How to Have a Great 2017?

How to Have a Great 2017?

Today is the last day of 2016, as we recap on the events of this year, whether good or bad, they have passed and become memories now. 1 year from today, we will be counting down to 2018 and recapping how the year 2017 has been. How do we make it a good year then?

The year 2017 is made up of 365 "everydays" and if we can make everyday a happy day, then 2017 will be a fantastic year for us. How do we achieve that? We have to cultivate positive thoughts, spread positive vibes and energy around us. Life can fill us with negative events and negative people, but we must constantly remind ourselves to stay positive and choose happiness.

Engage in the activities and thoughts that make us happy, count the blessings of everyday, treasure our loved ones, find time for them, be kind to ourselves and love ourselves. When we love ourselves, we will choose to be happy and forsake all the negativity that is going around. There is a great reserve of positive energy in giving love and kindness, I hope all of us can tap into this pool and make 2017 not just a great year for us, but for everyone else.

Happy New Year 2017, wishing all of you peace, love and joy in a beautiful year ahead :)

Clearing The Tray, Giving Kindness

Watched on the news last night that businesses in hawker centres are affected because the cleaners are not clearing the tray fast enough.

I think when we make an effort to clear own trays after we consume our food, we are not just being kind to the cleaners, who may be an elderly who is tired, we are being kind to the next patron as well as the hawker stall owners.

A little effort goes a long way, in making life more pleasant for others. We pass down good values to kids as well, who are watching and learning from us.

A Note To The Future You

If you could send a message to the future you, what would the message be? How would you envisaged yourself to be? If you have a vision of what you would be like or have a goal of what you wish to achieve in future, say 10 years time, then you take actions starting from today. Every baby step you take now is one step closer to where you want to be in future. By then, the future you will thank you for all the hard work you put in now. Also, remember to enjoy the journey of getting there as much as the feeling of finally reaching there.

P.S.: This is shared by a friend, you can send a note to the future you via this website and you will receive the note in your mailbox when the future comes:
https://www.futureme.org

Kindness Is In The Little Things

I boarded the bus, smiled to the bus driver, he smiled back and greeted me, I returned his greetings and both of us felt happy about giving this simple gesture.

Human beings are highly intelligent and human relationships are very complicated. But from this small gesture, we are reminded on how simple human relationships can be, how trust can be built upon an act of kindness, and why we need not build walls between strangers.

I admit that I am not the super sociable person who would smile to every stranger on the street, but I try to give more kindness and warmth, through the little gestures, whenever I can. It just makes everything a little bit better.

Give Praise Often

Give praise often.

How do we feel when we receive praises? We feel good, don't we? When I say praise, I mean honest and genuine compliments on a person's strengths, character or a job done well. When we give pRAISE, we raise a person up, in terms of self-confidence and esteem. It is a great morale booster and an acknowledgement for the person's effort and hard work. Humans have the tendency to remember the negative things, if we receive 100 good comments and 1 bad feedback, there is a tendency that we would remember the bad feedback and ignore all the other good things said about us.

So, be generous to give praises and compliments to your loved ones (your spouse, your children, your friends or even your parents). It will help in your relationships with them as you appreciate what they are good at. It will help give them a gentle reminder on how good they really are and inspire them to do even better. I always believe in the utmost potential inside all of us, but we need encouragement and praises to bring the best out of us.

Give praise to the children, youth whom you crossed path with, even if you are not related to them. Build them up and help them become confident adults because our society will benefit as a whole when these youth realise their full potential.

Life's Simple Pleasures

The happy feeling I get when I wanted to buy some apples but had a hard time choosing because the quality was poor, then the supermarket Auntie suddenly appeared with 2 cartons full of apples, fresh and beautiful apples, as though it just came from the airport.

Attaining happiness can be cheap and easy, it is in the little things that filled our daily lives. If we can make a conscious effort to be positive and allow ourselves to be satisfied easily, then we will be happy most of the time. Choose happiness because you deserve to be kind to yourself

May Season Of Giving Inspires Us To Give More Love

December is the favourite month for most people because there are many reasons to be happy. It's the school holidays for the kids, the period where working adults cleared their remaining leave and go on vacation trips. We also celebrate Christmas in December, the season of giving and the season of love.

