Daily Happiness Tips

DAILY HAPPINESS TIP - Look Beyond the Dark Clouds

2010-10-19T13:24:00.000+08:00

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

2010-08-11T18:00:00.002+08:00

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP - Put a Smile on a Sad Face

2010-07-01T09:23:00.000+08:00

If a friend greets you with a gloom, make a smile on the loom. How? Ask why and listen attentively. You might provide solutions to her/his current concern or you might not. But being available to listen and comfort makes you a blessing to a distressed soul.

If you feel you need to do more, you can tell a joke. Deliver it with all the facial expressions and the ad lib lines. Think you can’t and fear that you might spoil the punch line?…hmmm, tell it anyway. You’ll definitely be rewarded with a smile for your effort. It feels good to see a smiling face and even better if you know you are the reason behind that smile.

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photo courtesy of stockvault.net

DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #68- Keep Your Word

2010-04-14T23:13:00.000+08:00

Many people do not see the connection between personal integrity and happiness. Well, of course… everyday we see crooks and they appear to be a happy bunch, always getting what they want and answering to no one. So what if people do not trust them; in today’s materialistic world, money and power is their passport to happiness…or so it seems.

Relationships play a big role in one’s happiness that money and power can never replace. It is a testament to every human’s need as a social being-- to connect, belong and be appreciated. Trust is what binds every relationship-- from the very basic unit within a family to the bigger social contract among neighbors within a community. Without trust, relationships cannot prosper—families break up, communities disintegrate, states fail.

Trust starts with personal integrity, which in turn begins with keeping one’s word. Making and keeping commitments or promises is essential in maintaining relationships; whereas duplicity and dishonesty destroy them. So if you want to have true happiness and not just pleasure derived from instant gratification, keep your word and you’ll develop relationships that are worth keeping, grow communities worth belonging to and create a world worth living in.

Another tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #53- Understand and Accept Yourself

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #67- Let Go of Perfectionism

2010-03-29T22:00:00.000+08:00

"In order to go on living one must try to escape the death involved in perfectionism." -Hannah Arendt

Happiness and perfectionism rarely see eye-to-eye. For perfect is rare, and fleeting if achieved at all. Therefore setting expectations so high (at the perfect level) so as to make them unrealistic can lead to never-ending frustrations, which can be demoralizing or paralyzing that in turn lead to procrastination. Perfectionists often postpone starting anything or never finish what is started for fear of failure.

So let us not strive to be perfect, being competent is enough. Superior results at the level of "excellent" or "very good" is good enough if the goal is to live a happy life.

"The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection." -George Orwell

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #58- Be Kind to Yourself

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #66- Avoid Self-Defeating Thoughts and Attitudes

2010-03-22T22:00:00.000+08:00

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude." -Scott Hamilton

How many times have you told yourself "I cannot pass that exam", "I am doomed to live a life full of misery", "I'm stuck in this dead end job", or "Today is gonna be boring" and more-or-less got what you predicted? You didn't want it...in fact you fear getting negative results, such that you cannot stop thinking and worrying about it!

These judgments may or may not be congruent to reality, but focusing on what cannot be achieved and other negative outcomes can invite a defeatist attitude in us. This then is where the battle is already lost, as the first step to achieving success is creating it in one's mind first. If one can imagine how it can be done, then it has a good chance of becoming a reality. However, if it can't even be formulated in the mind, success is impossible. Thoughts are so powerful. Therefore, be careful what you think about.

"Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious." -Bill Meyer

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes." -William James

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #53- Understand and Accept Yourself

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #65- See Mistakes as Paths to Learning

2010-03-14T22:14:00.000+08:00

"Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." -Sophia Loren

Making mistakes is not something to be ashamed of. It is in not learning from them that is truly shameful. For what it is is just a course-correcting feedback mechanism that is valuable to achieve success in any undertaking. So wear your mistakes like a badge of honor for those without them have done nothing worthwhile to claim that they have truly lived...they might as well not existed at all.

"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go." -Richard Bach

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #15- Never Regret Decisions You Have Made

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #64- Find an Alone Time

2010-03-09T10:39:00.000+08:00

“Spend some time alone every day.” -Dalai Lama

http://www.flickr.com/photos/williamsmeigs/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

No matter how busy you are and how you love to be with your partner, kids or friends, find time to be alone. This is a way to recharge your energy when low, to feel better when in a bad mood, or just to step back even when everything’s going well. Take advantage of this personal time to slow down, sip a cup of tea, reflect, daydream or meditate.

