It's Not Hard To Be Happy

According to author Andrew Matthews, whose self-help books have sold 6 million copies in 60 countries, said it's not hard to be happy during an interview with The New Paper (Singapore, 25 Oct 09, Page 14).

This is the 6 tips that Mr Matthews have given to the readers to happiness.

• Whatever you do, give it your best.
  
  
• Decide that happiness is a daily decision.
  Wake up every morning and tell yourself that you choose to be happy.
  
  
• Accept where you are. Things that shouldn't happen can happen.
  If your boyfriend cheats on you, you can't change reality.
  
  Love yourself no matter what, even if you are fat of if you lose money
  
  
• Make a conscious decision to look for a reason to be grateful
  
  
• Set goals that have meaning for you.
  You have to decide for yourself to live your own life, rather than pursuing someone else's goals for you.
  
  
• Decide to like yourself.
  You dun't have to be perfect. Look for improvement, not perfection.
  
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  Additional tips extracted from the article
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  Question: What is the fastest way to find happiness?
  
  Andrew: Stop complaining. I tell that to people who say they want to be happy. But they tell me thay can't stop complaining because they like it too much.
  
  In the same way you don't have to eat everything you see, you don't have to talk about everything that happens. You can be selective. Choose to see the good.

A Story About A Big Squirrel And A Baby Squirrel

This is a short yet inspiring clip about two squirrels. Are you able to tell what message is it trying to convey? :)

Love Without Talking

This short film is amazing and inspirational. Check it out :)

One of the 2009 Cannes Lions winners!

More info: One of the 2009 Cannes Lions winners!
More info: http://www.canneslions.com/

A simple short film about communication.
Created by Publicis Mojo and @RadicalMedia
Director: Patrick Hughes
http://www.patrickhughes.com.au

Join the Facebook Fan Page:http://www.facebook.com/SignsShortFilm

Ways To Be Positive At Work

During one of my train rides to town, I happened to notice that many passengers, presumably on the way to work are wearing common expressions which mostly translates into "It's-going-to-be-a-boring-day-at-work" or "I'm-dreading-of-going-to-work" to me.

Why do we have to be so negative about going to work, I thought to myself? Is it because of the people? The environment? The Job? Or even ourselves?

We can't change people around us, the environment nor the job. But we can change ourselves!

So, I'm going to share a few ways that we can change our negative vibes into positive ones. To prevent the Great Wall of Text, I have complied it into an appealing poster instead ☺

Resources extracted partially from eHow and Yahoo

Pest or Family?

Remember to check out the remarks after the end of the story. Please do read the story first before referring.

Jill, 18 years old and Paul, 8 years old are sister and brother.

Jill being a teenager, is always hanging out around with her friends and enjoying her days with girls outing, partying as well as dating with her charming beau.

Paul on the other hand, being 8 years old, he always behave... well, just like the child he is. Always wanting attention from his folks as well as from Jill.

Jill couldn't stand this cumbersome little brother of hers. She is tired of his ever attention seeking, tired of his cries when he couldn't get what he wants, tired of him taking up her time trying to talk to her about some stuffs that she's not even interested in.

'Stop bothering me, you little pest!'

'Get out of my room, can't you see I'm on the phone?!'

'I got no time for you, why don't you just go and play with your toys?!'

These are the things Jill usually said to this little brother before she returned to her mundane stuffs like giggling with her beau on the phone, chatting with her friends on networking internet sites and others.

One fine day, when Jill was crossing the road outside her house, she screamed with her lungs out as she stood frozen to the spot where she's standing as if she have been entwined with roots sprouting out from the granite ground, trapping her as a speeding truck heads towards her.

'BAANNNNNG' Jill lay there with all her limps bruised on the ground, but other than that, she was fine. The truck have must stopped in time, she thought and turned around.

What she saw would stay with her for her rest of her life. 'NOOOooooo PAULLLLLL!' She crawled over to the motionless bloodied child and kept yelling 'My little brother! Noooooo!!'

