Starting the New Year on the Right Path
To start the New Year on the right path, The Way to Happiness, a common sense guide to better living, will not only help you stick to your resolutions but pave the way to a more decent and happier life through its 21 precepts.
A 2021 survey reveals a stunning statistic: almost 50 percent of people involved in relationships admitted having cheated on their partner, resulting in 1.5 million people divorcing every year, giving the US the world’s third-highest divorce rate.
But infidelity is only one casualty of declining morality. More than 3,300 burglaries take place in the US each day. And on a starker note, over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdose in the 12 months leading up to April 2021.
While one could think that “this would never occur to him,” that he “would never cheat on his other half” or “try drugs,” the environment can quickly lead one into an immoral lifestyle.
To start the New Year on the right path, The Way to Happiness, a common sense guide to better living, will not only help you stick to your resolutions but pave the way to a more decent and happier life through its 21 precepts.
What are they?
Take care of yourself. Get care when you are ill. Keep your body clean. Preserve your teeth. Eat properly. Get rest. These are simple steps to ensure a healthy lifestyle.
Be temperate. Do not take harmful drugs and do not consume alcohol to excess. Doing so destroys you physically, brings you down mentally and opens the door to accidents and troubles. Instead, splurge on activities that are safe and that you enjoy.
Don’t be promiscuous. The urge of the moment can become the sorrow of a lifetime. Instead, create a faithful, stable, fun and joyful relationship with your other half.
Love and help children. Bringing up a child in today’s society is not an easy task. Children need love and help to survive.
Honor and help your parents. While it can be hard to understand one’s parents, they are the only ones one has. Assist them in their needs and respect them.
Set a good example. You can influence others in a good or bad way. Influence them positively by setting a good example.
Seek to live with the truth. Do you like others lying to you? Probably not. Lying leads to errors and chaos. Tell the truth and give correct information.
Do not murder. The way to happiness does not include murdering, or your friends, your family or yourself being murdered. Support any effective program that handles this threat to Mankind.
Don’t do anything illegal. When you do something illegal, small or large, you put yourself at risk and weaken your defense. It is easy to simply follow the rules and mores of the group.
Support a government designed and run for all the people. Where a government is working for all its people, one should support it to the limit.
Do not harm a person of good will. Protect and support people of good will as they are society’s pillars.
Way to Happiness volunteers from Los Angeles are setting a good example by applying precept 12, “Safeguard and Improve Your Environment,” of The Way to Happiness.Safeguard and improve your environment. To achieve happiness and high morale, one must be able to operate in an agreeable environment. Be of good appearance, take care of your own area and the planet.
Do not steal. When one does not respect the ownership of things, his own possessions and property are at risk. Acquire valuables through honest means.
Be worthy of trust. If you give your word, stick to it. If you say you are going to do something, do it. Be someone reliable that people can count on.
Fulfill your obligations. Financial, moral or social obligations can be a burden for a lot of people. If you end up in such a situation, do not incur more obligations, but instead fulfill one after another.
Be industrious. Some people think that work is the cause of their troubles. But few are unhappier than those who lead a purposeless, idle and boring life. High morale comes about through accomplishments.
Be competent. Look. Learn. Practice. Your survival, as well as others’, depends on your competence and the competence of others.
Respect the religious beliefs of others. The past is filled with wars, murders and crimes fueled by religious intolerance. Be tolerant of others’ religions and create a peaceful environment.
Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you. One can’t reach happiness and survival by committing harmful acts to others.
Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you. This has forever been known as The Golden Rule.
Flourish and prosper. Have you ever been around people trying to crush you down? The way to overcome them is to flourish and prosper.
These 21 precepts are simple and easy to follow. Start the New Year on the right path by applying one of them every day until you are able to follow them all.
Get your own copy of The Way to Happiness at www.thewaytohappiness.org/order and start your own journey to happiness now.
The Way to Happiness Foundation International is a secular charitable organization, coordinated by the Association for Better Living and Education International (ABLE), an organization dedicated to resolving the major societal ills of drugs, crime, illiteracy and immorality. The Church of Scientology and its parishioners proudly support ABLE and each of its social betterment groups.
