Every Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: Five tips for gestures that look generous on the surface, but in fact, are thoughtless or even destructive.
Do you WANT to annoy someone? Do you want to pretend to be generous, while in fact, you're behaving in a way that's irritating or perhaps even hurtful?
Never fear, you can be inconsiderate, and even controlling and sabotaging -- under the cloak of thoughtfulness!
Here are some suggestions, just to spark your thinking:
1. Bring over a rich dessert to a person who is perpetually trying to lose weight.
2. Ignore a wedding-gift registry and give a couple a gift they haven't registered for.
3. Buy a toy that makes a loud noise -- or maybe even a pet! -- as a surprise for someone else's child.
4. Even in the face of polite protest, insist that everyone must come to your house for Thanksgiving dinner.
5. Tell your child, "I'm happy to pay for college -- but only if you major in XX or XX. Otherwise, you're on your own."
If you don't think about it much, you might manage to fool even yourself into thinking that you're behaving with someone else's benefit in mind.
Along those lines, here are some tips for how NOT to be happy.
If you'd like to read more about happiness, check out Gretchen's daily blog, The Happiness Project, and join the Happiness Project group on Facebook to swap ideas.
Gretchen Rubin
Visit my blog: http://www.happiness-project.com/
Learn more: http://www.gretchenrubin.com/