There are many different ways to attain inner peace, tranquility and serenity. Practicing meditation, affirmations and breath work are a few good ones. However, sometimes hidden blockages exist that may prevent you from attaining that inner calm you seek.

Holding yourself to these five standards will help you develop within yourself and will expand your potential to grow meaningful friendships throughout your life.

Ultimately, it is always in our own self-interest to be open and vulnerable rather than to be nasty or write people off. The only person we can control is ourselves. When we get cynical, we are the ones who suffer.

Our cynicism has conditioned us to always see the negative in people. But we should really give each other another chance. We should stop thinking of the glass as half empty and try to find the positive in others.

Do we all become infected with the disease of cynicism and give into our basest instincts and fears or do we start a new story about who we are and who we can be for each other?

New scientific evidence dispels our cultural biases and myths, such as perceiving happiness as a somewhat "soft" or frivolous subject, or considering happiness to be self-centered or self-indulgent.