Category: Diversity

44 Priceless Moments Money Can’t Buy

1.Realizing you were smiling the entire time you were talking to someone, right after you hang up the phone.

2.The warm coziness of my own bed after I return home from a long business trip.

3.Playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to settle a decision with one of your friends.

4.When a wild animal is tame enough to eat food right out of your hand.

5.Crying on my sister’s shoulder. Without the help of my family and close friends, I would be lost in a world of emotion, stress, and confusion.

6.Picking and eating fresh fruit right off the tree.

7.The joy of watching a baby smile.

8.The proud look on my 4-year-old son’s face when he learns a new skill.

9.The bittersweet emotions that rush through your body on the very last day of high school.

10.Time with the love of my life. Last May, my husband of 27 years was diagnosed with cancer and given 3 to 6 months to live. We prayed, cried, loved, and laughed. Now, 11 months later, we are still savoring every smile, kiss, and breath. We know these moments will end sooner rather than later, but we are so grateful for the time we do have together.

11.The rush you get when you’re driving on the open road and your favorite song randomly plays on the radio.

12.The comforting sound of my father’s car pulling into the driveway when he finally returns from a long business trip.

13.When my baby girl looked up at me and said, “Daddy!” for the very first time.

14.Seeing two elderly folks who are madly in love. It’s a sight of love that has surpassed the tests of time.

15.Kissing in the rain.

16.The feeling of cool morning grass under your bare feet when you walk out to get the newspaper at sunrise.

17.Beginner’s eyes. You’ll never see it again for the very first time.

18.The sound and sight of ocean waves.

19.The feeling you get inside when you go out of your way to make someone’s day a little brighter. Doing something nice and unexpected for somebody else doesn’t always require money, and often the gesture has more meaning when it doesn’t.

20.A good photograph of a special moment. It transforms the moment into a tangible keepsake and helps make the memory of that moment last a lifetime.

21.A rainbow breaking through the storm clouds on a calm, rainy summer afternoon.

22.The exhilarating rush of adolescent love. Those magical moments of adolescent lust and affection that only you and one other person rightly remember.

23.The little kicks and pokes I feel daily as I enter the last month of my first pregnancy. It’s truly remarkable!

24.Sharing a good laugh with friends and family. Some of the most memorable moments in my life have been moments spent in laughter.

25.The excitement of swinging on a swing as high as you possibly can.

26.The simple fact that I can read the sincerity in her eyes when she says, “I love you.”

27.The awesomeness of skipping rocks across water. It doesn’t matter how old I get, this one never gets old.

28.The tears of joy that flow when you see your beloved for the first time after a 10 month deployment to Iraq. All the months of struggle and loneliness are washed away the second he gets off that plane.

29.The soothing comfort of an old familiar smell. Earlier today pulled into my parent’s driveway after being away for over a year. I could smell familiarity in the air – the scent of the pine tree in the neighbor’s yard. And as I headed through the front door, more familiar smells consumed my senses. Gosh, it feels good to be home.

30.The keen wisdom my grandfather has acquired slowly over the course of 86 years, and the amazing stories and life lessons he shares with me every time I visit him.

31.A first kiss. The sweet rush of butterflies in your tummy when you kiss someone special for the very first time.

32.When you look into the eyes of your best friend and know, without a doubt, that you can trust her. You can see it in her eyes and you can feel it in your heart. She has no ulterior motive.

33.The first sight of daffodils poking through the snow after a long, hard winter.

34.The realization of true love. The warm feeling you get many years after your first kiss when you realize you married the right person.

35.The surreal beauty of watching lightning strike in the distance.

36.An unexpected compliment. It seemed like just another dreary Monday morning, but when she walked into my office and said, “I love your shirt! That color looks great on you,” it brightened the rest of my day.

37.A peaceful, romantic picnic with your significant other on a warm sunny day.

38.The joy of telling an interesting true story. One of the most enticing roles we lead in life is that of a storyteller. There are few things more satisfying than telling a true story that others enjoy listening to.

39.The feeling of self-confidence is unquestionably priceless. It cannot be purchased with money, but it can buy you more opportunities and take you farther than any amount of money ever could.

40.The excitement of a white Christmas.

41.A pillow fight with two of your best friends.

42.When my cat snuggles up on my chest while I’m laying on my back. He’s so warm and fuzzy and cute.

43.Grilled steak and potatoes home-cooked for me by my husband on a lazy Friday night after I’ve had a long week. Nothing beats sitting at home in my pajamas and eating my favorite food, made by the man I love, with the man I love.

44.When the song on the radio ends right as you pull into the driveway.

If you enjoyed these simple pleasures and priceless moments, be sure to check What Money Cannot Buy every day for a quick, fresh dose of positive content

http://www.marcandangel.com/2010/07/19/44-priceless-moments-money-cant-buy/

These questions have no right or wrong answers.

Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

1.How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

2.Which is worse, failing or never trying?

3.If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

4.When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

5.What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?

6.If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

7.Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

8.If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

9.To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?

