1. Smile often – not only to your friends and family, but to strangers as well.
2. Refuse to involve yourself in mindless drama (either someone else’s or your own).
3. Enthusiastically support someone else’s dream.
4. Give firm handshakes and powerful hugs.
5. Reject the idea that it’s cool to be aloof, detached, or unemotional.
6. Pause to look at a retail employee, valet, nurse, cashier, coffee barista (etc.) in the eye and sincerely thank him/her for assisting you.
7. Stop comparing yourself to other people, and instead, only compare yourself to the person who you were yesterday.
8. Surprise a coworker with a handwritten note letting her know much you appreciate her.
9. Expect the best outcome, and reject the idea that optimism is naive and unrealistic.
10. Lead by example.
11. Use “please” and “thank you” always.
12. Don’t allow anyone to tell you what you’re capable (or not capable) of doing.
13. If someone trusts you with a secret, guard it with the same dedication that you would want a secret of yours to be guarded.
14. Laugh at yourself often and refuse to take yourself too seriously.
15. Challenge yourself by going 24 hours straight without complaining about anything. Seriously, try it–it could change your life.
16. Always view kindness as a strength, not a weakness.
17. Live consistently in the moment, and refuse to be obsessed with the past or the future.
18. Ruthlessly cut out the people in your life who do not honor the best of who you are.
19. Sing, even if you can’t sing. Dance, even if you can’t dance. If it makes you happy, then do it as often as you can while you’re alive and able to do so. Most of all, don’t allow the people laughing on the sidelines (who unsurprisingly, don’t have the courage to do the same thing) to rain on your parade.
20. If you’re having a bad day, don’t take your frustration out on your loved ones (or anyone else either).
21. Say hello to a stranger at least once a day.
22. If you screw up, make a mistake, or do something that hurts someone else–own it quickly and apologize without hesitation.
23. Find a cause that you believe in with all of your heart, and fight for it.
24. Forgive.
25. Be yourself–always and unapologetically.
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