Originally posted by Dave Thompson on work blog, January 29, 2013

Why do we create our dream lists? In it’s simplest form…happiness. That’s it. It all boils down to happiness. Putting that smile on our face, or someone else’s. Living life. Having some fun along the way. Helping others. Making connections. Who doesn’t want happiness?

A year ago I had never heard of or had a connection with the Samaritan’s group in Boston…but a lot can change in a year. They are focused on suicide awareness and prevention and they have a series of social experiments going on as part of their “Happier Boston” campaign. Their goals align perfectly with the power of how I pursue dreams:

“making sure that peoples’ voices are heard, we help them feel better about themselves and their lives. In our experience, when people are heard, they go from feeling overwhelmed to empowered, from discouraged to encouraged, from feeling all alone to being part of a bigger community”

How many of you have felt varying degrees of being overwhelmed, discouraged, or alone when facing your dreams, goals, or any other challenges in life?

I’ve been there.

It’s frustrating at times. It’s hard to stay positive all the time. Things will get better. Your future is bigger and brighter than you can ever imagine. But we’ve got to get through today first.

Simple frameworks (such as suggested in The Dream Manager) can help…capturing dreams, sharing dreams, achieving dreams, meeting informally & regularly with a peer (accountability or dream partner) – they all help you feel better about yourself and your life…and empowered, encouraged, and connected to part of a bigger community. And this all leads back to happiness.

Here are some of the events the Samaritan’s are doing to help people find happiness every day:

• Welcome parties at the T (subway) for Monday morning commuters in Boston
• Asking people to list places that make people happy (“happy spots lead to happy thoughts”)
• Singing a cappella to people in elevators (this one is my favorite)
• Giving away oranges (“orange you happy”)
• Hi Five in the 5th at Fenway Park (high 5’s to everyone around you in the 5th inning)

You can check out their videos here: http://happierboston.org/blog/. They were also profiled on the Today show if you’re interested in seeing more about their activities. You can’t help but smile at these events – they engage you and make you happy.

Whether you add something on your dream list or just take the time to spread some happiness, I challenge you to think of how you can build connections and make someone around you smile EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. I won’t sing in the elevator but I’m definitely up for High Five Friday’s 🙂