I think it is in human nature to enjoy the act of giving and to fill the world with love. When people start to give, be it physical gifts like presents, or emotional support, words of encouragements, care and concern, the human network bonds and our community becomes more heartwarming.

Let us take the lead from Christmas and keep up the good work of giving, because that not only brings joy to others, it also brings happiness to ourselves. (Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves - James M. Barrie). Let us take the lead from December and always find reason to make ourselves happy in other months, starting from the first month of a new exciting year ahead.

I would like to wish all friends a Merry Christmas and a fantastic 2017 ahead, may you have a great celebration with your loved ones. You have worked hard and done well for 2016, always remember to thank yourself and love yourself.
Thank you so much for the trust and friendship and may happiness and positive energy be with you always, cheers to many good years ahead !

Dealing With Problems In Life

A banner stand fell flat right in front of an entrance of a shopping centre. It is interesting to see how people respond to it. Some would leap over it, some would step on it, as if it wasn't there. It doesn't take much of an effort to lift up the banner stand and can help prevent the inconvenience to others. Of course, it is not wrong to ignore as it's not the passerby's obligation anyway.

Between choosing to do something about a problem, or living with the problem or lamenting why no one is doing anything about the problem, which one would you choose? I believe your decision will determine your outlook in life and inevitably influence your happiness level

What The Existence Of Cockroach Teaches Us?

The cockroach is my most feared insect, especially the ones with wings. However, underneath the fear also lies an admiration for this insect. If you observe the cockroach, by it's appearance alone, it has to be one of Nature's least glamorous creation. The cockroach is hated by many and regarded as a pest that spread germs because of where they hang out. The cockroaches are often hunted down in households and there are usually many casualties during the fogging exercise.

Despite all efforts to try to exterminate the cockroach, it has continued to evolve stronger and prosper to live among us. The cockroach has survived millions of years, it's ancestors can be traced back to the dinosaur age. They are incredibly hardy and can live for days without their heads. For all the reasons to hate the cockroach, it has a role to play in the ecosystem. They are food for some organism and are important decomposers, eating away at any plant or animal remains they can find. Removing the cockroach from the food chain will cause imbalance to the ecosystem.

I think the existence of cockroach is Nature's way of telling us that even the whole world is against you, it is okay. You just need to find your own kind, people who stick by you (your family, your friends, your loved ones) and continue to play your role and you will be just fine. You may even outlive all your haters and have the last laugh !!

Counting My Blessing When I see the Bangladesh Workers

Every time I looked at the Bangladesh workers hard at work, I wondered how life would have been different for me, had I not been born in Singapore but in poorer countries like Bangladesh.

When I was crossing the traffic junction on a hot morning, I could feel that the heat was unbearable, as though I was going to melt. However, these workers are under the sun for most of the day, sometimes till late night, doing construction works or repair works. There is no aircon office environment for them, no comfortable ergonomic chair for them to rest their feet as they stand all day, no pantry where you can grab some snacks easily, no visiting of their favourite hawker/ eateries during lunch to grab their favourite food or have different variety of food (Chinese, Western, Japanese) throughout the week. Even on today, a Saturday morning, the workers are outside my flat painting the walls, under the hot sun.

We are all human beings, I am in no way more superior than a Bangladesh worker who is same age as me but because we are born in different geographical locations, I have much more blessings than them. I enjoy a higher quality of life, been given a proper education, have better nutrition and given more opportunities to progress in my work, inside a less hazardous working environment. Because I am aware of these blessing, I am thankful and I am happy.

Harness the Power of Human Intelligence

Everywhere I go, I am marveled at one thing, that is Human Intelligence. It is what that transforms our world from Stone Age to Digital Age today. Our buildings, transportation system, the gadget we used everyday, are all the results of human intelligence. Technology is moving rapidly because human intelligence is the architect behind the rise. Are we ready for the rapidly changing world? Of course we are because the change is brought about by humans ourselves.

