Happy as You Want to Be

Almost everyone have heard the hit single 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby Mcferiin's simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.

One of the better things ever said is - 'The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change', and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with

Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.

To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.

Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.

Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy. And to learn even more about all-inclusive happines, please take time to visit http://www.happiness.thegreat.info .

And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Top 7 Ways To Prevent Unnecessary Stress At Work

Stress plays a critical role in life. It can help you accomplish work timely and accurately, promote healthy competition, and force you to evaluate problems and formulate creative solutions. It can also hamper your ability to effectively perform your job, thereby reducing your chances of promotion; interfere with your capacity to sustain relationships; and lead to physical illness. So, how do you find balance? Start by preventing or eliminating stress that is unnecessary.

1. Manage Expectations. Are others clear about what you expect of them? Whether they are vendors, subordinates, or committee members, make sure they understand exactly what you want, and when and how you would like it completed. This will prevent misunderstandings for you as well as the other person.

2. Communicate Effectively. Many problems arise due to a lack of or ineffective communication. Don't focus solely on your verbal and written communication though. Listening is a lost art for most, and one that can stand to be improved. No matter what your position is, strong communication skills are essential.

3. Let go of control. Are you someone who thinks that no one else can perform even the simplest of tasks as well as you can? If so, you could eliminate a lot of stress by simply learning to let go. Many companies reorganized departments into teams several years ago, because they realized that it is a more efficient and effective way to do business. It's not necessary for one person to perform all tasks related to his or her job. In fact, you are more effective when you concentrate on what you do best and let someone else take care of the rest.

4. Steer Clear of Procrastination. Staying on top of things will reduce stress when the unexpected occurs. Procrastination often rears its ugly head when you are faced with a task you would rather not do. Instead of putting it off, determine if it would be appropriate to delegate the project or a portion of it to someone else. If not, get it out of the way first.

5. Take regular vacation time. They give it to you for a reason. Some companies even require you to take time off. It gives you time to unwind, gain a new perspective, and become more focused. People who work too many hours without a break find themselves more prone to illness. It's your body's way of telling you that you need to rest.

6. Address problems as they arise. Don't push issues to the back-burner because you don't want to face them. Confront problems as they arise in order to avoid stress from building up and unleashing itself at an inappropriate time.

7. You can say 'NO'. Many people have difficulty saying no. However, you cannot take on every project, task, and role that gets cast off on you. For projects outside your scope of responsibility, consider whether it will help you achieve your career goals. If not, politely decline the offer and move on to something that will.

Boost Your Vocabulary and Become a Better Learner

If you want to be a great communicator, do you need to have a great vocabulary?

You might be surprised to learn that a really big vocabulary is not necessary in order to express yourself clearly and to move others with your words.

Some of the most dramatic messages that have ever been uttered in the English language actually used very simple words to stir the blood, or touch the heart.

Look at any well-known passage in the Bible. Chances are that the passage does not rely on sophisticated words to create its power.

Think of Lincoln's Gettysberg Address. Although President Lincoln spoke in a style that is very different from the way we usually speak today, his words still have the power to move us deeply with their clarity and their deep emotion. During the darkest days of World War II, Winston Churchill's rousing speeches to the British people used very simple, common, powerful words to successfully ignite the courage and determination of his people.

So if it's possible to communicate effectively without using a lot of very big words, why should we bother to try to expand our vocabulary? The reason is that learning new words expands our understanding and improves our "mental muscles". Every new word we learn entices our mind to stretch into new areas.

When we have a larger bank of words to draw on, we improve our ability to think and express ourselves. Our thinking will become more fluid and supple, and we will understand more of the world around us and within us, when we have a larger vocabulary. In the modern world the ability to use words effectively is often highly rewarded.

The English language has an enormous number of words, perhaps more than half a million of them. Most people however, use a vocabulary of just a few thousand common words on a daily basis. It is possible to get by in the English language with a limited number of words, but you expand your options as you expand your vocabulary. When you understand very few words, you are limited in your ability to learn new information.

If you want to increase your vocabulary, there are many approaches you can use. One good way is to read books or articles that are slightly more difficult than what you are accustomed to. When you come across a word you don't know, see if you can figure out its meaning from the context. Look at the way the word is made up, with its letters and syllables. Does it remind you of any words you already know? What parts of it are familiar?

Many words in the English language are made up of common roots they share with other words. You may be able to deduce the meaning of the new word from the way the syllables are put together and the way it is used. You should consult a dictionary to be sure.

If you come across a word you don't understand during the course of a lecture or a conversation, you can ask someone to explain the meaning of the word. Many people are reluctant to do this because they are afraid of exposing their ignorance by asking.

It is occasionally true that other people may choose to look down on you if you confess that you don't understand a certain word. On the other hand, they may be happy to teach you something new. If you decide you don't want to ask anyone else for the meaning of words you don't know, be sure to make a note of those new words and look them up later.<


Should you try to learn new words directly from a dictionary? It depends on your learning style and your preference. Some people will become bored very quickly while reading a dictionary, while others will find it fascinating.

