Robert Louis Stevenson - Daily Dozen

I found a hand typed copy of this in a picture frame.  There are definitely some good thoughts in here.

Daily Dozen

1.  Make up your mind to be happy.  Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

2.  Make the best of your circumstances.  No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with the gladness of life.  The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.

3.  Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from the misfortunes that befall others.

4.  You can’t please everybody.  Don’t let criticism worry you.

5.  Don’t let your neighbour set your standards.  Be yourself.

6.  Do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt.

7.  Don’t borrow trouble.  Imaginary things are harder to bear than the actual ones. 

8.  Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities, grudges.  Avoid people who make you unhappy.

9.  Have many interests.  If you can’t travel, read about new places.

10.  Don’t hold postmortems.  Don’t spend your life brooding over sorrows and mistakes.  Don’t be the one who never gets over things.

11.  Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.

12.  Keep busy at something.  A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.

Personal creed of Robert Louis Stevenson