1 . Right now I’m the age my parents were when they had the third baby. Unlike them, I don’t have any kids to feed, I don’t have a mortgage to pay, and luckily I have a higher income. In an outsider’s opinion, I should be very_________, but in fact I’m not. Here’s why.

Money is always a_________ thing. You think that by having it you’ll be happy.

Once you start making some and_________ it’s not making you happy, you think maybe it’s because you don’t have enough. So you exchange your_________ for money, sometimes working at a job you don’t even like to make more_________. As time goes on, you realize you’ve been spending more and more time at_________.You fail to keep a(n) _________ between work and family. Friends wonder why you don’t_________ them anymore. As you get a higher position, you feel more_________ than you did before. You find you don’t __________ so well anymore. As a result, your health begins to fail. Also, the cost of keeping up with a higher quality of life is starting to__________ and you’re not making as much as you__________ you would be. At the same time, you are worried about__________ the few friends you have because you’re earning more money than they are. Workmates think you earn very much and that you must be happy. If only that were__________.

Only you can__________ your happiness; money can’t buy that for you.

3 . When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied (欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town.

But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into a passion for helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that my purpose in life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.

Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors wrote those books. The kindness they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.

After surviving terrible experiences at school and at home, I made a choice to take the optimistic, positive road in the next steps of my journey. My dream career, one I thought was only possible for the authors I loved, is what I am doing now. I have been a full-time author of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach out to readers every single day.

Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.

4 . I live in central London. It’s crowded. I see tons of people every day. The Uber driver. The office workers at rush hour. The cashiers at Sainsbury’s ... Deep in my thoughts, I encounter and interact with people mindlessly like a robot sometimes, without giving it much thought. It’s becoming rare for me to make spontaneous (自发的) friendships.

My mom was and still is the queen of spontaneous friendships. She is the kind of person who will talk to a cashier and know her life story, talk to a sales assistant and become her friend, and talk to a man sitting nearby, get his number and have me visiting his workplace to get advice on job hunting. These mindless chats have brought her many friends, and they have also solved many problems. I can’t remember how many times she did her magic and pulled herself out of a bad situation. Sometimes I wish I could be more like her. But on reflection, it’s something I can practice and you can too.

For me to change, I had to make a habit of some sort. Here are the three affirmations (肯定) I tell myself every day to be more open to people.

We are all fellow humans. We are all in this world together so we might as well be friendly and make a connection with a fellow human.

Today is going to be a great day. Maybe I’ll meet someone who will make my day. I might be saved by a stranger. I might even meet my future employer before even applying.

Opportunities are created by people. Whether it is a job or anything else, opportunities come from people talking to each other.

So next time you get your coffee, ride with a driver, wait in line or even sit in the underground, don’t be afraid to interact with a stranger. It will affect their day; it will affect yours and you might get to that opportunity or solution that was lying in them, waiting to be found.

5 . You are given many opportunities in life to choose to be a victim or creator. When you choose to be a victim, the world is a cold and difficult place. “They” did things to you which caused all of your pain and suffering. “They” are wrong and bad, and life is terrible as long as “they” are around. Or you may blame yourself for all your problems, thus internalizing (内化) your victimization. The truth is, your life is likely to stay that way as long as you feel a need to blame yourself or others.

Those who choose to be creators look at life quite differently. They know there are individuals who might like to control their lives, but they don’t let this get in the way. They know they have their weaknesses, yet they don’t blame themselves when they fail. Whatever happens, they have choice in the matter. They believe their dance with each sacred (神圣的) moment of life is a gift and that storms are a natural part of life which can bring the rain needed for emotional and spiritual growth.

Victims and creators live in the same physical world and deal with many of the same physical realities, yet their experience of life is worlds apart. Victims relish (沉溺) in anger, guilt, and other emotions that cause others- -and even themselves--to feel like victims, too. Creators consciously choose love, inspiration, and other qualities which inspire not only themselves, but all around them. Both victims and creators always have choice to determine the direction of their lives.

In reality, all of us play the victim or the creator at various points in our lives. One person, on losing a job or a special relationship, may feel as if it is the end of the world and sink into terrible suffering for months, years, or even a lifetime. Another with the same experience may choose to first experience the grief, then accept the loss and soon move on to be a powerful creative force in his life.

In every moment and every circumstance, you can choose to have filler, richer life by setting a clear intention to transform the victim within, and by inviting into your life the powerful creator that you are.

7 . When my daughter was in grade school, she brought home four tiny branches one day. They were small _________ given to the students to plant. None of them looked very strong, but with a _________ for the future, I planted them in our backyard. Over the years the _________ soil brought an end to three of them.

All that was _________ was a single evergreen. It never got very tall and _________ to one side. Then, I noticed that it was starting to _________. The lower branches were becoming brown. Only the top ones of the tree were still _________.

I did my best to _________ it by feeding it a lot of fertilizer (肥料), but it seemed hopeless. One morning I went out and looked at it again, _________ if it would be better to just cut it down. As I walked over to take a closer look at it, __________, I noticed something moving among the branches. It was a bird __________ building a nest (巢) in the topmost branches. I smiled and __________ that maybe this old tree had some life and usefulness left in it yet. It may not be healthy or pretty, but it was still giving a bird a __________.

This tree __________ me that all of our lives have a purpose. It doesn’t matter if we are young and strong, or old and sick. Until our last __________ we still have things to do: love for us to give, and joy for us to share. We can help to make this world a better and lovelier place.

10 . I’ve had some pretty serious issues with some people in my community recently.

As a result, I stepped away from them and did my best to _________ them. But the emotions that I felt from those events continued to _________ me and it began to destroy the relationships in other parts of my life. I ended up burning _________ with people I really cared about.

Yesterday, I was _________ to attend a conference of community because of a major work event. I was concerned about this event for days and it was pretty _________ when I first saw the people I _________ with at the conference.

Despite all of this, the strangest yet most _________ thing happened to me: there were no _________ between us and no one was holding anger against me. It was _________ that people have moved on from the events. There isn’t anything to ____________ anymore. I looked at them during the conference and ____________ in my head and forgave them. After doing this, I felt ____________ in myself.

Through my recent practice in compassion, I __________ more that when yon forgive others, you ____________ yourself as well. This important lesson on ____________ helps me to see things from a bigger view. I know people still cared about me during that time. I wish them the best life that they can have. And then, I move on.