mercredi 19 août 2009

Genuine Happiness Comes from Within

Life isn't the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continued to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – "How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?" Then I pause and observed for a while… I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called ‘self'.So, how does one become genuinely happy?
Step 1 is to love yourself.
My theology professor once said that "loving means accepting." To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.Genuine happiness also pertains to contentment.
When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have – truly, you know the answer to the question "how to be genuinely happy."When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life like it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.
I believe that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, wining and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person's life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder us from becoming happy.
How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? I tell you… every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFLs. Every time you take a step forward, you make scoring points.
Wouldn't it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself "Whew? I got a point today. I'm glad I gave it a shot.", instead of looking at it all blank and murmur "Geez, I didn't even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!" and then walk away.
Genuine happiness isn't about driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life doesn't always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or not even the best. So, how do you become genuinely happy? Every one has his own definition of ‘happiness'. Happiness for a writer may mean launching as many best selling books as possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a business man may mean success.
So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy? Simple. You don't have to have the best things in this world. Its about doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling your self "Oh, I'll do better next time", you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere that may spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try – that will make you a genuinely happy person.When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults. You pass step 1 in the project "how to become genuinely happy". For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted.
For as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love ten fold back.Again, throw me that same question "how to become genuinely happy?". I'll refer you to a friend of mine who strongly quoted- "Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life's aches and pain. But most of us don't know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self. Coz then you don't just become happy… you become free."

mardi 18 août 2009

How to be happy

Do you find it difficult to be happy because of your conditions in life?Do you feel unhappy because of problems plaguing you? Have you attained all the achievements or luxuries in the world, but still feel unhappy? If so, then this article may help you to find the reason and could actually cure all your heartaches! Happiness is the most important goal in a persons life.
Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.
Everything that people is in fact for only one thing in the end - Happiness.Some people have been working all their lives to reach their heart's desires. You may be shocked that even some people have reached the highest peak of accomplishment, they are still unhappy. Why is this so? Happiness cannot be seen nor touched. It is abstract and can only be felt and experienced. Happiness is the feeling of not only completion but also inner peace.
Attaining ecstasy for eternity is everyone's goal. In order to find true happiness and keep it forever, you should think about these question for a while: How to attain happiness in old age. How to face the fear of failure. How to master the boomerang principle of happiness. How inner peace relates to happiness. How to appreciate your blessings. How to perk up your life. How to erase envy and jealousy. How to eliminate worry, anxiety, and stress. How we are exposing ourselves to unhappiness.
How to enjoy your daily tasks. How to live a life full of love. How to conquer rage. Now,the following ditail points show you the steps to abtain happiness: Relax with a smile.Stress can cause many mental, physical and spiritual problems in your life.Lighten up and don't take yourself too seriously. One of the important causes of stress is anxious about things that are out of your control. If you find yourself constantly worrying about things, assess the condition or cause and whether you yourself can do anything to improve the situation.
If you can, work on it. If you can't, learn to recognize that these situations are simply out of your power and control should be out of your mind as well! Work on being able to laugh at things, especially yourself. If you smile and force a little laugh, you won't have to force it next time,and you will feel your mood lighten. Laughter is a powerful, positive medicine. The calmer and more peaceful you feel, the happier your life will be.Dance, sing and laugh as much as possible, for every reason and for no reason.
If you don't feel like it, put on some music that you know will make you feel like it, or watch or read something that makes you laugh. Talk to your friend. Sometimes things that are worrying us seem worse when we hold them by ourselves. Have a healthy relationship. If you're dating, get involved with activities that reflect who you are, and get to know people who like the things you do. Get involved with someone who loves life and pursues happiness the way you do. If you're in a relationship, strive to make that relationship healthy.
The action of talking about them can make them seem smaller and less significant. On the other hand, remembering that the people around us really care is very cheering. Make someone else happy. Do something to make someone else - anyone - happy and you'll remember how easy it really can be When you're feeling powerless to create happiness in your life. The happiest days of our lives, when we really dig down deep, are the days when we see a smile on the face of a person who we care about. Even helping a stranger can remind you of how much you really have, because of how much you can give.
Pursue goals that can lead you happy. It's not difficult to gain short term satisfaction.Such as it is a quick high, a fast relief from your current problems.But it is what it is, a "short term" satisfaction will die out very soon, leaving you with an empty feeling that is sometimes worse than before.Insist and strive for long term goals rather than short term satisfaction. Set long term goals, goals which take time, thought and effort to achieve.
will make you continually work towards improving yourself and will give you the satisfaction of bringing a permanent change in your life. If the pursuit of a particular long-term goal seems too difficult, you can take some ways to reduce or eliminate the need for will power. Focus on the objective. This will dissipate the rush of chemicals that are making you feel bad. Immediately then go back to picturing scenes imagining, planning stuff that makes you feel good. If the thoughts you are thinking are not giving you that feeling, then think about something else that can make you feel good in that moment.
Observe your thoughts and ideas consistently throughout the day. Sometimes this may not be as easy as you think if you are stuck in a "destructive" train of thought and your brain chemicals are getting fired up and forming "anxiety or anger" thoughts. Fear,anger and anxiety patterns can be interrupted by focusing on something else. Exercise or draw a picture of your feelings.
Exercising releases chemicals in your brain which lift your mood. Go for a run, a swim, take a walk - whatever takes your fancy. If you can play any instrument, you could play it and enjoy it.It may work, distracting you from the sad minds.It`s kind of "Killing Sadness" .It really doesn't matter whether you are good at art or not.Because the idea can let go of the thoughts and ideas that are building up inside you. It's a good way to vent negative feelings without hurting anyone else. Writing down everything you have to feel glad about might sound a bit "Pollyanna-ish" but it does sometimes put our woes in perspective.
Take the good with the bad. Obstacles will always be in our way, holding us back and knocking us down - it's a part of life. Good and bad wouldn't exist and be in balance without each other. No one is happy all of the time. We cannot change the past, but we can enjoy the present, and look positively to the future. Realize this and avoid becoming down or starting to think too negatively about your situation.
Be thankful. If you have friends who are treating you badly, or are not supportive of you and your goals to improve your life, then find friends that do care about you. Learn to be grateful for what you have. If all you ever think about is how you can't afford the things you want, how you're not "popular", how you're not "attractive" enough or no good at anything, your life will become less and less enjoyable before your eyes and all at your own doing. If you can't find any friends like that in your current circumstances, then look elsewhere.
Maintain your relationship by keeping in touch, making an effort and enjoying your time with whoever the person is.Support each other through hard times, rejoice in the good moments and together be thankful for the friendship and love you share. No one can happy all of the time.Howevey,some people are definitely more fulfilled than others and it doesn't seem to have much to do with high achievement or material goods.
Being happy is so simple, supposedly easy. Once you dig past the surface and get away from the superficiality, the true meaning of happiness becomes clear...

