A New Year, A New Resolution!

A new year is upon us and like many people, I am wondering where the heck 2009 went! It seems like just yesterday in which we were bringing in 2009 and now we are bringing in 2010?! Yes, that's how fast time is flying and why the more important that we do not waste any precious moment of it.

A couple days ago, I was reminiscing on some of my personal milestones throughout this past year and it hit me how many days I squandered this past year for reasons that I have decided are not rational enough to justify. Too many days I spent being lazy, doing things that I have absolutely no interest in and not enough days doing the very things that make my blood rush and feel me with happiness and excitement. Now I am not ungrateful to the many blessings that were bestowed upon me by the Lord and the wonderful people in my lives and people I recently crossed paths with, however, I will not justify the days, the times and the opportunities that I let sift through my life.

That is why I am making the resolution for 2010 to live life from now like everyday is my last day! I will not succumb to a humdrum daily routine, but I will make every day in my life count. I will pursue my ambitions like I have never pursued them before and I will not let my insecurities, irrelevant criticisms or obstacles shield me from my dreams. I will live happy and free and accept every bad experience, failure, heartbreak or downfall as a natural part of being alive and a building block to a better, happier and stronger me. I will also keep family and friends close and enemies closer and I will make every effort to let them know how much I appreciate them in my life. I will reach out to those less fortunate than I am to positively touch their lives.

But most importantly...I will be happy and content in my skin. I will accept myself as I am with all the beauties and flaws. I will accept the fact that I am a daughter of God and He has put on this Earth for purposes greater than I am and He will guide and protect me till the end. No matter what, no evil will touch me as long as I have my Father and He will always be there for me, watching and protecting me. So I will not be afraid of any man or anything as long as I have my Father with me.

A new year is upon us, live happy, live free! Follow your heart, chase your dreams because life is too short to do otherwise! Happy New Year Everyone and God Bless.

Read more...

Don’t worry. Be happy. 20 ways to find happiness in life!

Article by Donald Latumahina

Enjoy!

Happiness is something everyone wants to achieve. While on the surface people may seem to be looking for money, recognition, or other things, what they actually seek is happiness. Unfortunately, many people never reach the level of happiness they desire.

While I can’t claim to be the happiest person in the world (I wish I could :) ), I do learn something about it. So here I’d like to share 20 ways to find happiness in your life.

But, before we start, we should agree on something: our happiness is our responsibility. Your happiness is your responsibility. Don’t blame outside condition or other people if you’re not happy. While things around you could change and go bad, it is you who decide how you will respond to them. You can decide to be happy.

With that in mind, here are 20 ways to find happiness in life:

1. Stop comparing yourself with others

Comparing yourself with others won’t do you any good. You will either feel proud when you are above, or feel jealous and frustrated when you are below. None of them brings true happiness. So stop comparing yourself with others and simply be your best.

2. Count your blessings

There are so many things we should be grateful for, but we often forget them. When you realize how blessed you are, you will certainly be happier.

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. - Frederick Keonig

You can start with some simple things we take for granted.

3. Find your inner voice

To find true happiness, you must first find your inner voice. Slow down and take some quiet time for soul searching. What will make your life meaningful? What is true happiness for you? By knowing what your heart says, it will be easier for you to align with it.

4. Reconnect with your childhood dreams

Your childhood dreams can give you clues about your true calling. So discover them and reconnect with them. Get them back into your life. Childhood dreams are important

5. Help someone

Giving is an essential key to happiness. While we often think that we will be happier when we receive, the truth is we are happier when we give. This is also one of the most difficult things to apply.

You can apply this by finding someone in need and lending a helping hand. The person could be your family, friend, or even a stranger. You could also donate to a charity.

Happiness is like a kiss…you must share it to enjoy it - Unknown

6. Spend more quality time with your loved ones

Relationships give us happiness more than any material in the world. So spend more quality time with your loved ones. In such moments, be sure that you devote your attention to them. Divided attention (with your work, for example) will decrease the quality of the time.

There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved- George Sand

7. Apply the five languages of love

Love is an important way to happiness, and the five languages of love is a helpful concept to help you apply love. By understanding yours and others’ languages of love, you will be able to build better relationships.

8. Appreciate nature

The beauty of the nature can give you peace. Go out and see how beautiful the nature is. Watch how the birds sing and the sun shines, and let you be happy once again.

9. Pray or meditate

This is one of the most effective ways to calm your mind and get inner happiness. When you feel overwhelmed, a session of praying or meditation could help you clear your mind.

10. Know yourself

You will be happier if you understand who you are. Taking personality tests or drawing a simple life map could help you recognize who you are.

11. Say thank you

Sometimes we are so accustomed to people around us that we forget to thank to them. So take a little time to do that.

12. Smile

Smiling is a very simple thing to do, and yet it has great effect. There mere act of smiling can brighten your otherwise dark day.

