Violence Appears to Be Replacing Happiness in Society

Kids used to take an apple to school for the teacher. Today it is not uncommon to encounter knives and guns. School classrooms used to be the safest places we could provide for our kids. Today we have bullying, resulting in some cases in suicide, or retaliation with deadly results by the bullied victim.

Violence is now a common feature in movies, videos and video games which our children watch and play, and which is resulting in escalating violence amongst young people.

In the workplace it is not any better, here we have employees shooting their supervisor and innocent coworkers in various instances. We now experience road rage with innocent people being the victims of irate drivers. We have air rage caused by people getting upset at the slightest dissatisfaction, or for no reason at all.

Bars and lounges are no exception to violence. People used to frequent these places to get together with friends for relaxation, entertainment and enjoyment. These days violence is common within, as well as outside these establishments. And then of course we have the global terrorism aimed at whole populations.

Although I don't have all the answers to turn things around, I have come up with my own 10 rules for adopting a happier attitude and approach to life:

- Life may not be fair, but it's still better than the alternative

- Take your responsibilities seriously and yourself lightly

- Life is too short to spend your energy hating anyone.

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Don't worry, be happy - Most worries tend to be for nothing

- If everyone threw their problems in a basket, and you saw everybody else's problems, more than likely you would take yours back

- Don't compare yourself to the Jones' - You have no idea what their problems are

- Take a deep breath once in a while - it's like mini vacation

- Life should be lived - not endured

- Learn to forgive - you become the winner

- Nothing is forever - learn to adapt to change

For more information on how powerful humor, laughter, joy and happiness are, visit Gerry's web site at: http://www.humor-laughter.com

Gerry Hopman is Humorist, Humor Motivational Speaker and Author. He believes that humor is essential to balance in life and career. To sign up for his FREE monthly newsletter, "The Humormeister's Forum" go to his web site now and sign up.