samedi 15 août 2009

How to Feel Happy at Work--7 Secrets of a "Thank God It's Monday" Workplace

What accounts for the difference between "Oh crap, it's Monday" and "Thank God it's Monday"? It's your happiness. And, for your own emotional and mental health, you need to feel happy at work. It all boils down to seven habits that can change everything about the culture of your workplace.
1. Show up fully and commit with all your heart
At work, we think of home. At home, we think of work. Time to stop that. The first step toward a TGIM workplace is being present and accounted for at work. Thinking about being elsewhere leads to resenting where you are. While you are at work, commit to work with all your heart. This is what I call throwing your heart over the bar--committing 100 percent to the moment and task before you.
2. Communicate clearly
Use powerful and positive language about what you will do and the attitude you expect from others. If a TGIM workplace is your goal, take the time to make your communications clear on every level.
3. Go beyond the job description
Going beyond the job description happens when you pitch in and help others at work without expecting reward. Willingly share the load. If you're caught up on your tasks, help someone else who is crunching for a deadline. Instead of feeling like it's an extra burden, you will actually feel like you play a bigger role in your company than you ever did before.
4. Don't tolerate dysfunctional behaviors
Establish a zero-tolerance policy for talking behind another person's back. Then give each other permission to address conflict head-on, out loud, courageously and honestly. Create a trusting and open environment and watch the dysfunction ebb away.
5. Clean up your messes
Relationships are built on trust. Without that foundation, there is no basis for a relationship. We breach the trust each time we don't do what we said we would do. But here's the thing--that breach can be healed quickly IF you come back and clean up the mess. Acknowledge that the results are not okay then make a commitment to make things right and prevent a recurrence.
6. Live a life of profound service
Once you place yourself in the service of those around you--your family, your colleagues and your customers--every moment becomes imbued with purpose and significance. You will feel GOOD. As you drive to work, begin thinking about how the work you do is serving others and contributing to their success and happiness. This is the essence of true service, and the key to a workplace that draws you happily back, Monday after Monday after Monday.
7. Celebrate
Every project consists of little steps and little victories along the way.
Recognize and celebrate them in both large and small ways. Build a system of celebrations and rewards--quarterly, weekly, daily--and follow through like your company's life depends on it. Because, (psst) it does.
Acquire these seven habits and spread them through your workplace. Then be sure to notice the first Monday your hand reaches for the alarm--and you smile. You can love your job and feel happy at work if you follow these 7 secrets.