“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.”

Bad grammar notwithstanding, the quote is painfully true. Bad habits are easy to acquire but not so easily broken.

Establish a good one as soon as its merits are recognized and you’ll find that it, too, will become second nature before you know it.

A friend recently mailed me a letter entitled “Handbook: 2010,” a guide to living that, oddly enough, I had found years ago in a book I own called “Secrets to a Happy Life,” written in 1921, proving that truth is timeless and valuable to all generations.

Indulge me; dear hearts, and this will be the last of New Year plans, promises, and probabilities. Make any one or all of these a habit this New Year and you can only profit by it.

HANDBOOK 2010

1.Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3.Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

4.Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

5. Make time to pray.

6. Play more games.

7. Read more books than you did in 2009.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily, and while you walk, smile.

11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey may be like.

12. Don’t have negative thoughts about things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13.Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.

14.Don’t take yourself too seriously. No one else does.

15.Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.

16.Dream more while you are awake.

17.Envy is a total waste of time. You already have all you need.

18.Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That is sure to ruin your present happiness.

19.Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Simply, don’t hate others.

20.Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil your future.

21.No one is in charge of happiness except you.

22.Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23.Smile and laugh more.

24.You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

25.Call your family often.

26.Each day give something good to others.

27.Forgive everyone for everything.

28.Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

29.Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30.What other people think of you is none of your business.

31.Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family will. Stay in touch.

32.Do the right thing!

33.Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful, or brings you joy.

34.GOD heals everything in His time.

35.However good or bad a situation, it will change.

36.No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

37.The best is yet to come.

38.When you awake alive in the morning, thank God for it.

39.Your body gets its cues from you, so be happy.

40.Send a Mr. Goodbar to Mickie McGee, 5261 Clay Hill Road, at least once a week for two months. This will fulfill #s 29, and 32 for you, it will give me something to do while I’m accomplishing #8 and, as a bonus, you can cross off #26!

Oh, the JOY and SATISFACTION of establishing good habits!

God Bless Us One and All.