One need not go far away to find this gift of time to be alone. You might be in your office looking out through a window, in the park enjoying the fresh air, in the bathroom brushing your teeth slowly and deliberately, or in the bedroom looking at a photo album full of happy moments. It’s a matter of allowing yourself to think about the good things in your life and to look at the big picture or the long-view to get past the daily grind.

Spending time alone to reflect on what is important to us and on what makes us happy is also the best way to appreciate time spent with important people and activities from which we derive happiness and satisfaction.

“All of our unhappiness comes from our inability to be alone.” -Jean de la Bruyere

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #29- Stop and Smell the Flowers

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #63- Be Happy and Be a Success

2010-03-04T09:45:00.000+08:00

Why is a happy person a successful person?

Because it is the person who finds joy from within and gives joy to others, who respects himself and earned the respect of others, and who’ve seen the best of himself and of others…it is he who is genuinely happy that is truly successful.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcrojas/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.”

-Bessie Stanley

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #26- Do What You Love, Love What You Do

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #62- Find the Silver Lining

2010-02-26T20:12:00.000+08:00

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.”

–Dr. Hans Selye

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66176388@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Dark clouds are everywhere. These are found in the negativities pervasive among unhappy, envious, “toxic” people or in uncontrollable, unexpected events and tragedies in our lives. Regardless of its form or source, negativities can be countered with the right attitude—the attitude of seeing the good coming out from them or of simply avoiding them in the first place, especially in the case of negative people.

Happy are the people who find meaning and opportunities in adversity—the very attitude that helped them come out stronger and better from a hardship or misfortune…the same attitude that would propel them to success.

“If there's not drama and negativity in my life, all my songs will be really wack and boring or something.”

–Eminem

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #46- Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #61- Celebrate Small Successes

2010-02-22T00:25:00.000+08:00

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it."
-William Feather

In our pursuit of success, we often ignore and fail to appreciate the small advances towards our big goal. While we strive for excellence in what we do, it’s imperative that we are also happy doing it and be appreciative of what we have achieved so far no matter how small. In that way, we are not p ostponing happiness, but continually enjoying the process of achieving our big goal.

These small successes, and recognizing and celebrating them might just be what we need to tide us through any long periods of difficulties or setbacks. So enjoy and be happy every step of the way because enjoying small successes does not take away our enjoyment of the big one when it finally arrives.

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
-Robert Brault

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #43- Appreciate People

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/lmmnfrsh/ / CC BY 2.0

DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #60- Express Your Love

2010-02-15T21:32:00.000+08:00

“Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.”

-Victor Hugo

More than appreciation, the best gift one can give another is love-- fully expressed as to leave no doubt about it on the recipient’s mind. While it is easy to love, expressing it is not easy. For many would-be givers, getting oneself vulnerable when expressing love is a challenge more difficult to hurdle. Often, pride, insecurities and fear of rejection get in the way.

There is, however, no way around it. There’s no greater satisfaction than in knowing you’ve made someone happy; but there’s no better way of making that someone happy than to make him/her feel loved. And being the reason for your loved one’s happiness is utter bliss…therefore all worth it.

Express your love and happiness is at hand.

“They do not love that do not show their love.”

-William Shakespeare

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #43- Appreciate People

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #59- Live the Moment

2010-02-10T17:00:00.000+08:00

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this." -Henry David Thoreau

Have you ever found yourself incessantly thinking about how nice it would be to be under the covers in your own soft warm bed instead of working in front of the computer in your office? Worse is if you can’t stop worrying about tasks to do in your office while lying in your soft warm bed. A similar combination is dreaming about a vacation while working and worrying about work while vacationing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kroszka/ / CC BY 2.0

These situations are obviously not where we want to be. In any of these instances, the person is guilty of wasting opportunities to find pleasure, fulfillment or joy in the situation s/he is in. Perhaps the problem is job-talent mismatch, “grass is greener on the other side” syndrome, or living either in nostalgia or in a rosy future that's all in the mind.

Live in every moment. Put less emphasis on the past or future, which we have no control over. It is in the present moment where we have the power to direct, where we can do something about, where we are given permission to utilize or spend. Someplace else or some other time are but illusions that we have no power over, so stop worrying or wasting time thinking about them.

Embrace the HERE and NOW…be grateful for the chance to create and claim your happiness…in every moment that we live.

"Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed." -Coreta Kent

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #56- Enjoy the Moment

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #58- Be Kind to Yourself

2010-02-07T19:56:00.000+08:00

There are those among us who are not satisfied with mediocre performance and therefore push very hard to achieve goals in almost everything that they do. This type of personality is prone to stress and anxiety. Without doubt, they are also less likely to enjoy the present as they are driven and focused in achieving their goals- something to attain in the future. Therefore, they tend to postpone happiness. Unfortunately, contentment, which is a key to happiness, is not a virtue for them as there is always a higher goal or dream to chase.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kennyuhh/ / CC BY 2.0

There are obviously many positive things that come out as a result of relentless pursuit of excellence. The only message here is to balance this with kindness to oneself. Allow yourself to also enjoy the moment, enjoy the fruits of your labor and savor the goodness of life, your family, your relationships- the things one might easily overlook as we set our eyes on the prize.

We deserve some slack, we need to relax. We always try to jam too much into the day and lose sight of what life is really about. It is necessary to include activities that you enjoy into your daily schedule. Reward yourself, lighten up and have some fun.

So when life becomes too hectic and too stressful, remember to slow down, take a deep breath and cut yourself some slack. Doing your best and still have time to live and enjoy your life is what is expected of you. Anyway, in the end only your opinion and the opinion of those who you love really matters. So be kind to your self and be happy.

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #1- Decide to be Happy

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #57- Share Your Happiness

2010-02-05T09:35:00.001+08:00

If you think and feel that you are happy, you have one more task left to do…share it, for "Happiness is like a kiss…you must share it to enjoy it" (Anonymous).

Let us learn from the life story of Chris McCandless (Into the Wild) that happiness is only real when shared. This boils down to focusing on your relevant relationships in life…the people you love and those who love you, people you meet and touched your life and people whose lives you reached out to touch. Try to sustain a meaningful relationship with family and friends and you’ll never have to struggle to sustain true happiness.

Who says it is not appropriate to yearn for some alone time? But having much of it is another story. Celebrate your individuality but never fail to celebrate life with loved ones.

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

-Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta,

the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #37- Spread Your Arms and Hug Someone

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #56- Enjoy the Moment

2010-02-02T11:05:00.000+08:00

“The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” -Richard Bach

Ever got the feeling of guilt when you are having so much fun or pleasure? Or worry that it might not last? Or even fear that you’d have to pay dearly for it?

These feelings may be a result of previous experiences; personal views about pleasure brought about by religious, cultural or family conditioning; pessimistic tendencies; or a combination of these and many other factors. These feelings, while cannot or should not be denied, must be recognized, understood and dealt with positively so you may enjoy happy moments as they come.

One strategy is to list down the reasons for having such feelings of guilt and/or fear. By having them on paper, you can then ask yourself how likely these things would happen or should you really be guilty about the fun and pleasure you experience now. It might also help to ask someone you trust to evaluate the list and get his/her opinion/feelings about it.

If this still fails to convince you to enjoy the moment, know that everyone has the right to be happy. By feeling guilty or by worrying about the future, you are depriving yourself of this basic right. Enjoy the moment for it is where you are and ought to be. Happiness cannot be stored…it is meant to be enjoyed and shared now! Tomorrow will have its own share of happy and unhappy moments.

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” -Leo F. Buscaglia

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/gep/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Read more HAPPY QUOTES here.

DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #55- Get a Restful Sleep

2010-01-30T17:00:00.000+08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sera_leaving/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Our body needs to recharge regularly that is why humans have a natural circadian rhythm. Sleep is the time when the body heals and the brain reorganizes the constant stream of inputs it takes in. Inadequate sleep is associated with irritability, attention deficiency, obesity and weakened immunity. So one cannot be happy when constantly deprived of sleep.

Emphasis must be on how restful sleep is instead of its duration as it varies among individuals. Therefore, to get restful sleep, it helps when one has a regular sleeping pattern; comfortable place to sleep, which is darkened, with cozy temperature and without distractions such as television, loud music or noise (soft music is preferred by some); and mind/body that is calm and ready to take a break from all the activities, thinking, and worries.

For those of us who find sleep as optional or just a waste of time because of the reasoning that there is so much to do, know that when one is younger and in the peak of health, the body can absorb all the stress and abuse. However, time will come when these will take toll on our bodies. Like productive machinery, our bodies need regular maintenance to achieve peak, reliable and long-lasting performance (productive capacity). Sleep, exercise and relaxation are part of maintenance that are often skipped. Stop the negligence and take care of our productive capacity to maintain our productivity for the longest possible time. This way we are healthier and happier for the longest possible time as well.

