to be depressed, have lower levels of life satisfaction, and feel that they can’t make a positive contributio

Life used to be simple, but today, with its myriad options, it has become too much plane for one person to fly. We all need a checklist.

So, there’s another ingredient that also strikes me as essential. It’s this: the story should have a positive ending. To borrow from Vonnegut, ‘because why get a depressing person’ at the end? If you’re going to sell someone on the idea that they should follow your lead, you’d want to tell them that, yes, things are hard now, but they’ll get better

Then, if you’ve time and inclination, you could follow all seven branches: S: Will this experience give you a story to tell others, or that tells you who you are? T: Will it help you develop, grow, transform? O: Will you be outside and offline? R: Will it bring you closer to others, and enhance your relationships? I: Will it be intense, and launch