We hope you've had a wonderfully fantastic May! Our amazing cousin got married this weekend and our hearts are overflowing with love ❤️ for the happy couple! In honor of starting new chapters in life, we thought we'd share some thoughts from the recent In Pursuit of Happiness Conference sponsored by The Atlantic magazine.
The pandemic was a horrible experience for most people (though research is showing that introverts actually got a little happier), but there are two questions you can ask yourself that can reframe (or mitigate) the unhappiness that we've experienced and turn it into an opportunity for flourishing:
1. What will you not miss from before the CoronaVirus epidemic that you don't want to go back to?(i.e. the toxic relationships, the practices that you hate, the lies you were telling yourself about your life, etc.)
2. What are the things you want to keep?(Make a list of 6 or 7 things that you liked that came out of the pandemic, that you started in the past 12-16 months, such as having lunch with your partner at home, spending time in your neighborhood being able to walk around, hobbies you started, etc.)
We know this time has been difficult for so many but if you make lists answering both of those questions, there's a chance you will come out of the CoronaVirus epidemic better than you came in!
We love you all and are so proud of you for always making the effort to choose joy in every blessing and obstacle.
- M&J
P.S. - For those of you just joining, welcome to this edition of our monthly newsletter, The Positopian, where every month, we share positive news, fiction, resources, & insights to help you become the best version of yourself!
“Don’t pursue happiness - create it.” ~a fortune cookie we cracked open at dinner recently (we really liked this sentiment and wanted to share it with all of you too)
Man Deals With Kid Setting Off Security Alert In Sweetest Way
Thanks to Dave D. for sharing this heartwarming video of what someone who turned a pandemic-created situation into an "opportunity for flourishing."
"The 23-month-old girl who fell out of a car and into a bay is expected to make a full recovery thanks to a "humble hero" who jumped into the water to save the child."
“The Full Measure of a man is not to be found in the man himself, but in the colors and textures that come alive in others because of him.” ~ Albert Schweitzer
In ordinary times, American introverts are like cats living in Dogland: underappreciated, uncomfortable, and slightly out of place. A side effect of shutting down the world was to turn it into Catland, at least for a little while. That gave the introverts a chance to lord their solitary comfort over the rest of us, for once...
But the temporary shift has also created a kind of social-science field experiment, highlighting all the ways in which introverts and extroverts can learn from each other. If we take the lessons to heart, we can all benefit.
"At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." ~Lao Tzu