I am a Rotarian and have been for more than ten years.

Rotarians, made up mostly of Leaders, Captains of Industry, are a lot like Caregivers in that we “take satisfaction in pleasing Others!”

Rotary International has taught me a lot about life, business, relationships and “service above self!”   But most of all, Rotary taught me the concept of the “Happy Dollar!”

Every meeting as a sort of joke (and fundraiser) we have “Fines and Happy Dollars.” Fines are for being late, using your cell phone, failing to wear your Rotary badge or forgetting the secret handshake (ok, I made that one up!)… Small little transgressions geared towards reminding us to constantly improve. 

For the perfectionists among us; perhaps with overtly high self-expectations these small flaws can lead to an Overgeneralization; where we see a single negative event or trait as a never-ending pattern (Caregiver Distortion #2), so,

The idea is to simply and humorously increase AWARENESS of our expectations and commitments to one another.

The fine is a whopping one-dollar!

But, in order to avoid a fine, you can opt-instead to pay a Happy Dollar!  By doing so you essentially, you are living in the moment fully AWARE, ACCEPTING things as they are and choosing to be HAPPY. 

Some of us view it as “the price” for being late; kind of like donating a dollar to a charity so you can wear jeans on casual Friday. 

As it turns out, on Wednesdays at noon, “the price” of HAPPINESS is a buck! ~~ DOCism

Happingess for a buck!  The New World Economy compliments of Rotary International!

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