The Rules

I recently stumbled across a girl’s journal entry where she had written 9 rules for herself. Things like, “learn to be charming” & “always make time for solitude”.

It got me thinking (how Carrie!) about other people’s rules for life. Do you have any? Are they concrete & solid, or flexible & subject to change? Did you create your own rules or are you towing the line originally set down by your family? Are they things you do naturally or are they things you struggle with?

Here are mine. They are concrete. Some of them stem from my family’s set of values but mostly they are things I have come to realise are right for me. Most of them I do naturally these days, though it wasn’t always that way, & some I still struggle with (see: live in the moment).

Do what makes you happy.

Avoid gossip.

Appreciate every day. Live in the moment.

Focus on the bigger picture.

Be gracious.

Only spend time with people who make you feel good.

Be sincere, be dorkily earnest — tell people you love them, that they are beautiful, that you appreciate their presence in your life.

Show love towards everyone & be unafraid of any possible repercussions.

Don’t dwell on problems; tap them out as soon as they appear.

Practice right speech (only say things which are helpful, positive & constructive).

Don’t just walk; strut!

Listen to great music & dance every day.

Always take your camera & business cards!

Never get involved with someone with a substance abuse problem or a pessimistic world view, OR someone a friend has been involved with/interested in previously!

Finally, treat people as if they were what they ought to be, & you help them to become what they are capable of becoming. (Thanks, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe!)