Instructions 4 Life

Photo taken from here

It's that time of year to start reflecting and thinking about plans for your future...

My next few posts will be all about the year gone by and things I want to change, improve, achieve or embrace in the new year.

One thing I came across the other day was the list below. It made me smile and think about things to incorporate in to my daily life so I just thought It'd share it.

Instructions for Life

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, I love you, mean it.
5. When you say, I'm sorry, look the person in the eye. (you should also mean that too)
   
6. Be engaged for at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. (try not to laugh at their misfortune either)
   
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slow but think quick.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, Why do you want to know?
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk. (also remember anything worth anything takes work)
    
15. Call your family (and your friends)
16. Say, Bless you, when someone sneezes.
17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, his/her conversational skills will be as important as any other.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
25. Remmeber that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life (and take pics whilst your doing it) . Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. A loving atmosphere in your home is important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
29. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
30. Read between the lines.
31. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
32. Be gentle with the earth.
33. Never interrupt when you're being flattered.
34. Mind your own business.
35. Don't trust a lover who doesn't close their eyes when you kiss them. (Lol and make sure you don't get caught for the split second you open your eyes to see if his eyes are open)
    
36. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
37. If you make a lot of money, put it to use while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
38. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
39. Learn the rules, then break some.
40. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
41. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
42. Remember that your character is your destiny.
43. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Originally taken from "Life's Little Instruction Book", by Jackson Brown and H. Jackson Brown, Jr.