QUOTE: After I designed my blank chart, however, it took me a long time to determine which resolutions should fill the boxes. Franklin’s thirteen virtues didn’t match the kinds of changes I wanted to cultivate. I wasn’t particularly concerned with “cleanliness”(though, come to think of it, I could do a better job of flossing). What should I do to become happier?
First I had to identify the areas to work on; then I had to come up with happiness-boosting resolutions that were concrete and measurable. For example, everyone from Seneca to Martin Seligman agreed that friendship is a key to happiness, and sure, I wanted to strengthen my friendships. The trick was to figure out how, exactly, I could accomplish the changes I sought. I wanted to be specific, so I’d know exactly what I was expecting from myself.
NOTE
DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets your attention?
What human needs or problems relate to the quote?
What is it like to have that problem?
What other resources connect to this idea?
What is the solution suggested in the quote, if there is one?
What would a camera see if the solution was implemented in my life, in my family’s life, or in my church or community?
What are the steps that I would take on Monday to implement that solution?
CONTEXTUALIZING QUESTIONS
What does this say to my context as a …
… person?
… follower of Jesus?
… to a church?
… to a community – my neighbors?
RESOURCES
The quote is from The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin, located at page