2013: be happy.

“I have decided to be happy, because it is good for my health.” – Voltaire

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I’m typically against New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I’ve decided just to go about it in a different way. Instead of listing the same things I want to do every year (lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, read more, save more, etc. etc.) I’m making one goal, that if done every day, will lead to all of these things. Be Happy.

Is this too simplistic? Or just simplistic enough? If you think about it, it can change everything, if we work to be happy every single day. It will affect the choices I make and the person I become. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but this morning I read my dear friend Nicky’s blog and she shared this quote from the book Eat, Pray, Love and it is just perfect for my 2013 goal.

“People universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you’re fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.”

Brilliant and true. I can’t tell you exactly what my 2013 will look like, or if I’ll lose weight, save more, read more, but if I end up being truly happy every single day, what more could I really ask for?

xo xo

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