She grabbed his hands hysterically and cried uncontrollably 'Why?! My little brother! It should have been me!!!' Paul opened his eyes weakly, smiled at his sister and whispered 'Because.... you're my family, sister..'

Memories of Paul and herself came rushing back to her... When she was beaten up by her father after being found out she have been smoking on the sly, Paul was the one who stood in front of her, crying out 'Noo Dad, dun beat sister' as he tried to defended his sister from the beatings.

Memories of Paul wiping off her tears when she cried even though he was just just a toddler then. Memories of them playing together, stealing chocolates from the fridge and smuggling them back to the bedroom to share after bedtime... and so more....

Paul's hands slipped off from Jill and his body turned cold and still. 'I'm so sorry, my little brother.... I'm so sorry that I didn't treat you better... Please, my little brother, dun go away. I'll be good to you from now onwards, I promise!' Jill lay there...closing her eyes unwillingly at her brother who had given his life for hers and fainted....


Have you neglected your family or someone close to you today? There is no second chance for certain things in life. Why wait when it's too late? Spend some time with your family today.

Author of this Story - Yours Truly, Kenneth Goh :)

PS: This is my first attempt at writing inspirational stories. Would appreciate all feedback, comments and suggestions :)

Negativity Bin

Okie Dokie, for today, I guess I am going to blog something really simple. No links, no videos and not even the great wall of text.

Have anyone of you here heard about the "Negativity Bin"?

I see a hand! Yes, You *points at the guy in white* Did I hear you right? You're saying it's a bin which do your mathematics homework when you throw your homework into it? Of course not, this is not some high technologies blog. (Just kidding here, I'm trying hard to be a comedian one day, trying very hard actually ^^)

Alrighty, Negativity Bin is a.... bin, any trash bin that you can find in your house. For example this bin over here.

All you have to do to this bin is to label it as "Negativity Bin". You can use a print a paper and glue on it, draw on the bin, decorate it, blah blah blah, well... you get the idea.

After that, just leave it somewhere around your house or your room, you're going to need it very often if you're an extremely negative person.

Now, whenever you have any negative feelings in you, for example - disappointment, sadness, anger, discouragement, hatred and the list goes on...

This is what I want you to do - write or draw your negative feelings/thoughts on a piece of paper.

For example :
"I'm so disappointed with this company! The boss promised me that he would promote me if I did a good job for that project and it was excellent accordingly to the client! Did I get my promotion?! NO!! He promoted THAT HYPOCRITE (name)!! I am not going to support that fellow! No way! I'm leaving this company and I'm sending my resignation letter in now as a protest!"

After writing out your frustration, crush the paper as hard as you can! You can even give it a few stamps on the floor if you want to. Holding the now-crushed-and-possibly-stamped paper, give it a good chuck to the "Negativity Bin"!

There! Negativity thrown into the bin and non-existent now and time to get back to your usual lifestyle. (Of course you don't resign if you're the fella I just described) I am sure you would feel better after doing this method. With Negativity gone, it's time to get back to your positive mindset and work harder for your goals :)

Hope this would help you guys getting rid of your negativity :)

A Dad to his son, a Hero to the people

This is another inspirational video of a dad's love for his son. To me, he is a dad to his son AND a hero to the people.

As below are two videos of this man and his son. To know more about both of them, I would recommend the longer version. If you're in a rush of time, at least watch the shorter version.

This particular story also teaches us another positive thing...watch and you would get the idea.

And oh, keep some tissues by your side, you might need it...

Shorter Version

Longer Version

The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes

Ben Underwood was born in 26 Jan 1992. He was found to have a peculiar glow in his right eye in Feb 1992 and was soon diagnosed with Bilateral Retnoblastoma (cancer in both eyes).

Both his eyes was removed in a span of less than a year to prevent the spread of the cancer.

'People think it is the end of the world when they lose their sight when they can still lead a productive healthy life' says Ben's doctor.

