“We tend to believe that to be happier, we need to become bigger in our own mind, and in the minds of others,” Arthur Brooks writes, then goes on to say “to get happier, make yourself smaller.”
I’ve made no bones about 2025 being a Sandpaper Year for me, and I’m not alone.
I’ve frequently admitted that I’m not writing StoryShift; it’s writing me.
At the same time, I’ve been engaged in what has sometimes felt like a battle to the death between what my gut tells me is good and right for me, and what publishing people and marketing people have told me I must do. You must make yourself bigger. Do more. Do it this way ONLY. No that way. Of course, that way contradicts the previous must-do way and both contradict my gut.
And let’s not forget the health challenges.
This December’s year ending, year beginning ritual started out feeling like a triple tangle inside a tightly taped box.
But never forget: when we acknowledge a need, God, source, the universe, my Darling Dot delivers the answers. Always. Every time. If we are willing to pay attention.
This time, some much-needed answers came in the form of an article about Arthur C. Brooks’ recommendation to go smaller.
Brooks suggests shifting focus to humility, awe, and serving others to find deeper joy, which is exactly where my gut has been pointing and ties directly to my new word – humbition.
Rather than constantly striving to “get bigger” with status or possessions or playing by “their” rules (which never felt good or right), it involves finding wonder in nature, practicing quiet service, embracing your place in the world, and having some fun with all of it. Oh wait! Just be me?????
It means finding contentment in small, meaningful acts and connections and following your own inner knowingness. It’s the one thing that will never lead us astray.
It’s also the way “they” kept saying was wrong. That I was wrong. One even used those exact words!
I’m feeling 2026 coming in like a reset. A rewind. A do-over. Never thought those would be the sweetest words ever, but here we are and I’m paying attention.