"I would always rather be happy than dignified."
~Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre)
I've always liked this statement. Having spent my entire adult life with a tenuous grasp on dignity is part of the reason. But the other part is the joy that it invokes. Sometimes in life, you just have to ignore your dignity in favor of joy.
This time of year, it is not difficult to find examples of people willing to choose happiness over dignity. Ugly sweater day, the mail carrier wearing a santa hat, bobbing for candy canes - these are not things that "dignified" people do, and yet they generate so much happiness.
Technology increases our ability to abandon dignity for happiness. Check out my JibJab video as proof. Or go to Twitter for some some entertaining pics under #StarWarsTheForceAwakens. Pretty much everywhere you look, you can find digital examples folks willing to toss their dignity in exchange for a little happiness.
In the next few days, whether you are at school, the supermarket, the mall, the post office, a work event, a family gathering, on the turnpike - wherever - choose happiness over dignity. Even if you feel a little silly, others will appreciate it. Plus, it feels really great! I promise!
~Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre)
I've always liked this statement. Having spent my entire adult life with a tenuous grasp on dignity is part of the reason. But the other part is the joy that it invokes. Sometimes in life, you just have to ignore your dignity in favor of joy.
This time of year, it is not difficult to find examples of people willing to choose happiness over dignity. Ugly sweater day, the mail carrier wearing a santa hat, bobbing for candy canes - these are not things that "dignified" people do, and yet they generate so much happiness.
Technology increases our ability to abandon dignity for happiness. Check out my JibJab video as proof. Or go to Twitter for some some entertaining pics under #StarWarsTheForceAwakens. Pretty much everywhere you look, you can find digital examples folks willing to toss their dignity in exchange for a little happiness.
In the next few days, whether you are at school, the supermarket, the mall, the post office, a work event, a family gathering, on the turnpike - wherever - choose happiness over dignity. Even if you feel a little silly, others will appreciate it. Plus, it feels really great! I promise!
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