Ben went on in his life to prove his doctor right by living a life and doing everything he always did as if he never lost sight. You might ask how. Well, Ben had taught himself to use echo location to navigate around the world.

Ben left this world on the 19th Jan 2009 due to cancer, but not before he had inspired countless people and created another miracle in this world. Though he's done, his story would continue to inspire many others for the many years to come...

What is echo location?

Human echolocation is the ability of humans to sense objects in their environment by hearing echoes from those objects.This ability is used by some blind people to navigate within their environment. They actively create sounds, such as by tapping their canes or by making clicking noises with their mouths.

Another Thing About Ben
One thing that Ben's mother truly get back from Ben being blind is that he truly sees people from within. When he hears someone say that someone else is ugly, or anything negative towards someone else. He says, "That's whats wrong with sighted people, you all look at one another and judge what you look like," Ben's mother see that statement being so true. She said 'The most powerful part of it is that he can't judge from looks, only from spirit. This world would be a much better place if we all couldn't see.'

To find out more about Ben, you can visit his website dedicated to him or find out more about Human Echolocation that Ben uses to get around.

Daddy, You Can Let Go

Ever since young, our rebellious nature in us may have made us gone against our folks who had brought us into this world.

Maybe we said we hated them when they refused to buy that toy for us when we were young, Maybe we said we hated them when they refused to accept our boyfriend/girlfriend when we brought them home

Maybe we said we hated them when they refused to walk faster even though they would if they could....

But do not forget a parent's love for the child, even though child might be a year old baby or a son in his fifites or sixties.

Let's watch this video dedicated to a Dad's love....

6 Small Things You Can Do When You Lack Discipline

I was browsing through Leo Babauta's website when I came upon one of the articles that he wrote.

His first paragraph "One of the biggest problems people face is the lack of discipline — they have goals or habits they want to achieve, but lack that discipline needed to stick with it. Then we beat ourselves up about it. We feel crappy because we can’t stick with it." hit me as if a dart on a bullseye.

Hence I thought it would be useful to post this article up for everyone here for I believe many of us lack this discipline much as we do not want to admit it.

And so here's the complete article from Leo Babauta's website (and visit it if you need info in other topics, you'll find loads there!).

One of the biggest problems people face is the lack of discipline — they have goals or habits they want to achieve, but lack that discipline needed to stick with it.

Then we beat ourselves up about it. We feel crappy because we can’t stick with it.

And that leads to more failure, because we’re forming a mindset that we don’t have the necessary discipline.

Here’s what to do when you face a situation like this:

1. Forgive yourself. You aren’t perfect. No one is. Realize that beating yourself up will only make things worse. Take a few slow, deep breaths and let it go. Forgive yourself. And move on.

2. Realize that discipline is an illusion. While discipline is a common concept, it doesn’t actually exist. It’s not a thing you can actually do. Think about it: people say discipline is pushing yourself to do something you don’t want to do. But how do you do that? What skill is required? There isn’t a skill — it’s just forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do. And that requires … some kind of motivation. Without motivation, you won’t be able to force yourself to do anything. So motivation is the key concept — and this is something that’s real, that you can actually learn how to do.

3. Focus on motivation. What’s your motivation for pursuing the goal or habit? How will you sustain the motivation when you struggle? Have very strong motivations for doing something, and write them down. Commit publicly. When things get tough, remind yourself of your motivation. Focus on it. It’ll pull you along — that’s more powerful than trying to focus on the push of discipline.

4. Make it easy. Discipline is tough because whatever the task or habit you’re trying to do is tough. Instead, make it easy. Remove barriers. Having a hard time exercising? Make it ridiculously easy, by only exercising for 5 minutes. What use is exercising for 5 minutes? You’re creating the habit, not getting yourself into shape overnight. The 5 minutes of exercise will have only a tiny impact on your health, but it makes exercise super easy. If you can do that 30 days in a row, you now have an exercise habit. Hate waking up early to go to the gym? Do it at home. Do it during lunch or after work.

