Happiness Is A Habit

Simple things in life make me happy, like going to the movies, catching up with friends, enjoying good food or helping people. Maybe it is because I am blessed with a happy-go-lucky personality and easily contented nature, but I think it is also because I make a conscious effort to remain happy. I am not immune to negativity ongoing in my environment but for every reason of unhappiness Life throws at me, I try to find another reason to be happy. I choose to be happy because of the simple things that I get to enjoy in Life. I choose not to raise my expectation so high that it is difficult to make myself happy. I choose happiness because I am deserving, I deserve to be good to myself, and so do you.

To all my friends who are pessimist, natural worrier or continually harboring negative thoughts, I want you to know that happiness is a choice and most importantly, happiness is a habit. There is resistance to change to adopt this new habit but I assure you that the effort is absolutely worth it. Just with all other new habits, it takes time but soon you will perfect it.

To all my friends who are optimists, positively charged happy people, do you know that you and I hold great responsibility to spread the positive energy and happiness around. Don't just stop at being positive in your own life, encourage the negative people around you to embrace your positive spirit as well. Show them that they can be as happy and positive as you too. Together, we can spread more positive energy around and help more people lead meaningful lives by finding their source of happiness.

Life is so much more than the Regrets

When you can only choose either one of your favourite food, are you going to dwell on what you miss out or are you going to fully enjoy what you have on your plate?

Life is full of hits and misses, if we keep thinking about what we have missed out, when we keep thinking about our regrets, then we waste precious time to enjoy what we are really blessed with. Dwelling on the negative thoughts will not solve any issue, nor will it bring us the things we want, yet it deprives us of the opportunities to take actions to change and it makes us unhappy. So, why engage in such a meaningless and unconstructive activity?

The next time your "regrets" come knocking, tell yourself this, Life is not perfect, you cannot have the best of everything and most importantly, your life is so much more than just the regrets. Your life is defined by what you achieved and not by what you did not. Cheers

Be Inspired By The Inventions Around Us

When I put down my phone and looked around, I realised I am in awe with so many things that I see. The roads, the buildings, the vehicles, all of them are built from scratch, using the raw materials gathered from Nature. We are surrounded by so many inventions and innovations that brought great convenience and comfort to our everyday lives (think aircon, water heater, lifts...etc). All these wouldn't be possible without the brillance of men, not just one man but many men.

If these inventors had not believe in change, had they not believe in improving quality of life for others, had they not believe in their own abilities and that they could make an impact, then we would all still be stuck in the Stone Age Era.

If we take a leaf out of the inventor's book, let us also believe in the potential that lies in each and every one of us and that we can all create an impact in the lives of others. Our lives will be meaningful when we add value to the people around us. Changing the world seems such a big thing and requires plenty of effort, but have we realised that the world is changing everyday? Let's make it better !

"What Are You Grateful For?"

Want to know a secret of happiness? Continually engage your mind with this question, "What Am I Grateful For?"

For example, this morning, I had to travel to far away place for a company event and that meant having to wake up an hour earlier and taking the long journey there. These are my reason of unhappiness actually, but I choose to focus on what I grateful for.

I am grateful for so many things, firstly to be able to wake up and earn another day, I am grateful that my residence has a shuttle bus service to bring me somewhere near there, I am grateful that the shuttle bus uncle was kind to drop me off at a place near my event venue though he was not obliged to. I am grateful that I don't have to pay for some of my meals today (lunch and tea breaks catered). Above all, I am grateful for my health, to be able to see, hear, walk and breathe, all these should not be taken for granted. I am also grateful that I am surrounded by so many lovely people, my family, my friends and all the beautiful strangers whom I have never met, yet put so much trust and faith in me.

You see when we continually ask ourselves this question, it shifts the mind focus to something positive, we give ourselves reasons to be happy through the things we are grateful for. The same goes if you ask yourself what you are unhappy with, the mind shifts the focus to the negativity and you feel unhappy. However, we don't have to consciously do that since negativity is all around in our environment. The state of positivity is more difficult to achieve so we must be proactive in seeking our own happiness. So, make it a habit to ask yourself this question from time to time. You will feel happier this way

Own Your Happiness

We are the true owners of our own happiness. In every circumstance we are in, we can give ourselves reasons to be happy or reasons to be unhappy. When we are angry with someone, when we harbour hate inside us, when we feel negative, we surrender a part of our happiness ownership to them. The more we dwell on the negative thoughts, the more of the happiness ownership we transfer to them. In the end, we start to blame the people who have hurt us, the people who make us angry and the people who cause us so much misery. This results in more hate, anger and frustration, especially when we think that all these sufferings are out of our control. When that happens, we have basically surrendered all our happiness ownership to them. We have no control over our happiness as our mind is obessed with the negative thoughts.

This is not true, we have absolute control over our happiness. While there may be people or events that create the negativity in us, we do need to transfer the ownership of our happiness to them. There is no benefits doing that because we get more negative and in the end, the ones who suffer most are ourselves. So, take ownership of your happiness, don't play the "blame" game and choose all the reasons to be happy. The people/ events who are taking control of your happiness are not worthy to be the master of your happiness, only you are worthy, so don't give it to them.

The True Spirit of Winning

While others are crying foul over rigged results, the man himself (Nathan Hartono) was reflecting on the biggest adventure and achievement of his life. That is the spirits of a true winner. It may seem a pity that "he got so far" but "did not win the biggest prize" but why does success always has to be defined by "winning the first prize", rather than the process of "getting so far"?

You win not because you finished first or took the gold medal, you win not because of the As, you win because you have put in your best efforts, you win because you kept raising the bar for yourself, most importantly you win because you enjoyed every bit of the journey and find meaning in the whole competition, the end results are just secondary. The same goes for Life, how do you define if your life is successful? Is it because of all the assets you owned, the cash you have in the bank? Or is it because the journey was memorable, you enjoyed every moment and it brought you joy and inner peace?

Maybe history will not honour the silver medalists nor will it remember the one who almost made it, but the people you have touched and inspired will never forget what you taught them, that is the power of dreams. You can be anything you want, if you dare to dream, the final outcome may not be what you imagined initially but to be able to live the whole experience makes you a true winner.

Thank you Nathan for the inspiration !

Find The Sun or Be the Sun !

Molds grow in dark, moist areas where there is no sunlight. Other than being unsightly, molds can cause health problems if they are allowed to manifest in the house. Negative people/ emotions are just like molds, a few of them probably will not hurt you, but if you allow them to grow, your environment / your mind will become toxic and this will harm you.

To prevent this from happening, seek to find the SUN, be around people who are optimistic and positive. Be around people who can help you deal with the negative emotions, the people who can make a situation better and people who do not spread the hate and anger. If you can't find that person, then take the bold step to be that person, be the sun to eradicate all the molds around you. Make a difference and positive impact to the people around you. Be the change you always wanted to see.