The 3 Things

The Things

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back -

Time

Words

Opportunity
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Three things in life that may never be lost -

Peace

Hope

Honesty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three things in life that are most valuable -

Love


Self-confidence


Friends and Family
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Three things in life that are never certain -

Dreams

Success

Fortune
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Three things that make a man/woman -


Hard work


Sincerity


Commitment
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Three things in life that can destroy a man/woman -

Alcohol


Pride


Anger

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Three things in life that, once lost, hard to build-up -

Respect


Trust


Friendship

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Three things in life that never fail -

True Love


Determination


Belief
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P.-----pray
U.----until
S.----something
H.----happens

When there is nothing left but God,
that is when you find out that God is all you need.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, APRIL!

Today is a special day for April as well as for me. 22 years ago I gave birth to our last baby girl. She has been a joy to her family and friends. A lot of our memories with her will never be forgotten, especially the funny ones! Thank you for caring for us April. Today we CELEBRATE YOU~ I thank Heavenly Father for the opportunity and honor to be your mother for sure! I thank Him with all that I am in being a mother to your brothers and sisters, too. As I make choices to grow closer to God in seeking ways to be a better mom, I can't help but feel God's love for me the more I do it. Whoa~!He is an awesome parent, too. Seems he gets excited watching me grow like I do with you! Happy Birthday my daughter God loves you so much more then I. That says a whole big lot cuz I love you mega trillion tons of a second times a million lobster, crab dinners!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE!

H
A
P
P
Y
B IrThDAy, STEVE!!

Not everyone thinks you are an old fart...

But then again you don't know everyone! :)

Thanks for being such a great son in law, you rock!

We love ya~ Tom & M:0)m

Project Happiness

While browsing a website, I came across Rubin’s list of eight principles of psychology that have helped her build and strengthen her friendships as a means of becoming a happier person. As Rubin writes, “Ancient philosophers and modern scientists agree: the most essential key to happiness is strong relationships with other people.”

There are many kind of relationships that contribute to our happiness. I’d better sharpen my friendship maintenance skills to ensure that the few moments we do get to be together are quality moments. Here are Rubin’s suggestions:

1. Triadic closure. In a phenomenon called “triadic closure,” people tend to befriend the friends of their friends – and this is very satisfying. Friendships thrive on inter-connection, and it’s both energizing and comforting to feel that you’re building not just friendships, but a social network. I now make much more of an effort to help my friends become friends with each other, and to befriend friends’ friends. (Total non sequitur: “befriend friends’ friends” is quite a phrase! Bad writing, but I couldn’t resist.)

2. Emotional contagion. “Emotional contagion” is a strong psychological effect in which we “catch” the happy, sad, or angry moods of others. Someone in a happy, energetic mood will help boost the moods of others, and obviously, this creates a very pleasant atmosphere. Unfortunately, negative moods are more contagious than positive moods; if I’m crabby, I can trigger a wave of crabbiness in my friends. I’m trying to do a better job of living up to my duty to be happy.

3. The mere exposure effect. Familiarity breeds affection. The “mere exposure effect” describes the fact that repeated exposure makes people like music, faces–even nonsense syllables–better. Because of the “exposure principle,” the more often a person sees another person, the more intelligent and attractive that person will be ranked. So I try to put myself in situations where I’m going to see a lot of the same people over and over.

4. Fundamental attribution error. The fundamental attribution error is a psychological phenomenon in which we tend to view other people’s actions as reflections of their characters, and to overlook the power of the situation to influence their action. In other words, we over-emphasize the role that personality plays in shaping others’ behavior, and under-emphasize the role of outside forces. I assume that the guy in the drugstore is an inconsiderate jerk because he rushed ahead of me to get to the counter, when in fact, he’s very considerate, and he’s rushing to get home with the medicine for his sick girlfriend.

5. Warmth. Attraction is reciprocal; we tend to like people more when we think they like us. So if I’m friendly and openly pleased to see someone person, that person is more likely to feel friendly toward me. Instead of playing it cool, I try to show a lot of warmth.

6. Smiling. As obvious as it seems, studies do show that we’re perceived as more friendly when we smile more (it also helps to have an expressive face, to nod, to lean forward, to have a warm tone). The sheer amount of time smiling makes a very big difference on perceived friendliness.

7. Subliminal touching. Studies show that subliminal touching–that is, touching a person so unobtrusively that it’s not noticed–dramatically increases that person’s sense of well-being and positive feelings toward the toucher. And vice versa. This fleeting touching might be something like touching a person’s back as you walk through a door, or touching his or her arm for emphasis.

8. Situation evocation. In situation evocation, we spark a response from people that reinforces a tendency we already have. For example, if I act irritable all the time, the people around me are probably going to treat me with less patience and helpfulness, which will, in turn, stoke my irritability. If I can manage to joke around, I’ll evoke a situation in which the people around me were more likely to joke around, too. In other words, I make my own weather.

As with many aspects of happiness, people often assume that friendship should flow easily and naturally, and that trying to “work” on it is forced and inauthentic. But in the bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to forget to take time for our real priorities. Since I’ve started trying to keep my friendship resolutions, including. “Cut people slack,” “Show up,” “Make three friends,” “Bring people together,” “Remember birthdays,” “No gossip,” and “Say hello”, I’ve found that my friendships have expanded and deepened. It’s worth the effort.