Yet, it takes more than just human intelligence to bring peace to our world. Human intelligence, when used in inappropriate manner, such as extremist behaviors or scams, bring sufferings to the world.

We need some guiding principles to harness the great potential that is inside our mind, what better way than to embrace kindness, with the intent of improving the quality of life for others as a guide? When our intent is pure, good things will come out of human intelligence and benefit humanity. We must use our great intelligence for a good purpose, otherwise we would have wasted the gift that we have inside all of us.

The Habit of Positivity

When the alarm clock sounds off every morning, I, like most people, don't wish to wake up and would laze awhile more. However, that is just a short phase, the moment I decided to get out of the bed, the habits of positive thinking start to kick in and they mainly revolve around counting my blessings.

I am blessed in so many ways, a peaceful night rest in my comfortable bed, a shelter over my head, there is food for breakfast, my fridge is filled, safe boiled drinking water all available at my convenience.

As I walked out onto the street, and while the weather may be hotter these days, there is aircon in all of our public transport, shopping centres and offices. The people I see on the street, while they may be engrossed in their thoughts or phones, they look nice and I feel safe around them, not like they are going to discriminate me or rob me anytime. Occasionally, my day is brightened when I see acts of kindness that strangers give to one another. The list does not stop here, there are still many blessings I am thankful for and that makes me happy and positive.

Positive thinking can be a way of life, if you make a conscious effort to practise it, day after day, it soon becomes a sub-conscious thing and a habit. It will come naturally to you, just as how people would practise their presentation speeches until they don't even need to use the script.

People always feel charged up after a motivational talk or after reading a motivational article but a few days later, they go back to their normal regime of negative thinking, comparing with others and feeling sorry for themselves. It takes a little bir more effort to sustain the momentum of positivity and make it a way of life.

PS: I take this opportunity to remind social influencers, people with huge following on Facebook or Instagram, you play a big role in shaping how our world will be. People look up to you and some "worship" you, so be a good role model and help create a beautiful world together. Spreading the love and positive energy and making the world a better place will benefit all of us, including you and your loved ones.

Pay A Yardstick for Happiness?

If our pay is a yardstick for happiness, i.e. higher pay equal more happiness, then from my company's perspective, the office cleaners must be unhappiest while my directors will be the happiest.

Yet I see it so differently through my own eyes, the office cleaners are always smiling, asking if I have eaten, chit chatting and always engaging in happy conversations. On the other hand, the directors all look so serious, forever busy and it seems like there is only one thing on their mind, and that is work.

I once asked one of my superior why he was working so late and wouldn't his young children missed him? He replied saying they were used to it already and that he had no choice due to the overwhelming workload.

In Life, we win some we lose some and no one is a forever winner. With a higher pay comes more responsibilities which could translate to more stress and less time for family. It's a give and take thing. I believe no matter how much money we are earning, the most important is to find contentment and meaning in what we are doing. Only then, will we be truly happy because we are no longer chasing what we don't need and instead fully enjoy what we are blessed with, e.g. time, health, opportunities with loved ones.

Don't admire others when you see them doing better than you, for they may have pains you never realise. Don't chase things you don't need because what you don't need will not truly satisfy you.

Let's Celebrate Meaningful Monday

Maybe today is not your favourite day of the week, maybe it is not your most motivated day and you are dragging your feet to work, maybe you have associated this day with something negative, you feel the blues and that makes you unhappy.

However, if you could just do something nice for someone, an act of kindness, it can be a simple gesture like showing concern, giving encouragement, giving advice or helping a stranger, just one act of kindness today, it will make your day meaningful. And when your day can be remembered as a meaningful day, it will no longer be negative or dreadful.

The key to happiness is to take away as much negativity as possible away from our lives and Kindness, Positivity and Happiness are 3 best friends you need to have. They are also inter-connected, giving kindness will bring you positivity and happiness while happy people are more likely to be kind. Let's remember and look forward to Monday like never before, let's make all Mondays great by celebrating Meaningful Monday and spread more joy and love to this world.

TGIM and have a great week ahead !