5. Focus on enjoyment. It’s hard to push yourself — to have discipline — when you hate doing something. So find something enjoyable about the activity. If you don’t look forward to exercise, find some good music, or a workout partner who you can have a nice conversation with, or a peaceful setting in nature that is just beautiful. And focus on that enjoyable aspect. Hate doing your paperwork? Find a peaceful sanctuary where you can do the paperwork and enjoy yourself. Maybe have a nice cup of tea or coffee, play some nice music. And focus on the enjoyment.

6. Repeat. You’ll almost inevitably slip up sometime, no matter how good you are. Unfortunately, people often take this to mean they don’t have discipline, and they just beat themselves up and give up. Well, it’s just a bump in the road. Get up, dust yourself off, and get going again. Start from Step 1 and start all over.

Inspiring Thai Advertisement

I came to realize that Thailand does have a knack for producing inspiring advertisements.

Personally, I particularly like one of the scenes where one girl asked 'Why am I different from others?', where this elderly man asked her in return 'Why do you have to be like others?'

Many of us did not think of just being ourselves, but every often, we find ourselves trying to change ourselves in order to fit into a certain situations or with certain people.

Would it be better to be ourselves or someone we are not? I leave this to you to ponder on :)

For now, let's take a look at this advertisement.

Contributed by: Ng Heng Young in Facebook.

Office Stress War

As per mentioned in my earlier post that laughter is a good way to relieve stress, hence this is another video for you to laugh and enjoy your day.

All such videos would be labelled as 'entertainments' for your reference :)

Stanford PhD Cab Driver

Mr Cai Mingjie was a PI (principal investigator) in the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) of ASTAR (Singapore), where he was asked to go by May 2008, which Mr Cai citied the reasons for leaving due to "new leadership's manipulative and twisted standards.

By November 2008, Mr Cai have decided to become a taxi driver after submitting countless CV and application letters to various universities, government agencies and private companies for months without any success.

Fast forward to today, Mr Cai is still driving around as a cab driver. One might ask in what ways is this positive that I'm putting this story here.

Mr Cai have refused to yield to the failure of losing his life-long career and have persisted in finding a new job. And when that fails, he took to driving as a career, set up a blog, shared his experiences in his daily driving and found fans for his never-say-die attitude.

The positive things that we can learn here are Mr Cai's many traits such as his adaptability, attitude, perseverance, resilience and many more.

Having said this much, I am sure you would be very anxious to read up Mr Cai's blog, so here you are - A Singapore Taxi Driver's Diary.

Hugs... Spread the love!

"Hugging is healthy: it helps the body's immunity system, it keeps you healthier, it cures depression, it reduces stress, it induces sleep, it's invigorating, it's rejuvenating, it has no unpleasant side effects, and hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug.

Hugging is all natural: it is organic, naturally sweet, it has no pesticides, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, and is 100% wholesome.

Hugging is practically perfect: there are no movable parts, no batteries to replace, no periodic check-ups, has low energy consumption, high energy yield, is inflation-proof, non-fattening, has no monthly payments, no insurance requirements, is theft-proof, non-taxable, non-polluting, and is, of course, fully refundable."

-- Sharon Lindsey --


This video clip had been circulating in the internet for a long long time, but yet it never fails to bring tears to me whenever I watch again and again. Share your love, hug someone today :)

Self-care strategies during a disaster

With the recent typhoon and tsunami disasters in Indonesia and Philippines, I would like to dedicate this writing to all who are affected and hopefully it would help them, even in the slightest way.

INDONESIA & PHILIPPINES - STAY STRONG!

Many countries are sending squads of rescuers and relief supplies to you now. Stay strong and do not give up. We will get over this together! :)

One of the ironic things about disasters is that they have the potential to bring out the best in people. People who are struggling with a mental illness may find that experiencing a disaster may not be entirely negative. Indeed, you may find that you're much stronger than you gave yourself credit for. You may also see people helping each other in ways you never thought possible — the world may not seem so uncaring after all.

