Oh no...

…not the chairs again! We put in a claim for repayment with PayPal this morning, but then at lunchtime Elanor phoned to say she had been carded by TNT for a delivery from Drive Medical, who are the importers of the chairs in question.

So they'd only tried to deliver them on the wrong day to the wrong address. At least they are with a reputable carrier now; I've asked for a redelivery to the marina on Friday, and am just waiting for confirmation of that. This is the longest drawn out debacle we've ever encountered for an order.

Now, as promised, how to be happy:

1. Do your best – and then accept that your best is always good enough. Don't beat yourself up if things don't turn out perfectly – it's an imperfect world and the universe doesn't owe you a living, so try to take things as they come.
2. Be prepared – if there's something to worry about, some outcome that you are dreading, decide now how you'll cope with it, make a note of that somewhere, so you can say to yourself that you have a plan even if the worst happens.
3. Look wide – there really is research that shows that happier and more optimistic people take in lots more from the world around them. Don't focus down too much, take time to stop and stare; this is not the dress rehearsal, remember, we're none of us coming this way again, so make the most of it.
4. Service – using whatever talents and personal strengths you've got to help others, either on an individual basis or especially as part of a larger group is the most satisfying and self esteem building thing you can do. If you don't think you've got any special strengths, you're not giving yourself credit for what you've got. Try following this link to take a signature strengths questionnaire (you'll need to do a free registration to do it, but don't worry, Penn State University is a reputable organisation!)

And that's it, really. None of us can be happy all the time, of course, but folk who report greater life satisfaction really do show the characteristics above.

Oh, and if those headings seem a bit familiar to my older, male readers, yes, I was a Scout before all this Advance Party malarkey started!