Pledging to live up to a set of standards, to something higher and larger and more eternal than self-serving and immediately-gratifying impulses may be considered an insignificant step in the process of actually doing the work of building character. But it’s in the small steps that miles are covered and continents crossed … and a character is fashioned.

It’s perfectly fine to want more income or less weight, a higher degree or lower blood pressure, to overcome a habit or start a new one. But when we start stacking one accomplishment on top another on a foundation of sand, life becomes off-centered, unstable, and eventually comes tumbling down. All it takes is one good storm and we’re belly-up on the beach. This is when a firmer foundation is important.

Happiness is the byproduct of other things. It is the natural effect of the way we live, the way we think, the way we act and believe. Come take the Happiness Pledge as a commitment to those characteristics that add to happiness and start the process of living with more joy than ever before.

Are you happy? Really happy? Do you want to be? Most of us have at least had moments of happiness, fleeting or infrequent. We’ve experienced joy in spurts, like a whisper or a puff of smoke. Others seem to almost always to be happy. What’s the difference? Come see and begin today to improve the quality of your life.

A life of emotional independence is one wherein my mood and self-esteem and self-worth and happiness are products of my own design. I am not the product of others’ opinions. My feelings are independent of theirs. Others don’t “make” me mad. I choose my emotional responses to life’s circumstances.

What do your kids most need from you? Here are 10 gifts you can give your children that will change their lives … and yours … forever. Come see why parenthood is such serious business. There’s no other business, in fact, more important you can spend your time and energy building. Average parenting requires average effort. Great parenting requires more of us. It requires us to work on the inside, on the person who is the parent. Offering these gifts will require that deep commitment to what’s best to raise happy, loving and decent men and women.

To forgive is to no longer feel hate or resentment for the person who has hurt you. It is to release them from the emotional bondage you keep them in. It is also to free yourself of that same bondage. It is to feel compassion for their troubled minds and hearts and replace hatred with love. It is to sincerely want the best for them. But forgiveness can be a very difficult thing to do. Check out my guest post at Steve Aitchison’s awesome blog, Change your Thoughts!

When nothing stands between you and the mirror of life, you will recognize the importance of four basic components of life: 1) Your thoughts, 2) Your beliefs, 3) Your relationships and experiences, and 4) Your character. Each is crucial to your happiness. Corrupt any one of the four components and your happiness will be compromised. Period. End of story. This post explores the importance of character to a happy life.

Belief is a powerful thing. We act out of our beliefs. Our convictions and values are based on what we believe to be right or good or true. And what we believe also impacts how we feel as well. One way to change how we experience the world is to change what we believe about it.

Translation Religion offers a powerful context for the development of traits that help produce happiness in greater abundance. Of course, religion can also lead to greater amounts of guilt and self-condemnation for real or perceived