Here are some self-care tips to help keep a positive attitude even under the worst conditions:

Get in touch with disaster workers.
Remember that health care professionals are trained in disaster management. Hospitals and

clinics have disaster plans in place. Take reassurance in that. In addition, agencies such as the Red Cross have trained disaster mental health professionals. They can guide you to the help you may need.

Touch base with others.
If it's possible, connect with family, friends, faith groups and others who can offer you help, comfort and support. People can work together to solve problems and encourage each

other. Let them know if you need help.
Help someone else. If you're able, lend help to someone who's less fortunate. This can give you a huge morale boost and make you feel better about yourself, besides helping the other person.

Build skills for resilience.
People who are resilient can weather hardships and stress better than those who aren't. Even if you're coping with depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions, you can still have resilience. Key ways to build resilience include developing a strong support network, having goals, thinking well of yourself and remaining flexible.

Keep a positive frame of mind.

Look for even small nuggets of hope and good during a disaster. This can help you find meaning and purpose, help you think positively about the future, and help you function even in the worst of times.

Contentment

What is contentment?

If you search in the dictionary, it would mean 'the state of being contented; satisfaction; ease of mind' which is very vague. Different people would have different definitions of contentment by their own standards.

To me, contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want. It is the realization of how much you already have.

And remember, the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

Like what Leo Babauta wrote on his 'Zen Habits' (full article in here) website -

I’m definitely a goal-oriented person — I always have my eye on a goal, whether that’s writing a book, running a marathon, improving my blog, waking early, losing weight, or one of a dozen other goals I’ve had (and usually achieved) in the last couple of years. And once I’ve achieved a goal, I begin looking for another: now that I finished my second marathon, I’m already looking for a third.

So isn’t that a contradiction? Doesn’t that seem to indicate that I’m not content with my life? Not at all. I’m extremely content with my life, with what I have, and with who I am. I have accepted that I am the type of person who will always be striving for a goal, the type of person who enjoys a challenge, and who enjoys the journey. It’s not the goal that matters to me — it’s the journey to get there that is so fun. And I’m content with being that type of person.

So contentment isn’t a matter with being content with your situation in life and never trying to improve it. It’s a matter of being content with what you have — but realizing that as humans, we will always try to improve, no matter how happy we are. If we don’t, we have given up on life.

Below is a Taiwan advertisement clip which an amazing lady makes the best of everything in her life, which to me is a form of contentment.

Is your glass half-empty or half-full?

Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Self-talk is the endless stream of thoughts that run through your head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

Focusing on positive thinking

Because your self-talk is mainly negative doesn't mean you're doomed to an unhappy or unhealthy life. You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it takes time and practice — you're creating a new habit, after all. Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive way:

• Check yourself.
  Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.

• Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.

• Follow a healthy lifestyle. Exercise at least three times a week to positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. And learn to manage stress.

• Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people, those who believe they have no power over their lives, may increase your stress level and may make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.

• Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about yourself.
  
  

Article By MayoClinic.com. For a more complete article on this topic, please visit this site

Laughter is the best medicine.

Everyone knows that laughter is the best medicine. We have heard the expression time and again.

Humor helps medical professionals cope with their difficult jobs, it also affects the elderly, increase communication in the workplace or classroom, even with wooing the girl (or guys) that you are keen in.

But what if you don't consider yourself to have the gift of humor? While you can't change your personality, you can find ways to integrate humor into your day-to-day life and change your communication patterns.

'Self-disparaging humor, making fun of oneself, is a very effective form of humor communication, as long as it is not done excessively,' says Dr Melissa B. Wanzer, EdD, professor of communication studies at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, who adds that telling jokes is a just a small portion of humor communication.

For more information on Dr Wanzer's studies, you can refer to the article here.

In the meanwhile, this is a video entitled "Don't judge too quickly" for your entertainment and laughing 'treatment' :)

Love Story Meets Viva la Vida

There is a saying that goes -

"Music is God's gift to man, the only art of Heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to Heaven"

I find it especially true in this clip. Turn up your volume, close your eyes and enjoy this wonderful music which would definitely raise your spirits and perhaps touch you, making you tear.




