Photo by Thomas Hawk

Have you ever been so sad that you felt it would be easier to lift 200 pounds with your back than lift a smile with your cheeks? Perhaps the next time we are sad, we should remember that this smile—this simple smile which we so indignantly resist—might just be the remedy to our sorrows.

Today, just smile.

Maybe today is not necessarily a happy day. If so, that’s all the more reason to smile. Smile at others around you; smile while you’re driving down the street; smile when nobody else is around. Whatever you do, just smile.

Sometimes, there is part of us that wants to be sad, angry, or scared, because the emotion itself gives us an excuse. It allows us to withdraw, to be lazy, or to let our minds wander. When we are angry, scared, or sad, we are not present. We are lost; our minds ensnared in thickets of negative thoughts.

A smile is the machete that frees us.

Smiling when we are joyful is easy; smiling when we are unhappy is not. We can, however, train ourselves to smile, so that smiling becomes as natural as putting on our shoes.

If you practice meditation, you know that what seems like a simple act—clearing your mind of thoughts—is actually fiercely difficult. It is so difficult, in fact, that many spend hours a day practicing it for their entire lives.

Smiling is similar.

Smiling is a simple act that is not so simple. Still, if we begin by consciously reminding ourselves to smile morning, noon, and night, we will start to smile without thinking. Smiling will become a part of us. And soon we will find ourselves smiling even when we are stressed and tired, angry and depressed. Soon, our smiling will begin to rub off on others. And eventually, our smiling may even heal us.

Today’s Challenge

• Smile at three people today
• Smile when you are alone
• Set reminders in your calendar for a few times over the next several days, reminding yourself to smile

Photo by apesara

For those that live in big cities, the noise never stops. Car horns and sirens, helicopters in the sky, people talking and yelling on the street. Wouldn’t it be nice just to make it all stop – even for just one day?

Today, say only what is necessary.

In our daily lives, like on the city streets, the chatter never stops. Whether it’s actual conversation or an infinite string of emails, we often forget that saying less usually says more. While communication is important to get business done and to nurture relationships, how much that is said does more harm than good?

To be silent, I don’t suggest that today you become a mute. After all, that might lead to more than a slight concern from confused loved ones and coworkers! What I do recommend is to focus on your work – or on finding quiet moments in nature, or wherever you may be – rather than making idle conversation. Why?

Usually, we don’t think about what we say in a given day. Often, our conversations may include gossip, bragging, even lying –without us every realizing it.

In Buddhism, there is a precept called right speech, which teaches us to abstain – most importantly, from lying – but also from divisive gossip, harmful language, and useless babble.

While we Westerners understand the virtues of honesty and abstaining from blasphemy, we give little thoughts to other things we say that can be either directly or indirectly harmful to others.

By making a conscious effort to be silent when we don’t have something thoughtful and constructive to contribute, it becomes much easier to avoid lying, gossiping, or saying other harmful things. You’ll also have more time to yourself to be mindful.

Today’s Challenge

• Speak only when truly necessary
• Practice focusing your mind when you would otherwise be talking
• Think before you speak, asking yourself if what you are going to say is valuable
• Do not lie or say anything hurtful to others

Photo by carf

Creativity awakens the mind and feeds the soul. Making something with your hands brings about a satisfaction like no other, and leaves your mark upon the world.

Today, create something.

You do not have to be a brilliant artist or eloquent writer to embrace the joy of creativity. You can create a simple, nourishing meal, a special place within your home, or a new process at work. The goal is to use your mind and your hands to bring about something new – and useful – to the world.

Not so long ago, humans had to create much of what they needed to survive. We built our homes, hunted for and prepared our food, and made our clothes. Today it’s possible to live an entire lifetime without making anything. We can buy a home, prepared meals, and find everything we might need for sale under a Wal-Mart roof.

That’s too bad, because for those of us who don’t create things for a living (as artists, craftsmen, or chefs), we miss out on the simple joy of using our minds and our hands to produce something tangible.

You Don’t Have to Be Picasso

Even if you don’t think of yourself as “creative”, you can create. You don’t need to transform a blank canvas into a masterful painting, or invent a flying car. You can create by following plans to build a model, by following a recipe to cook a meal, or by scribbling your thoughts in a journal.