13. Listen more than you speak

You will feel happier not only by understanding yourself, but also by understanding the people around you. One simple way to do that is by listening more than you speak. Try to understand what the other person means before speaking out your thoughts.

14. Stop judging others

Judging others will give you bad feeling toward them and there’s nothing good about that. Instead, you should look at the positive side of them. Sometimes it’s easier to see the others’ weaknesses, but looking at the positive side will brighten their day and your day.

15. Focus on what you can control

Trying to change things beyond your control will only frustrate you. Recognize what you can and can’t control, and focus solely on the things you can control. For instance, you can’t change how people around you behave, but you can change yours. So focus on changing your own behavior instead of changing theirs.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will - Epictetus

16. Forgive yourself

Have you done mistakes in the past? We could be intimidated by our past mistakes that we can no longer live to our full potential. But you aren’t perfect, and neither is anyone else. So forgive yourself and release the burden.

17. Forgive others

Besides forgiving yourself, you should also forgive other people who did wrong to you. Not forgiving them will only hurt you. Again, you should release the burden so that you can find happiness.

To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness. - Robert Muller

18. Accept yourself

You may have some personality traits that you don’t like. For instance, perhaps you are an introvert and you wish you are an extrovert. Or you wish you were born in a different background. This is one thing you can’t control (see #15), so just accept yourself as you are. You are unique, and that’s something you should be grateful for.

19. Know how to deal with problems

Problems will always come your way, so your happiness depends not on whether or not you have problem, but on how good you deal with them. Knowing how to stay calm and how to overcome failure will be helpful.

20. Be a promise keeper

You will find happiness if you stay true to your heart and one way to do that is by being a promise keeper. The more you keep your promise, the more you will be aligned with your conscience and the happier you will be.

Article from http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/

Read more...

Live Life! Take Risks! Have Fun because you only have 1 life to live

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. ~ Leo F. Buscaglia



Everyday, we wake up and carryout our daily routine, and for some of us that involves doing repetitive, unfulfilling tasks. We are stuck in this mundane world where life just seems to be passing by, like a giant bus taking us on a long, strange journey to the unknown while we're along for the ride.

Well it is time to get off the bus, hop into a sexy ride and control the destination of our lives, for life is too short to continue on the same tedious journey. There's a big world out there, with so much work to be done, so many treasures to be enjoyed and so many adventures to be experienced, and those who have the gustoes to step out of their comfort zones reap the rewarding benefits.



As the cliché statement goes, 'life is simply what you make of it,' it is a tried and true statement. As human beings, it is in our nature to want to make sense of the big world around us and settle for decisions that fit into our small scope of life. However, we just have to accept the fact that understanding this world is beyond our grasp, it is much greater than what we view through our tiny telescope.

So just live. Do not be afraid to take risks. Do something out of the blue. Stretch your boundaries and you'll realize the many exciting journeys that you could be taking. Instead of grabbing a bite from your usual fast food, stop by your local, international restaurant. Be spontaneous and make a move on the gentleman you've been admiring from a distance. It's time to bring fun and excitement back to the joys of living. Risk taking can be applied to our professional, corporate lives also.

So the moral of this story is that life is truly too short and precious to waste and too vast to see through our narrow scope and that is why we must remove the scope and not be afraid to take the gratifying risks that stretches our boundaries and add to the depth and quality of life.

Read more...

Investing your 10,000 hours, the Secret to Success!

I recently read the book by Malcolm Gladwell titled, 'Outliers, the story of success' for my MBA economics class. The book discusses the cumulative factors that lead to high levels of success such as cultural upbringing, practical intelligence and even societal and external circumstances.

One point the author makes that really grabs my attention is in second chapter in which he discusses the phenomenon of the 10,000 hour rule. The author cites that "researchers have settled on what they believe is the minimum number of practice hours for acquiring expertise in any field: ten thousand hours." The author reasoned that individuals who were highly successful were the ones who spent the time and hours working to perfect a certain skill.

The author sites that contrary to popular belief, many notable individuals that receive high levels of success do not have freakishly high IQs nor do they have a supernatural talent that separates them from the rest of the human population. They are simply the individuals who were fortunate to discover their passion, what they could be best at, and dedicated the thousands of hours and hard work to becoming superior in their fields.

Too many of us waste precious time, talent and hours on activities that are non value added to us such as jobs that we dislike, spending too many hours watching television or just being lazy. These are the precious and valuable hours that we could be investing into the activities that truly drive us and can lead to profound success. Investing 10,000 hours involves hard work, persistence and drive.

The key is to discover what it is you are passion about and can be truly best at and just do it. There's no time to waste, start now investing in yourself, your life, and every day strive to engage in activities that put you steps closer to realizing your dreams.

"Don't aim for success if you want it, just do what you love and believe in, it will come naturally." ~  David Frost, British Broadcast Journalist/Producer

Read more...