Mark Gilroy

Bringing Books to Life!

Faith

Mark can't help but write about his faith in God as he considers it the most important thing in his life. He reflects on biblical principles, spirituality, practices and attitudes, religious structures, a bit of theology, and more - to encourage people to reflect on and rekindle their own faith and grow closer to God.

Life Is Too Short . . .

life is too short

Life is a gift! Make the most of your time.

Life is too short to waste time on what doesn’t matter and never get around to the things that make for a wonderful life.

  1. fold your underwear
  2. not forgive a wrong
  3. not take vacation every year
  4. miss saying “I love you” to the people you love
  5. worry about things you can’t change
  6. not attend live events in your community
  7. get irritated when children are loud
  8. dwell on mistakes of the past
  9. isolate yourself
  10. try to please everybody – or nobody
  11. tell lies
  12. ignore your health
  13. try to be somebody other than who you are
  14. run from risks
  15. not say “thank you”
  16. try to blend in with the crowd
  17. not have a budget
  18. hang with overly negative people
  19. compromise your values
  20. tear others down with your words
  21. not tell jokes
  22. hold a grudge
  23. not have fun and laugh a lot
  24. wear bad shoes
  25. dismiss a compliment
  26. try again
  27. not be an encourager
  28. be selfish
  29. procrastinate
  30. work all the time
  31. play all the time
  32. wallow in negativity
  33. make things more important than people
  34. not take pictures
  35. stop learning
  36. buy junk you don’t really want or need
  37. not get together with neighbors
  38. ignore your spiritual life
  39. not look up at the stars
  40. run from God
  41. skip weddings and funerals
  42. be irresponsible
  43. not set goals
  44. gossip
  45. not learn from someone older and wiser than you
  46. take people for granted
  47. go to bed angry
  48. not discover your purpose in life
  49. spend too much time on the couch watching TV
  50. not go for a dream
  51. pick on yourself – and others
  52. wish others ill
  53. not be generous
  54. not visit an art museum
  55. think you can’t make a positive difference
  56. worry
  57. ignore what others think of you – and to NOT ignore what others think of you
  58. skip daily prayer
  59. not organize your work space
  60. not be thankful for what you have
  61. not ask for forgiveness and try to make wrongs right
  62. work on things that don’t matter to you
  63. not read books
  64. live with regrets and not move on
  65. not pass on what you know to someone younger
  66. drive a dirty car
  67. not help others who are hurting and in need
  68. live on a strict diet that excludes ice cream
  69. stop learning
  70. not read the Bible
  71. not try a new recipe
  72. enjoy a hobby
  73. take a walk in nature
  74. ignore – or obsess – on the news
  75. not vote your conscience
  76. let go of past hurts and disappointments
  77. live vicariously through reality shows
  78. make fun of others
  79. believe everything the experts say
  80. not treat every day as a gift

That’s my list – but I did get some wonderful thoughts and ideas from friends.

Anything you disagree with? What did I miss? What would you add to YOUR list?

Is Happiness a Choice?

happiness is a choice

Is happiness a choice?

Is happiness a choice? Can you become happy by choosing to be happy?

Two small studies by researchers Yuna L. Ferguson and Kennon M. Sheldon, reported in the Journal of Positive Psychology, suggest exactly that. The intention to become happy may be the key to being happy.

Does the explicit attempt to be happier facilitate or obstruct the actual experience of happiness? Two experiments investigated this question using listening to positive music as a happiness-inducing activity. Study 1 showed that participants assigned to try to boost their mood while listening to 12 min of music reported higher positive mood compared to participants who simply listened to music without attempting to alter mood. However, this effect was qualified by the predicted interaction: the music had to be positively valenced (i.e. Copland, not Stravinsky). In Study 2, participants who were instructed to intentionally try to become happier (vs. not trying) reported higher increases in subjective happiness after listening to positively valenced music during five separate lab visits over a two-week period.

I will admit, this is not a massive research project and I would never argue that happiness is possible all the time by an act of the will. I recognize that there are circumstances and conditions that will make anyone and everyone unhappy. But are we forced to live there? [Read more…]