You can create by organizing a party, by putting together a care package for somebody, or sometimes, just by doing your job.

For example, I used to work at Starbucks, and I found it to be a more soulful job than any I have held inside the corporate world. Every day I created drinks – albeit from a very stringent recipe – that brought a little bit of calm to people’s hectic days.

I find that the more you focus your energy on creating things – whether it is an artwork or a cup of coffee – the less you worry, and the more you relax. Maybe it can work for you, too.

Today’s Challenge

• Do something with your hands that results in a tangible item.
• Replace passive time – like watching TV – with time spent making something.
• Think about ways you could be more creative in your everyday life, whether it is cooking more, producing new ideas at work, or taking up a creative hobby.

Photo by Smaku

Food sustains us, and connects us to the Earth. Let us not eat more than we need, nor eat ungratefully. Let us savor each bite as if it were the only morsel of the day.

Today, eat your meals slowly, and with purpose.

In our frenzied Western lives, food often becomes an afterthought, and we find ourselves grabbing junk food on the run from one place to the next. For some, food becomes more than sustenance – it becomes a crutch to alleviate daily suffering. Such habits can beget poor nutrition, low energy levels, and obesity.

Our solution to reverse these trends is to follow various diets that instruct us to eat certain foods or according to a certain formula. But diets hurt more than they help. Diets make eating more complicated than necessary, they make us avoid foods we enjoy, and they create stress and disappointment when they do not produce desired results.

Our common sense, and usually our bodies, help us distinguish the best foods for us. Fatty foods make us feel bloated and greasy, sugary foods can make us spike and then crash. Our bodies can tell us how to be healthy, if we choose to listen.

Just Eat

Day Four talked about doing one thing at a time, or “solo-tasking.” To eat mindfully, we should apply this principle to eating.

Often, this is not easy. We eat in front of the TV. We eat while reading. We eat while working. We eat while driving.

To eat mindfully, we should sit – in silence – with our food. We should savor its flavor, and allow it to nourish our bodies. Finally, we should eat slowly.

Not only is mindful eating powerful spiritually, we will actually eat less this way. Our bodies will have the time to process the food in our stomachs, and tell us when we are full.

Today’s Challenge

• Choose a meal to eat mindfully.
• Choose simple, natural foods, and prepare them with love.
• Eat in silence, and do nothing but eat. Do not watch TV, read, or converse.
• Eat slowly, savoring every bite.

For more, visit MindfulEating.org.

Photo by Mr Atrocity.

Have you every known somebody who seems to have everything most people dream about, yet they are still unsatisfied and unhappy? While marketers spend billions to trick consumers into thinking the latest trinkets will make us happy, the exact opposite is true. That’s because the more we own, the less free we become.

Today, Don’t Buy Anything.

Not only can our possessions trap us into a false sense of success or happiness, snapping up things we will soon forget about is wasteful. By going one day without adding to our stockpile of “things”, we remind ourselves how silly it is to place so much value on our possessions.

Start Eliminating Clutter

Clutter is just one symptom of owning property. Our things begin to fill our homes and offices, reducing the space in which we live and creating undue stress and wasted time when we go looking for things.

Instead of buying more, begin to sell or donate things you rarely use. If you make a habit of eliminating just a couple of things each week, you will cut your clutter dramatically in just a few months.

You can give your belongings away to charities at local drop boxes or thrift stores, sell your items on Craigslist or eBay, or have a yard sale.

Think About Your Purchases

The next time you have the urge to buy something that isn’t food or medicine, ask yourself why you want it. Then ask yourself, will I use this in a year? In ten? If I needed to pack all of my belongings into a single van and move across the country tomorrow, would I bring this with me? If the answer to either question is no, don’t buy it!

Don’t Be Trapped by Your Stuff

Even if you aren’t going to move for a very long, long time; your belongings can begin to trap you into thinking that theses physical things define you. The less you own, the less likely you will be to see yourself as a reflection of your possessions.

Dress simply, and you will not worry about whether your clothes are in style. Drive a practical car, and you will not worry that you have last year’s model. Live in a modest home, and you can worry less about future economic uncertainties.

Today’s Challenge

• Do not buy anything that is not food or medicine
• Choose one belonging you no longer use to sell or donate
• Place a business card in your wallet, on top of your credit cards that says “Why do I need this?”

