Having A Better Life in 2025
New Year’s resolutions will soon be broken. Promises to one’s self or another will not hold up. Here is a way to put into practice some rules that will enable you to grow a better life in 2025.
Corita Kent, the former nun turned graphic artist, says in one of her posters, “Life is a series of moments; to live each one is to succeed.” We misunderstand what it really means to be alive if we think that we can solve the problem of living once and for all. We can only deal with it day by day, a constant struggle to fill each day with one day’s worth of meaning.1
The Ten Commandments for Getting along with Other People2
Take ten and apply them. You will find meaning and success.
Keep skid chains on your tongue. Always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice— how you say it often counts more than what you say.
Make promises sparingly, and keep them faith- fully, no matter what the cost.
Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging word to or about somebody. Praise good work, regardless of who did it.
Be interested in others: Their pursuits, their work, their homes, and their families. Make merry with those who rejoice; with those who weep, mourn. Let everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard them as a person of importance.
Be cheerful. Don’t burden or depress those around you by dwelling on your aches and pains and small disappointments. Remember, everyone is carrying some kind of burden.
Keep an open mind. Discuss, but don’t argue. It is the mark of a superior mind to be able to disagree without being disagreeable.
Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves. Refuse to talk about the vices of others. Discourage gossip—it is a waste of valuable time and can be destructive and hurtful.
Take into consideration the feelings of others. Wit and humor at the expense of another is never worth the pain that may be inflicted.
Pay no attention to ill–natured remarks about you. Remember, the person who carried the message may not be the most accurate reporter in the world. Simply live so that nobody will believe him or her. Disordered nerves and bad digestion are a common cause of back–biting.
Don’t be anxious about the credit due you. Do your best and be patient. Forget about yourself, and let others “remember.” Success is much sweeter that way.