This week I'm sharing some things I believe with respect to living a meaningfully productive life--a life that matters as I define it. The productive exercise of creating a manifesto for making a life that matters A manifesto is defined as “a public declaration of policy and aims”. It's most often used in the context of organizations or even political campaigns. For me, this is a statement of some of the things I believe are crucial components of a life that matters.  Notice that I call it a manifesto, not the manifesto. These are things I believe. I’m not telling you you must believe the same, but I hope these will inspire you to think about, and even write down, what you believe about what constitutes a life that matters as you define it. Some of my core beliefs, and how these beliefs relate to making a life that matters 1. I have my beliefs and opinions about various things--some of them very strong--but I always keep in mind the very real possibility that I might be wrong.  For that reason, when encountering people or ideas I disagree with, I need to listen to understand, not to refute. I recently saw this quote in a cartoon: “Most people don’t really want the truth. They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.” 2. It’s impossible to be happy if my focus is on what I don’t have instead of what I do. This is true as to material possessions, skills and talents, physical attributes, and options. As Eckhart Tolle has said: “All stress is caused by being here, but wanting to be there.” 3. Growing older doesn't automatically equate with maturity, and maturity is a key component of a meaningfully productive life. I agree with something I recently read in an old Dear Abby column: “This is maturity: To be able to stick with a job until it’s finished; to do one’s duty without being supervised; to be able to carry money without spending it; and to be able to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.” 4. My life today is the result of the choices I made yesterday and the day before and 10 years ago and 10 minutes ago. If I don’t like where I am today, I can make different choices to change the trajectory of my life.  In believing this I'm not trivializing the impact of outside circumstances, and I recognize that there is a difference between options and choices. An option is a thing and a choice is an action. We don’t all have the same options at any given stage of our life. Our options might be different because of our environment, our background, etc. But we all have choices. And sometimes our choices limit our options. For example: If I choose to work hard and get good grades in high school, I’ll have more options when it comes to colleges and scholarships to help pay for them. 5. Disagreement isn’t hate; hate is hate.  A safe space isn’t one where no one disagrees with me; it’s a place where I can disagree without hatred. I can love someone and still disagree with something they say or do. On the other hand, I can’t inspire someone to love by spewing hate at them. As I’ve said before, no one’s mind has ever been changed by someone standing at a distance and throwing rocks at them. The ability to influence anyone stems from a relationship with them. 6. The only way to get through life without constant misery is to extend grace to each other and to ourselves.  What it means to extend grace to each other is to give them the benefit of the doubt. Assume the best until proven otherwise. We tend to interpret the actions and words of people we don’t like in the worst possible light, but those of the people we know and love in the best possible light. When someone we’ve decided we don’t like someone,