Photo by Cam Incoll

Do you multitask? These days it is hard to avoid doing two, three, or even five things at once. Multitasking is the antithesis of mindful action, however, and multitasking can actually make you more stressed and less productive than if you focus on doing one thing at a time.

Today, do one thing at a time.

Here are ten ways to learn to “solo-task”.

1. Pick Your Objective – Are you writing a report? Or checking your email? Or eating your cereal? Yes, you may be doing all three, but which one is most important? First of all, choose one thing to do, and do just that.

2. Remind Yourself of Your Goal – We are so used to multitasking, solo-tasking can take effort. To keep focused, remind yourself of the one thing you want to be doing, and when the temptation comes into your mind to do something else, push the thought away. Tell yourself: “Not right now, Mind. I’m presently doing this.”

3. Think About, and Enjoy, What You’re Doing – We perform so many daily tasks without even thinking: brushing our teeth, driving to work, even greeting coworkers. Yet there are simple pleasures to be found in all of these things. The next time you brush your teeth, for example, think about brushing your teeth. Enjoy the feel of the bristles on your gums. Look at yourself in the mirror. Cherish the fact that you are taking time to care for yourself.

4. Eliminate Distractions, a.k.a. Temptations – If you frequently get sidetracked from a project by an email or phone call; turn off your email or phone. Unplug the internet if you have to. And turn off the TV when you’re eating or writing or studying.

5. Breathe – Okay, so you can allow yourself to do two things at once: you can breathe! Focus on your breath to center yourself. Take a moment before starting something, be it a project or a meal, to take several deep breaths. Doing so will calm you and allow you to focus more clearly on your objective.

6. Slow Down – Life is hectic. There is never enough time to get everything done and do everything we want. Instead of trying to get more into your day, try getting more out of your day. Slow down enough to do things well, and enjoy doing them. Be patient – with others and yourself. The difference will amaze you.

7. Plan Your Time – Set aside blocks of time to complete certain things, and protect that time. If you have a project to complete that you can’t seem to get to, block out an afternoon to do it, and don’t let anything get in the way – even an important meeting request, for example. If they ask, you’re already busy.

8. Avoid the Never-Ending To-Do List – Keep a list of the most important two or three things you want to get done each day. Everything else can wait, so it doesn’t need to clutter your desk, or your mind.

Photo by eyeore2710.

As I start to work on Daily Dharma, I want to stress what this blog is not: It is not another personal development blog. Personal development is for people who want to make themselves better. This blog is for people who want to experience life better.

Can you see the difference?

Today, Be Content With Who You Are and What You Have.

You see, I believe personal development too often stresses all of these things we do not have: the perfect body, unlimited wealth, a perfect relationship, infallible will power, etc.

While there is nothing wrong with striving to be healthier, wealthier, and wiser, I hope to focus on an even more important goal: being content.

But what is contentment, anyways? And how do you know if you are, in fact, content?

Often contentment and happiness are used interchangeably. But I do not think they are the same. I think it is possible to be content, but not necessarily happy, just as I think one can be happy but not content.

To me, happiness is temporary. Happiness is a long overdue reunion with a close friend, a success at work, or winning a competition. Happiness feels wonderful, but it cannot last forever, because soon the suffering that we feel everyday returns in some way, whether it is a bill that is due, a stressful email from our boss, or the desire for something we don’t have.

Unlike happiness, contentment has the power to overcome this suffering in a more lasting way.

Contentment is not permanent. (Nothing is permanent). But with practice, we can train ourselves to be content more of the time than we are discontent, and through such practice, begin to relieve our suffering.

In this way, contentment becomes the tool we use to be “happier” on a daily basis, even though “happiness” is not the right word.

Put simply, some of the things I believe define contentment include:

• Accepting ourselves, including our bodies, as God made us
• Not wanting what things we do not have
• Being present
• Being peaceful
• Not worrying
• Loving
• Eating
• Sleeping
• Awakening
• Breathing

What does contentment mean to you?

Today’s Challenge

• Make a list of at least 10 things you are grateful for.
• Buy only food, medicine, or other staples that sustain you. Do not shop.
• Do not dream about what would rather be doing. Find a way to enjoy what you are doing now.

