Connect to Community.
Some happiness scientists say that if you want to express what makes you happy in one word it would be: others. The truth is that having a sense of belonging in community is key to happiness. It is said that to be happy and resilient, you need to have four different kinds of community. Find a way to be a part of your community in ways that make you feel fully alive.
How to be a Good Friend
Relationships are key to success in life and your happiness. The quality of your friendship with your family members, partner and chosen friends has a big impact on how good you feel about your life and yourself. There are many benefits to friendship, from health to heart. Yet, most people have some troubles over the course of their lives in their relationships. It is all too easy to see the reason for the troubles in another person, but the truth is that troubles in relationship are a two way street. Sometimes the only safe and sane thing to do is to step out of the street, but always the right thing to do is to become aware of your part in the troubles, and take responsibility.
| how_to_be_a_good_friend.pdf |
How to Connect to Your Neighbor
Community comes in different forms. Place-based community is the community of the place where you live. Interest-based community is the group of people who share activities like sports, singing, and the arts. Activity-based community is based on a shared goal, plan or activity, like building and maintaining a neighborhood tool library or getting a change in policy in the government. Work-based community is the community of your colleagues. In our busy lives, we sometime overlook place-based community. Use the 50 ways to love your neighbor to connect to your neighbors.
| 50_ways_to_love_your_neighbor.pdf |
Taking action to change laws
How to become a citizen activist is based on the book "Becoming a Citizen Activist by Nick Licata. When you are happy with your government, it does not seem like government is important to happiness, but when you feel like you cannot trust your government or your government is doing things that make your life difficult, you experience how important government is to your happiness. Engaging in the democratic process can make your life better, but it is not easy to figure out how or to maintain the effort. The How to be a citizen activist - the cliff notes help you along the way.
| how_to_be_a_citizen_activist.pdf |
On community, communication and the shadow...
Connecting to community will most likely inevitably gives rise to conflict with other people or within yourself, and most likely both. Developing communication & listening skills and learning how to work with your own shadow can help resolve conflict in creative and helpful ways.