Arranged by a loving dad, dedicated to his cute little 7-year-old daughter, Sarah.

Arranged by Jon Schmidt
Co-arranged by Steven Sharp Nelson
Recorded at Big Idea Studios
Engineered by Jake Bowen and Chuck Myers
Produced by Jon Schmidt
Co- produced by Chuck Myers
"Love Story" written by Taylor Swift
"Viva la Vida" written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin
Video Produced by Amenat Studios
Directed by Matthew Mclelland
Director of Photography: Patrick Ryan Gass

Easing your emotion load...

Are you carrying around unnecessary weight?

No, I'm not referring to excess fat? most of us carry around burdens of a different kind.

These burdens we cannot see or touch, but they weigh us down just the same, preventing our hearts and minds from finding greater joy and peace of mind.

These emotional burdens mainly consist of regrets over what we wanted to happen but didn't, agony over past events that we wished never happened, resentment for people we feel have done us wrong, who didn't show us the respect we expected, or didn't love us the way we wanted them to.

These things are like invisible claws that keep our spirits anchored to the ground.

We find that we cannot be happy or peaceful for very long because they keep returning to haunt us.

Regret and resentment are the biggest adversaries of our happiness.

They have so much power over us because we cannot bring ourselves to forgive the people we begrudge, because we cannot forgive ourselves, because we cannot let go of the past.

We continue to hold regret and resentment towards others because, bizarrely, we feel that in this way, we can somehow make them suffer. But it's no skin off their noses. In the meantime, our own bitterness persists. It's cruel irony that in trying to get back at others, we only end up hurting ourselves.

The only way you can reduce or get rid of regret and resentment is to forgive.

Forgive the ones whom you feel have trespassed against you. Forgive yourself for the things you did, for the things you didn't do. Forgive the circumstances, events and conditions you thought led to your situation.

Remember that bearing grudges hurts no one but you.
Besides, it's never clear-cut if someone or something is completely responsible for our situation.

It's often a combination of factors. We judge harshly because we do not see the mitigating reasons. And whether we know it or not, we ourselves have hurt or let others down before.

If we can so clearly see the misdeeds others have perpetrated against us, surely others can just as vividly see the offences in us. Which one of us can claim to have no flaws, to have never acted selfishly or in a fit of anger?

Purge your soul of the toxins of regret and resentment and embrace greater joy and peace.

Contibuted by Slice of Life, Eugene Loh
Article Extracted from POSITIVE PROJECT

Let's Forgive

Have you been holding on to pain, old grudges, bitterness, resentments, thoughts of revenge or even hatred for someone for the things they have done to you?

Why not try forgiving that someone? Forgiveness would be the best medication for your emotional injuries.

Check out this clip on Forgiveness. And if you are still trying to forgive or would like to find out more, you can check out MayoClinic on this topic.

The Seven Wonders Of Your World

We know the seven wonders of the world are beautifully crafted structures built around the world, but what are the seven wonders to a kid in this video?

Check out the video and remember to turn on your music for this clip. (It made me teared in the end.)


Source - The Seven Wonders Of Your World for the video and Special Thanks to Stephen for putting up this link in POSITIVE PROJECT so that I can share with you good people :)

Morris Goodman - The Miracle Man

Morris was attempting to land his airplane one afternoon when he crashed.

With his neck broken at C1 and C2, his spinal cord crushed, and every major muscle in his body destroyed, Morris was no longer able to perform any bodily function except to blink his eyes. His injuries were too severe for him to survive.

He decided not to listen to the doctors prognosis and that he would walk out of the hospital by Christmas. He is an inspiration to millions showing that it doesn't matter what other people believe, it only matters what YOU believe is possible. Morris is the personification of the phrase "Man becomes what he thinks about".

Source from The Miracle Man website and YouTube.