Alberding 
Nicholas Alberding
Professor Kelly
Moreau
4/25/22
Dedication towards Happiness
· My mission is to live a happy life while helping others.
· I will seek to develop, for constantly developing will eventually turn into wisdom. 
· I will seek first to communicate with others, for creating relationships can be everlasting.  
· I want to help influence the future development of people and organizations. My development can turn into the development of others down the road. More specifically my children. I want to teach them to be respectful and determined to live meaningful lives. 
· In my profession, I would like to be successful for others. I will act with consideration and perseverance. Everything I do has meaning because it affects those around me. 
· I would like to constantly travel. Understanding the different cultures in the world is extremely important in development. The world is also a beautiful place, and those around it can find inspiration and appreciation for everything it is. 
· I would like to stay physically active. To lead a healthy life, I believe I will need to host healthy standards for both my mind and body. 
· I want to give back to my community and those around me. I have been blessed in so many ways and it only feels right to give back to those who are less fortunate. 
· I hope to be the best version of myself, and through development and relationships, I feel I can one day be successful.
	I wanted to begin with my mission statement because this is where I strive to be. In the future, I want to live the best life I can for myself as well as others. The prompt asks how can I make this possible. To start, I will naturally live a life well lived if I can successfully follow through with my mission statement. This means I would achieve not only the goals for myself but the goals for my family (Inspirations of a life well lived QQC - Moreau FYE Week 2). But what does completing my mission statement entail? For starters, I have to get my job in order. The job I eventually have has to be one that I both enjoy and aligns with my morals (“Navigating Your Career Journey” by Meruelo Family Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week 4). I would like to pursue something in finance or financial management. I’m currently learning the skills necessary to succeed in this line of work, and with the help of the career center on campus, I will be able to find the right job for me. My mission statement addresses how during work, all of my actions must be calculated because they affect the lives of others. Through these considerable actions, the outcomes could lead to friendly relationships.
	Relationships in my eyes are one of the most important parts of living a life well-lived. When it comes to relationships, they take a while to create. It is crucial that people eventually let down their barriers and take the time to form these relationships. Now being the financial advisor of someone will have a different relationship than say a close friend. However, slowly but surely, barriers still have to be lowered if there are any chances of having a relationship (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week 7). The people who can be a part of a built relationship can be “all people, regardless of color, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social or economic class, and nationality,” (“The Spirit of Inclusion at Notre Dame” by du lac -Moreau FYE Week 10). I strongly believe that it is important to have relationships with all kinds of people. This can develop us culturally and reduce racial prejudice seen every day by people who simply don’t understand the culture of someone else, “There are networks of privilege, prejudice and power so commonplace that often neither oppressors nor victims are aware of them. We must be aware and also understanding by reason of fellowship with the impoverished and by reason of patient learning.” (“Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross” - 2: Mission, paragraphs 9-14 - Moreau FYE Week 12). Our overall intelligence and life experience will develop better through relationships of all kinds, than without them. This leads to my next point of wisdom. 
	I believe with age comes wisdom. In my mission statement, I talk about developing my children into well-rounded individuals. I can only do this when I have enough experiences of my own to share my knowledge. One thing I look forward to sharing with them is that questions are one of the greatest ways to learn. I will encourage them to ask questions when it comes to something they are unsure of because the chances that I have already been in the same situation are very likely (Growing in Wisdom QQC - Moreau FYE Week 11). Even when I’m advising my kids, I can still look to my parents for parenting advice because again they have already been through that process with me. Referring back to how questions are a fantastic way to learn; questions can also be asked about themselves and the lives they are living. It’s always beneficial to ask these questions because it ultimately allows them to take a step back and make sure they are living the life they wanted to (What Life am I Living QQC - Moreau FYE Week 1). For me, it is important to avoid “Why” questions when referring to past experiences in my own life. It is important to use the past to reflect on future decisions rather than worrying about the past. Asking why something happened is the wrong way to go about moving forward in life (“The Right Way to be Introspective (Yes, there’s a wrong way)” by Tasha Eurich - Moreau FYE Week 6). This will allow me to pursue the life I want to live for myself and others.
Another extremely important factor in pursuing a life well-lived is giving back to others. When I was young, my parents taught me to always give the clothes I grew out of to the local goodwill. While we don’t see where the clothes and shoes end up, we do know that they were able to help out another young boy like me who didn’t have the same access to clothing. It can be hard for many people to understand the suffering that people even in our community have to go through (Responding to Suffering QQC - Moreau FYE Week 9). Because we don’t experience it, it is hard for us to understand what it is exactly what they need. When it comes to these different charitable organizations, I would like to give back to the ones that help out the children who are suffering the most in my eyes. I want my kids to give their clothes to goodwill just like I did when I was a kid. So I will continue this tradition of giving back. However, I want to give money away to help those battling cancer or those who could use basic medical attention in Africa. Whatever effect I have on less fortunate individuals, I want it to be truly meaningful. 
Moving on, personal reflection is also really important in one's development. Looking back on how I acted when I was younger compared to now, I tend to think about what other people think more. When I was younger, I would argue about everything. Today, I worry less about everything being so concrete or absolute. I’m proud to say that I keep an open mind, which allows me to hear other opinions (Discernment Conversation - Moreau FYE Week 5). Eventually, I became a good listener to the point where others would come to me when they needed advice. This aspect allows me to deepen my connection with others, strengthening the relationship. Personal reflection doesn’t only include ways to improve but can include objective questions such as “Am I happy?”. I’m the only one that will know whether or not I’m happy, not just satisfied with my life, but truly happy (“Three Questions” by Fr Michael Himes - Moreau FYE Week 3). This is my number one point in my mission statement - “My mission is to live a happy life while helping others.”. There are clear differences between being happy, or simply satisfied. By being happy, those emotions can spread to other people. If someone is simply satisfied, they might not be able to positively affect someone else like they would be able to otherwise. 
In conclusion, many things are involved when it comes to living a life well-lived. To me, I have incorporated those attributes into my mission statement. Within the next 3 years, I would like to develop more long-lasting relationships with my peers as well as stay physically active. As I get older, I will slowly be able to achieve the different bulletin points needed in my mind to pursue the life that will make me happy. I want to look back at my life one day and know that I did everything I could to live the best life I possibly could. I know that day isn’t anytime soon, but it will come eventually and I’ll be ready for it.