i-TFTD #81

#81-1. There is only one success - To be able to spend your life in your own way.
-Christopher Morley

#81-2. It takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.
-Anon

#81-3. Enthusiasm is the baking powder of life. Without it, you are flat; with it, you rise.
-Anon

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What is "my own way" keeps changing so I should not get stuck with a vague image about my ideal life formed many years ago. I should clarify and re-evaluate this ideal once in a while and see if I can do things to broadly move in that direction. If I am constantly doing things different from what I say is my desire, maybe there are other desires I am fulfilling? Being clear about it helps me feel better.

One cannot expect trust, one can only help create it through consistency and transparency. On the other hand, one should guard against making sudden, rash judgement about people who have earned our trust over a period of time. Give them the benefit of doubt, defer any conclusions or action, and openly ask the person.

People in all kinds of situations are usually happier when they bring enthusiasm in whatever they do. Some tend to brood and worry and be anxious even in leisure-time activities like a picnic! One advice I often give is even if you are complaining about something, do it with full enthusiasm. Launch into a tirade, like Indian actor Nana Patekar does in some of the Bollywood movies! One reason, I believe, for the popularity of laughter clubs is that many people have forgotten how to have a hearty laugh.