10.Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?

11.You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?

12.If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?

13.Would you break the law to save a loved one?

14.Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?

15.What’s something you know you do differently than most people?

16.How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?

17.What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?

18.Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?

19.If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

20.Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?

21.Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

22.Why are you, you?

23.Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?

24.Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?

25.What are you most grateful for?

26.Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?

27.Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?

28.Has your greatest fear ever come true?

29.Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?

30.What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?

31.At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?

32.If not now, then when?

33.If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?

34.Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?

35.Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?

36.Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?

37.If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?

38.Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?

39.Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?

40.When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?

41.If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?

42.Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?

43.What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

44.When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?

45.If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?

46.What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

47.When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?

48.What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?

49.In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?

50.Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/

Dale Carnegie once said, “It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It’s what you think about.”

I don’t think anyone could say it any better than that. I’ve watched so many friends search tirelessly for happiness by changing jobs, moving to new cities, pursuing intimate relationships, and tweaking all sorts of other external factors in their lives. And guess what? They’re still unhappy. Because they spend all of their time and money adding positive externals to their lives when their internals are still in the negatives.

So with that in mind, here are 75 ways to stay unhappy forever. Of course, I would highly recommend you read each bullet point and then move swiftly in the opposite direction.

1.Dwell on things that happened in the past.

2.Obsess yourself with all the things that might happen in the future.

3.Complain about problems instead of taking the necessary steps to resolve them.

4.Fear change and resist it.

5.Work hard, do your best and then condemn yourself for not achieving perfection.

6.Belittle yourself.

7.Hang out with other people who belittle you.

8.Try to control everything and then worry about the things you can’t control.

9.Lie to yourself and those around you.

10.Keep doing the same thing over and over again.

11.Be lazy and follow the path of least resistance.

12.Hold onto anger. Never forgive anyone.

13.Always be right. Never let anyone else be more right than you.

14.Compare yourself unfavorably to those who you feel are more successful.

15.Let small issues snowball into big problems.

16.Never learn anything new.

17.Never take responsibility for your own actions.

18.Blame everyone around you.

19.Don’t ask for directions and don’t ask questions.

20.Don’t let anyone help you.

21.Quit when the going gets tough.

22.Be suspicious. Trust no one.

23.Get four hours of sleep every night and convince yourself that it’s enough.

24.Never throw anything way. Even if you don’t use it, hold onto it.

25.Say “yes” to everyone. Fill all your time with commitments.

26.Try to be everyone’s friend.

27.Multitask, multitask, multitask! Do everything at once.

28.Never spend any time alone.

29.Don’t help others unless you have to. Do only the things that benefit you directly.

30.Hang out with people who complain about everything.

31.Focus on what you don’t want to happen.

32.Fear the things you don’t fully understand.

33.Always seek external validation before you consider yourself good enough.

34.Take everything and everyone in life seriously.

35.Spend your life working in a career field you aren’t passionate about.

36.Focus on the problems.

37.Think about all the things you don’t have.

38.Read or watch lots of depressing news from broadcast media.

39.Set lofty goals for yourself and never do anything to achieve them.

40.Never exercise.

41.Only eat junk food and fried food.

42.Never check-up on your health.

43.Setup your lifestyle so it revolves around money.

44.Spend more than you earn and rack up lots of financial debt.

45.Don’t say what you mean. Don’t mean what you say.

46.Frown.

47.Never tell anyone how you feel or what you’re thinking.

48.Make sure everything you do impresses someone else.

49.Always put your own needs on the back burner.

50.Get involved in other people problems and make them your own.

51.Make others feel bad about themselves.

52.Watch TV for several hours every day.

53.Gamble often.

54.Stay in the same place. Don’t travel.

55.Don’t play, just work.

56.Let your hobbies go.

57.Let your close relationships go.

58.Never finish what you start.

59.Take everything personally.

60.Do lots of drugs. Drink lots of alcohol.

61.Never say, “I’m sorry.” Never say, “I love you.”

62.Don’t work hard at anything.

63.Always wait until the last minute.

64.Believe that, no matter what, you are entitled to things.

65.Let others make decisions for you.

66.Remember the insults. Forget the compliments.

67.Let it all bottle up inside.

68.Rely on others for everything.

69.Fail to plan.

70.Don’t dream.

71.Don’t think about the future at all.

72.Always disregard other people’s opinions and suggestions.

73.Make promises you can’t keep.

74.Don’t decide on anything, ever.

75.Just keep going and going and going. And never ever stop.

And now that you know what not to do, let me tell you a secret about happiness. Nobody is happy all of the time. It’s perfectly normal to experience considerable fluctuations in your level of happiness from day to day, month to month, and even year to year.

In fact, according to a recent scientific study, overall levels of happiness decline from one’s teens until one’s 40s and then pick up again until they peak in one’s early 70s. So the chances are that your happiest days are yet to come. Hopefully that gives you something to smile about.

http://www.marcandangel.com/2010/11/29/75-ways-to-stay-unhappy-forever/