All dictionaries are not alike, and you may find a certain version far more useful than the rest. Good dictionaries will do more than just give a definition of a word. Some will show you an example of the word used in a sentence. Often they will show you alternate spellings, and give the plural forms of nouns and the past tense of verbs. Most dictionaries will show you correct pronunciation. Some will tell you the historical derivation of the word. Many English words have their roots in ancient Anglo-Saxon, French, or German.

Language is always evolving and new words are being created every day. New words can come from technology, from scientific discoveries, from other languages, from pop culture, and from the streets.

When learning new vocabulary, you can better integrate it into your brain if you actively involve yourself in the learning process.

When you encounter a new word, write out a definition of it in your own words, and write one or more sentences using the new word in context. Visualize the word in its printed form. Say the word out loud, and spell it out loud. Say a sentence out loud that uses the new word. Make up an image in your mind that will help you remember the word. If you make the image funny or bizarre, you will probably remember it better.

To improve your use of language and your ability to think, practice summarizing the theme of an entire article or book using just one or two paragraphs. After you have read an article or book, try writing out two different versions summarizing your ideas. Do one version using very simple, everyday words. Make it as clear and simple as you possibly can while still maintaining accuracy. Do another version that uses very complex sentences and advanced vocabulary, like you imagine a university professor might write.

This will give your brain a good work-out and increase your verbal and mental flexibility.

If you are committed to expanding your vocabulary, how many new words should you try to learn in a day? It's up to you. Just two new words a day will add up to more than 7000 words in ten years. Ten words a day would add 36,000 words in ten years.

Once you have learned a lot of new words, should you work them into your conversation every chance you get? The kind of vocabulary you use should always be appropriate to the context in which you are writing or speaking. For example, if you are speaking to a group of high school dropouts you may want to use different words than if you are speaking to a group of scientists.

Don't use an impressive vocabulary merely as a means of showing off, always using big words when small ones would do. People can often intuitively feel when you are using fancy words merely for effect, and not because you need them to communicate.

But if your new vocabulary really has become a part of you and has a useful place in your writing and conversation, by all means, go ahead and use it!

Do You Owe A Debt Of Thanks ?

This is a time of year when many people take stock of all that they are grateful for -- or at least when we should do so. But this should also be a time when we take stock of all those people who contributed to those gifts -- especially the intangible ones. Those gifts such as our self-esteem or confidence, our love of sports or music, and our spine. What person or group do you owe the greatest debt? Was there a special person or group that really helped you become the person you are today?

Was there someone who helped you believe in yourself and your ability? Was there someone who taught you to appreciate life in a new way? Was there just someone who was there so you could count on them no matter what?

Most of us have been fortunate to have not just one person but a whole team of teachers, coaches, and mentors who helped us grow and reach our potential. We should remember to thank those people again and again as we live the lives they helped us shape. Even more important we need to repay that debt -- not to those individuals but to society. How is your debt? Have you paid it yet or are you still pretending it doesn't exist?

We often hear the expression as it relates to criminals. It is sometimes used as a euphemism for incarceration. The truth is though that we all owe a debt to society. Not because we have done some harm to the community but instead because we have benefited from someone else doing good.

I am a Presbyterian and our expression of the Lord's Prayer includes the phrase "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors". Obviously no matter how good we are and how exemplary our lives we can never repay our debt to God or his son so that part of the meaning is rather clear. I also think this means that we should do good for goodness sake rather than any potential benefit we may reap from the act.

I also think there is another level of meaning and this comes back to the central idea of our debt to society. I think when it comes down to acts of kindness there cannot be a one-to-one relationship. Obviously in many cases when a person is in need of help they may never be in a position to return that help in kind. But it isn't really what we want or need when we offer help or kindness in any case

Whenever I do something charitable, helpful, or kind, I tend to view the act as contributing to a vast fund of kindness. Many times in my life I have profited from this fund and very likely I will continue to profit from it.

One of the reasons I like this concept is that I do think of it as a sort of fund or bank. The value grows exponentially rather than incrementally just as money would do if similarly invested. We should all be grateful for this because the truth is that we usually don't pay our debt to society.

Most of us will write the occasional check, buy a ticket for some raffle, and/or spend a few hours working here and there on some pet project. There are a few who will go much further than this and spend a large portion of their time, energy, and/or money for the greater good but they are far too few.

Often whenever we face pressure on our time or finances then it is our philanthropic activities that are the first to be sacrificed. I have been all too guilty of this myself. I wonder what would happen if we reversed this and instead put helping others first rather than last?

My challenge to you this week is simply to find a way to add to our goodness fund. Borrow from the concept of "Pay It Forward". When someone offers you a helping hand then be sure to pass the favor along at the first opportunity. Don't pick and choose. Don't balance your checkbook first. Don't take the easy path. Do what is right. You will know it when you see it.