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #35- Take a Nap

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #54- Love Yourself and Spread the Love and Happiness

2010-01-28T17:00:00.000+08:00

When you are able to define what happiness is in your own terms, you arrived at a realization that accepting and loving yourself is a necessary step to finding happiness.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fadography/ / CC BY 2.0

Loving yourself first promotes an overflow of positive emotions that you can generously share with others. This also leads to the feeling that you’re in control of your own life, which in turn makes you feel even happier. The better you feel, the higher your level of happiness rises. Because happiness is contagious, when you raise your own happiness level others around you will continually raise theirs in reaction to you. And they might do it without conscious awareness. Your loving happy energy impacts them positively.

So love yourself first, so you can cultivate that love and the resulting happiness for you to share abundantly with others.

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #45- Find Your Balance

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #53- Understand and Accept Yourself

2010-01-26T17:00:00.000+08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

We are responsible for our own happiness. It is in knowing and understanding our own self that we get to know what makes us tick…what makes us angry, sad or happy. It is then possible to define happiness in our own terms. So let us endeavor to make a deep enough understanding of our strengths as well as our weaknesses. It is when we play to our strengths that we find flow, fulfillment and meaning to whatever we do. Similarly, it is when we learn to be more forgiving of our weaknesses and willing to adjust expectations that we find acceptance and contentment.

The next step is to accept those which we cannot change in or about ourselves, such as the skin color or the parents we have; and to strive to change those which we can, such as our reaction to criticisms or our attitude toward our job.

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #52- Learn the Serenity Prayer by Heart

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #52- Learn the Serenity Prayer by Heart

2010-01-24T20:46:00.000+08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Often (mistakenly) attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, the Serenity Prayer was derived from an untitled prayer written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. The current most popular form of this prayer is as follows:

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things that I can;

And the wisdom to know the difference.*

Learning and living these words would help us find joy and contentment. So by reciting it often, we remind ourselves of how it is to be at peace with ourselves and the world around us. Therefore, memorize and learn it by heart.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #14- Accept the Things You Cannot Change

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #51- Get into the Flow

2010-01-21T17:00:00.000+08:00

Flow as defined in the dictionary is "to move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner characteristic of a fluid". Getting into the flow of whatever you are doing means losing yourself in the task and forgetting about the world around you. There is unbroken continuity in your focus. This magical state leads you to happiness and productivity.

How to get into the flow? Start with the intent, trust and then allow it to happen without doubt and contradictions in your mind. Focus your attention to the task, live in the moment and eliminate all the distractions (physical and psychological). Relax, forget about the time element and just do it. Whether you are writing, reading, dancing, singing, even when you are washing the dishes or doing the laundry, flow like a fluid and enjoy this blissful state.

photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigcloutier/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #21- Tired? Listen to Relaxing and Uplifting Music
DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #8- Smell a Baby

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #50- Don't Worry Be Happy

2010-01-19T17:00:00.000+08:00

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #29- Stop and Smell the Flowers

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #49- Watch Your Thoughts

2010-01-17T17:00:00.000+08:00

What you think influences how you feel. Happy thoughts are easily translated to happy feelings in the same way that negative thoughts bring sadness. So whenever you catch yourself having negative thoughts about things or people, reverse it with pleasant ones.

Make it a habit to remember the song “My Favorite Things” by Julie Andrews or better yet make your own list of favorites and recite them whenever you feel the need to. Happy thoughts keep our hopes high that with every unpleasant event taking place, more beautiful things are happening around us. It makes us realize that no matter what….. life is beautiful.

"A happy thought is like a seed that sows positivity for all to reap."

-Miriam Muhammad

Plant the seed now! Think of happy thoughts!

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #46- Alway Look on the Bright Side of Life

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #48- Rejoice for a World Full of Wonders

2010-01-15T17:00:00.000+08:00

"Life is huge! Rejoice about the sun, moon, flowers, and sky. Rejoice about the food you have to eat. Rejoice about the body that houses your spirit. Rejoice about the fact that you can be a positive force in the world around you. Rejoice about the love that is around you. If you want to be happy, commit to making your life one of rejoicing."

- Author Unknown

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #29- Stop and Smell the Flowers

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #47- Be Grateful

2010-01-14T11:10:00.000+08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenera/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way;

Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day;

Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do,

For round about you there are men less fortunate than you.

Be grateful for the growing trees, the roses soon to bloom,

The tenderness of kindly hearts that shared your days of gloom;

Be grateful for the morning dew, the grass beneath your feet,

The soft caresses of your babes and all their laughter sweet.

Acquire the grateful habit, learn to see how blest you are,

How much there is to gladden life, how little life to mar!

And what if rain shall fall today and you with grief are sad;

Be grateful that you can recall the joys that you have had.

- Edgar Albert Guest

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #13- Start a Gratitude Ritual

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