Time Lapse & Happiness!
Liz: ""Mara you haven't blogged lately.""
Mara: ""I know, there is so much, what should I blog about?""
Liz: ""The last thing that made a difference in your life.""
That very moment was making a difference in my life...Liz makes a difference in my life; in more ways than you might imagine. According to cutting edge research cited in the book Smart Trust, happiness tends to drive success, not the other way around. The research continues to say that the greatest predictor of happiness is relationships, and that the greatest driver of relationships is trust.
I am one of the happiest people I know making confirmation of the research easy; simply look at the relationships I have in my life. Community is one of my highest values and I am surrounded by an incredibly amazing community of diverse individuals who make up my family, my friends, my coworkers, my clients, my fellows in volunteer service, and more.
I often choose my community over things others might deem more appropriate. I might choose an evening with my husband or a friend over an evening of working out. You might argue that I should keep fit to stay healthy. Yes, I should, and I should also make time for my social relationships; for building trust. My very well being depends on the choices; social relationships are the best guarantee of well-being and lowered stress.
Because the #1 factor linked to happiness is relationships of trust, I wanted to share the 5 steps to achieving what the book Smart Trust promotes to successfully build trust and relationships:
Choose to Believe in Trust
Start With Self
Declare Intent...and Assume Positive Intent in Others
Do What You Say You're Going to Do
Lead Out in Extending Trust to Others
A poignant statement from the book has stuck with me since reading it and presenting to a work team last week: we tend to judge ourselves by our intent and others by their observable behavior. We judge others by their behavior and ourselves by our intent. Powerful.
I'll leave you with two questions:
Who are you judging?
Where do you need to lead out in extending trust??
Thanks to my amazing community who envelope me in happiness and support a successful life I am truly proud of and grateful for.