9 Ways to be Happy and Make Something of your Life
Being grateful means feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness. Being grateful shows others that you're thankful and happy with what you have no matter how bad anything can be. You have to be grateful for even the smallest things that you have because not many people have what you have and would wish to live like you. So, there is no reason why you should ask for more and more because at times, your parents aren't able to get you exactly what you want because of money reasons. Some people (mostly kids/teens) don't know how to appreciate the things they have and were blessed with and instead, complain because they wan't to live an elegant life with expensive things. What they don't realize is that there are children and adults out there who live on the streets and would kill to have a home like you. They would kill to be in your shoes. "Be grateful for small things, big things, and everything in between." People don't realize that what they have is everything. Parents work so hard to give you things because they love you and want you to be happy. I, myself, am a person who wants things but then I ask myself if I actually need it and most of the time it's a no so I leave it behind. I know nowadays kids want what everyone else has to make them look cool and hip but it shouldn't have to be that way. Thank god that you have the clothes you have and the food that's put on your table every night and an education because not all people were blessed with that kind of stuff. Some people have to dig in the trash for food and clothes and things they need to survive. Things come easy to you and it's time to start thinking about it. Be grateful for everything you have.
2. Be Smart
Being smart not only means being good at school or work but it also means to be knowledgeable about your surroundings. I'm talking about being street smart. Being street smart means having experience and being knowledgeable about the outside world and knowing the dangers of your environment. If some random person offered you food or a drink or anything else what would be the smart thing to do? Say no and walk away because you don't know those people nor do you know what kind of person they are. They probably had the intention of hurting you or drugging you. Now the other kind of smart is being book smart. Being book smart can help you in so many ways. Everyone is smart but some try harder than others. Being smart will get you good grades and you'll graduate and if you really are smart, then you'd know that going to college is the best thing to do. Going to college will help you get a better/high paying job. This way you'll live a good life. So being both kinds of smarts, streets and books, will help you go down the right path in life.
3. Be Involved in Good Works
Being involved in good works means doing charitable acts or good deeds. You can donate clothes you don't wear anymore to those who don't have any. You can also participate in a food drive as an act of good works. Doing things for others is a good way of making you feel better about yourself, but that shouldn't be the the reason why you do it. Doing good deeds like that should be because you want to help the less fortunate and give them at least some of what they couldn't have. They don't have it easy and giving them the things they don't receive on a daily basis will make them so grateful and happy. This will not only bring joy to them, but to you as well.
4. Be Clean
Being clean doesn't necessarily mean not having dirt on you or anywhere in your room or house. Being clean can also mean being clean of certain foods, drinks and other things that may put you in danger of certain diseases or illnesses. You have to make sure that you are clean and healthy because you can get sick if you're not. Bacteria travels and if you're dirty, there's a higher chance that you will get sick. It is also important that you are clean from certain foods like anything considered junk food. This doesn't have to do with body appearance but the more you eat, the bigger you get and the bigger you get the more out of shape you are and that is very unhealthy. It is very important that you stay clean from drugs. Drugs are no good for people and I understand that some people need the a certain drug to help them with pain but other than that, no one should be doing it. Drugs are bad for people and will mess up their lives for the worst. It gets in your system and it makes you obsessed and it's so hard to come back from that.
5. Be True
Being true means to be truthful to yourself and others. Being true to yourself means accepting who you are as a person. The decisions you make may affect your whole life so you need to know what you want in order to make the right decision for you. In this generation, everyone is all about impressing and pleasing others but when you're true to yourself, you be your own person and be the best you, you can be. There's no need to be someone you're not just to please others. Be who you want to be because that's the only way you can love yourself. No one can tell you how to be true to yourself but you. When you're true to yourself, you're true to others. You show them who you really are and don't pretend to be someone you're not and I think that's what most people love. Being true with others is a good way of helping them be true to themselves and others as well. They see how happy you are being yourself and it'll influence them to find themselves and be who they really are.
6. Be Positive
Being positive means looking at the brighter side of things. There are going to be times where your life isn't going the way you planned or it's going wrong but that doesn't mean you should just give up. Try to look for the positive in the situation and you'll get through it. Not only is being positive trying to look at the brighter side but just being positive in general. If someone you know is down, cheer them up. Be the most positive person you can be because I promise you that they'll be thankful for you cheering them up during hard times. Not only will you cheer them up but seeing you be positive will make them positive and then everyone will be positive. You're not only affecting one person but 10 or maybe 20 or maybe even more. Being positive will also increase your happiness because you're just finding the good in everything.
7. Be Humble
Being humble is when you're willing to learn things instead of being cocky and trying to be a know it all. Not only does it mean being quiet because you can be an outgoing/talkative person and still be humble. I see being humble as keeping to yourself. You can have the biggest house or the newest car or the most expensive clothes but at the end of the day we're all going to die and none of that is going to matter anymore. So what's the point of flaunting everything you have if it's not going to matter anymore? It's better to stay humble and keep what you have to yourself. Not only does that not make you a show off but it makes you a better person for knowing that not everyone has what you have and you don't want to make them feel bad.
8. Be Still
Being still means emptying yourself from the incessant flow of thoughts and creating a state of consciousness that is open and receptive. This means to be still and think about things. Stop for a minute and just enjoy your surroundings. Being still also means to take some time for yourself. Reconnect with yourself. Find yourself.
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9. Be Prayerful
What I would do to commit to the nine ways is follow each one. Make each one of them a part of my daily life.
The 9 Ways Concluding Words by Gordon B. Hinckley
"There they are, nine Be's which, if observed, will bring handsome dividends to any young man or woman. They will add sparkle to your days and peace to your nights. They will save you from heartache and pain. They will bring purpose into your life and give direction to your energies.
They will bring you friends of your own kind. They will protect you from associations that would pull you down to deflect you from your course.
This is the time to be happy. This is a time to feel joy and make friends and enjoy the best this life has to offer. What I have tried to put forth.... are simply a few suggestions, gained from many years of living, to help you do just that. The world will tell that certain kinds of things will bring you happiness - things such as popularity and possessions and satisfying your baser desires.
If today you find yourself only drifting as a leaf in a stream, get a hold of yourself and determine what you will do better.
At railroad grade crossing, signs of warning were once common. Two cross arms were emblazoned with the words, "Stop, Look, Listen." They meant that a train could be roaring down the tracks and you had better be alert.
I was riding a train in the Midwest years ago. I looked out the window to my left. A road ran parallel to the tracks. A car with a boy and a girl were speeding down the road a little faster than the train. The car moved ahead until I could no longer see it. Suddenly, the locomotive whistle sounded and the train screeched to halt as the brakes gripped the wheels. We looked out the window on the other side. There was a mangled car. Police cars soon converged, followed by the ambulance. The boy and girl were both dead. The road they were traveling crossed the tracks. They did not stop, look, or listen. It all happened in an instant.
The better way to Be is the way of these nine Be's.
The years will inevitably pass, and pass quickly. Today is your day of resolution. Promise yourself to make something good of (your) precious life."
