It’s so easy in these days of snaps, tweets, and likes to live day to day without much serious thought to how we are living. I recently revisited Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Happiness Project, and was inspired by Gretchen’s purposeful approach to happiness.  She made a list of personal “commandments,” but I decided to write out a list of life principles instead: things I want to keep in mind and ground me as move through this phase of my life.  Today’s episode is a quick recap of those principles with a brief explanation of what each one means to me. I hope you are able to take my list as inspiration to create a your own list of life principles.  Here are a few highlights from the episode: [spp-tweet tweet=”Tiffany shares 10 life principles for living more on purpose, on this episode of #HowDoesSheDoIt”] Life Principle #3: Love Myself First We all want to be blessings to the people around us, especially those to whom we are closest. Too often we think that means we must give and give to the point of neglecting our own needs in the process. I have learned (sometimes the hard way) that if I don’t take care of myself first, I won’t have anything left to give to others.  Life Principle #4: Express Gratitude Daily There’s no denying that life is full of bumps and bruises and each of us receives our fair share. It is easy to focus on the negative things rather than be grateful for the positive things that may go unseen, or that we take for granted. But when I am mindful to express gratitude for the little things throughout the day, I feel someone fortified against the negativity that can come so easily. Gratitude lightens the load and helps you recenter your thoughts on what really matters.  [spp-tweet tweet=”How daily #gratitude keeps you from focusing on the negative aspects of life”] Life Principle #7: Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees Life is about more than how many people liked (or didn’t like) your latest Facebook or IG post, or the criticism you received on the project your worked so hard on for The Man. It is so easy to get caught up in the minute details of the issues and challenges of the moment, that we lose sight of the big picture. We are all headed toward something greater than where we are right now. Sure, the details and struggles – the trees – matter.  But there’s too much at stake to allow ourselves to forgot that today’s baby steps and challenges are part of a much bigger picture. Life Principle #10: My Steps Are Ordered For My Own Path While there are many things that connect us, no two journeys or paths, even to the same desired destination, are the same.  Still, we fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. We make assumptions about what they have or how they go there, and end up diminishing ourselves in the process.  To avoid the temptation to compare yourself to others, remind yourself that the steps you takes each day on the road of your life are the steps you need to be taking. It doesn’t matter what somebody else is doing or how he or she are going about navigating his or her own life. YOUR steps are ordered for YOUR path.  [spp-tweet tweet=”Why loving yourself first sets you up to be a greater blessing to the world, on this episode”] Outline of this great episode 1:19 My introduction to the podcast and this episode. 2:48 How you can ask a question or suggest a topic for the show. 3:16 My 10 year reunion at Cornell. 5:20 The significance of Juneteenth and thoughts on mass murders and terrorism. 11:32 The O.J. Documentary that recently aired and the lessons learned. 16:14 Two podcasts I listen to: This American Life and Paychecks and Balances. 22:40 Tiffany’s 10 Life Principles. #1: Pray often. #2: Read the Bible. #3: Love myself first. #4: Express gratitude daily.