Manifesto

In my study of human nature, I find it useful to distill my conclusions into concise statements. Whether I’m exploring happiness, habits, the five senses, or anything else, this process clarifies my thinking, and it’s also a creative, absorbing exercise.

  • To be happier, you have to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.
  • One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy, and…
  • One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
  • The days are long, but the years are short. 
  • You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy.
  • You can build a happy life only on the foundation of your own nature.
  • The only person you can change is yourself…
  • But when you change, a relationship changes, and others may change.
  • Happier people make people happy, but you can’t make someone be happy, and no one else can make you happy.
  • Now is now.
  • No tool fits every hand: there’s no magic, one-size-fits-all solution.
  • It’s easier to change your surroundings and your schedule than to change yourself.
  • Do good, feel good.
  • Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life.
  • Act the way you want to feel.
  • Be polite and be fair.
  • Keep aims manageable and measurable. 
  • The best time to start a happiness project is ten years ago. The second-best time is now.
  • What you do most days matters more than what you do once in a while.
  • Focus on actions, not outcomes.
  • Choose the bigger life.
  • You’re unique, just like everybody else.
  • Happiness doesn’t always make you feel happier.
  • Justice.
  • The things that go wrong often make the best memories.
  • By giving something up, you may gain.
  • Sometimes you can minister to the spirit through the body; sometimes you can minister to the body through the spirit.
  • When you give more to yourself, you can ask more from yourself.
  • You won’t make yourself feel better by doing something that ends up making you feel worse.
  • Accept yourself, and expect more from yourself.
  • Something that can be done at any time is often done at no time.
  • Temporary becomes permanent, so start the way you want to continue.
  • Go outside.
  • What’s fun for other people may not be fun for you—and vice versa.
  • Be Gretchen