As a year is laid to rest and the fanny of a brand new one is spanked into existence, it’s time to look back at the road I’ve traveled thus far as a blogger at Meant to be Happy … and to look down the road a bit to see what’s in store for 2013.

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.

A guest post by Steliana van de Rijt-Economu: I’m convinced there’s a place in our heart and soul where we can withdraw and be happy for just the simple fact of being. In my case, I find that place when I hold my little one and sooth her when she is crying. I also feel it when I open the window early in the morning and feel the fresh caress of spring air cooling my cheek, reminding me that there’s a new day … a day full of possibilities. Some people call it happiness, but I would like to leave it undefined.

There are things that matter and things that don’t. Some of those beliefs and ideas that don’t matter can actually poison the soul and kick us where it counts. Here are 4 things that don’t matter. But they can also lead to destroyed lives of waisted potential and deep sadness. Avoid these pitfalls for a much more rewarding life of happiness and decency.

When we live lives disconnected from those things that truly matter, sidetracked by the unimportant, lost in the frivolous, distracted by the superficial, our lives start to ring hollow, empty and vacant. But when we fill our lives with weightier things, our lives feel bigger, more meaningful and happier.

Anyone can influence change in one person. So why not two? Or ten? Or more? Even if I only help 10 people make life-altering changes, that’s 10 of 7 billion people who change. You see, by changing any part of the world, I’ve changed the world itself just as changing an ingredient in a cake, changes the cake. And even 1/7,000,000,000th of a change is still a change. So let’s go change the world! We only need one thing. Come see what it is!

Happiness isn’t much like most other goals we pursue. You can aim directly at losing weight, for example, or learning Chinese. But not so much with happiness because happiness is the natural byproduct of other traits that can be more directly targeted. So what is happiness? What are the characteristics that compose it? Come read and see how much of its parts are a part of you.

If a statue were to be erected in your honor, what would it be sculpted to look like? Would the statue be holding a pen, a ball, a child or lifting a fallen stranger from the ground? Or would it instead be clutching a TV remote and a bag of chips with the look of boredom dully etched onto its granite face? What are you doing with your life? Are you living it primarily on your butt or on your feet? What do you stand for? What are you committed to?

Millions upon millions of corporations, nations, cities and states, government agencies, non-profit organizations, clubs and events have created and adopted mottos as expressions of what they want to be and how they want to be seen, what they strive for and as a reflection of their core beliefs and values and as a way to infuse into the organization those values they want absorbed into the organizational climate. Why not individual and family mottos as well?

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.

I was recently interviewed by the site All Swagga, a blog about men becoming better fathers and better men. Come read the interview and let me know what you think!

Quote #12 of 16: “God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day!” There is another sort of immortality that can be achieved by leaving a legacy of meaning and purpose. 5 Ways to leave a legacy

The 16th President of the Unites States saved the Union and emancipated the slaves. He also had some wise things to say that apply to our collective pursuit of happiness: “Most folks,” for example, “are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

So stand up! Go live life! You have the capacity for greatness. You can live an abundant life of deep, refreshing, and rewarding joy. You can overcome anything! You can become anything! You have divine potential! So go and realize it!

Happiness in many ways can be seen as a sort of barometer of the human Read More.

You were meant to be happy. Wait. That needs to be repeated: YOU were MEANT Read More.

Life is filled with opportunities to make a difference and leave the world better, to Read More.

Many of you live lives of despair. Some of you simply feel a sense of Read More.

There are two words that have the potential of revolutionizing your life. They can immeasurably Read More.

Lessons on happiness can be taught by the very young and the very old alike. Read More.