• Don’t expect anything. Expectations lead to disappointment because reality never matches our mental projections of the future. Move into the future without expectations, and reality will surprise and delight you. I wish there was some positive way of saying “no expectations”. Oh yeah: be grateful for what you receive, regardless.
• Don’t compare yourself to other people. Defining yourself in relation to other people creates a trap where you have to be better than someone else to feel any self-worth. After a while, you become dependent on other people for your happiness. There’s no need for that: you’re completely unique and perfect at being you all the time.
• Don’t use the word ’should’. Saying you ’should’ do something invalidates whatever you’re doing right now. Either do the other thing, or enjoy what you’re doing right now. Saying you ’should’ have done something differently in the past is the ultimate happiness killer. First off, you can’t change the past, so thinking like you can makes you feel powerless. Secondly, your past makes you what you are. Denying the validity of the past denies the connections you’ve made, the lessons you’ve learned and the feelings you’ve felt, both positive and negative. ‘Should’ is a purely negative word. Just ‘do’.

Be grateful, be yourself and be powerful.