Photo by Daquella Manera.

So many of my friends come to me from time to time and say, “I’m just so unhappy at work.” I understand. I sympathize with them, because at times I have been very unhappy with my job, too. But in order to lead a happy life, an unavoidable step is to put your soul into the work you do — even if it means learning to love an unlovable job.

Today, Do the Best Job You Can

I used to commiserate with them, tell them I disliked my work too, discussed the possibility we had not found our callings, and fantasized with them about quitting.

It’s Called Work for a Reason

Not so long ago, I was having an awful time at work. Sales were down. Our CEO was stressed out, and that made my boss stressed out, and that made me stressed out. I was convinced I went into the wrong line of work. I’m a writer and a thinker and an introvert, I would tell myself. Certainly, I’m not a dealmaker!

At the time, the stress from work was seeping into other areas of my life. I was eating poorly, skipping exercise, and not getting enough sleep. All of those bad habits just exacerbated the stress, which I then blamed entirely on my job. When I did, I only hated work more.

I was caught in a self-perpetuating cycle of stress and despair, stress and despair. Sooner or later it might end, but I knew how it would end: I would grow more stressed and less healthy, and I would give less and less effort to doing my job. Eventually, I would be fired.

While at the time, being fired didn’t seem like the worst thing that could happen: (at least I would be free of the job that was causing me all this suffering), it is not something anybody really wants to have happen to them. Suddenly you are without an income, and have no way to support yourself. Plus, you have the added challenge of finding a new job and needing to explain why you need a new job!

And then, one day, my entire attitude about work changed, just because I overheard somebody say one simple phrase: “It’s called work for a reason.”

Change Your Attitude About Work

The next day, I approached my job in an entirely different light. Instead of trying to make my job tolerable by avoiding doing my job at all costs, I poured my energy into simply doing my job with care and attention. The work still wasn’t my passion in life, but I completed it as if it were. Amazingly, I found the hours flew by, I was less stressed, and less unhappy. And after a few weeks, my performance improved, and my boss and CEO were both happier, too.

It’s true I am not born to do my current job, but I have found that by doing my job well, it really doesn’t matter. The average worker will spend half of their forty hours goofing off: surfing the internet, making phone calls, taking breaks, or just spacing out. Imagine if you spent just half of that time, or 10 hours a week, actually doing your job well. How much more would you get done? How would that make you feel?

You might think that it is working making you unhappy. Consider, just for today, that it might be not working that is making you unhappy.

Today’s Challenge

• Be accountable to yourself at work.
• Work a full eight hours, but no more.
• Put your heart into your work.

Photo by Stuck in Customs

How can we can we be conscious, enjoy living, or accomplish anything, if we are not aware of where we are, who we are, and what we are doing right now?

Today, practice being present.

Focus your mind on your actions, whether you are brushing your teeth, eating a sandwich, or hard at work, and avoid daydreaming.

If you are driving to work, simply drive. Do not worry about Monday’s meeting, about last night’s fight with a loved one, or about what another driver is doing behind you. If you are breathing, simply breathe. Notice each breath coming in and going out. Feel the air that sustains you entering your lungs. If you are sitting, simply sit. Pull your mind back to right now. Notice your surroundings. Notice your feelings. Notice your suffering. Notice, but do not worry. Just be.

Why?

This is not a Buddhist blog, but it does draw its name – Dharma – from the Buddhist word for “the path”, and it is true that you will find me frequently quoting Buddhist teachers and citing Buddhist principles from which everybody can benefit, regardless of your religious beliefs.

The most central of these Buddhist beliefs is the importance of living in the present moment. It is the simplest concept to understand, yet the most difficult to master. Buddhist monks spend entire lifetimes – or several lifetimes – sitting in seclusion, meditating in silence, learning to be present. The reward is enlightenment, or the freedom from human suffering.

We may not be able to devote our lives to following this (or any) spiritual path; but by consciously making an effort to live in the moment, we can eliminate worry and regret and become happier, less stressed, and more productive, all at the same time.

Today’s Challenge

• Spend at least ten minutes – or longer if you are able – sitting in a quiet room and doing nothing else.
• Notice something in nature: A flower, a bird, or a tree.
• Catch yourself fantasizing about the future or reminiscing about the past, and bring your mind back to the present.