Live Happier. Here’s HOW.

I want to share with you 4 key points that I have learned in order to live a happier life. Believe me when I say that I am still trying my very best to adapt these everyday, and sometimes I fail, but what’s important is I don’t stop trying =)

1. ACCEPTANCE

“I’m okay with what I ultimately can’t do, because there is so much that I can do.”-Sam Berns

It’s our automatic response to make excuses when we are afraid to fail at something that we really want to achieve in life. We can come up with all the reasons that hinders us from doing what needs to be done. But we need to be bigger than our limitations! We should focus on the things that we can control and change.

2. GRATITUDE

“We have a choice. Either to be angry for what we don’t have, or be thankful for what we do have.”- Nick Vujicic

If we have a grateful attitude, we will never fail to find a reason to be thankful for everyday. We will always see the good in a bad circumstance or situation. We have more appreciation for life because we find joy in even the simplest things.

I’ve written more about this topic on my blog entitled To be Happy, be Grateful

3. SELF-AWARENESS

“Two biggest barriers to you fulfilling your purpose in life is Envy and People-pleasing.”- Rick Warren

We can never be truly happy if we are always wishing to be someone else or be like someone else; nor can we be happy pretending to be someone else just to belong or feel accepted. Why? because trying to be like someone we’re not prevents us from reaching our full potentials. We need to know ourselves- embrace our strengths and accept our limitations. This way, we can truly be at peace with ourselves and be happy with who we are.

4. COMPANY

“People inspire you, or they drain you. Pick them wisely.”- Hans Hansen

The people that you are with can affect how you look at yourself and the world around you. If you stay in the company of negative people- those who always whine and complain about their lives, blame other people of their misfortunes, and always see the obstacles in reaching their goals- tendency is, you become one of them. As the saying goes, birds of the same feathers flock together. So fly with the optimistic guys- be with the happy, vibrant and successful people. They are the ones who give a positive influence in your life.

I hope you’ll consider these and experience a happier life! 🙂

(Photo Credit)

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Date Written: May 31, 2016

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The Emotional Bank Account

I strongly believe that it is important to invest positivity (such as love, acceptance, recognition, warmth, motivation, respect and the like) to people, so that during the times when we fall short and hurt them- intentionally and unintentionally- they will not leave or feel belittled because it will not hurt them as much compared to when there is no positivity that are given previously.

It’s like having an emotional bank account— we should deposit more of the positives like love, encouragement, and recognition or reward,  so that when we get angry or frustrated (withdraw some of it), there’s still enough of the positives left. =)

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Date Written: May 25, 2016

Who I am and Why I’m here

Hi. I’m Nina. I have a 4-year old daughter who drives me crazy most of the time- but she is my life and I really love her! I have a smart husband (who is actually good-looking too!). And I have a great job. So why am I here in front of my laptop typing when I should be napping, or taking a break from my”busy” life?

One time, my husband and I were watching TED talks in YouTube (a thing that is becoming a habit of ours) and there’s this one guy who really inspired me to start doing one of the things that I love to do… which is to write. He said, “If money is not an issue, what is it that you would be doing right “… “I say you do it now.”

When I think about it more, I realize that perhaps he is right. A lot of us get stuck on a job that we do not like; or pretend about being okay with our work (telling ourselves…at least I get to pay the bill…) and we go on with our day to day mundane activity thinking at the back of our minds that someday, we’ll get to do what we love to do.

But in reality, there is really NO someday. If we are really passionate about something, we have to MAKE the time for it… and there is no better time than NOW. I have to stop convincing myself that “I’ll have plenty of time to write later… that for now this other thing works“…because guess what, I might end up telling myself “It’s too late for me to do this now” or “I’m too old to pursue this at this point.”

I really admire those people who  pursued their passion, who simply did what they LOVE to do, not thinking about the money or the fame…yet everything else fell in their favor. I remember Jason Mraz- a two-time Grammy award winner- saying on one of his interviews that his mom would try to send him to college, and his dad would always get him good jobs but then he would quit them and try to go back into music. In my personal opinion, I do not think that it was his goal to be an award-winning artist. He only did what he love to do. And I believe he found his life-purpose in music.

I am a firm believer that God gave each of us special gifts and talents that we can utilize to achieve our purpose in life. And I choose to believe that if we utilize them to serve and honor Him thru other people, we can be genuinely happy.

I love to write and I want to connect with other people thru my writing. I want to inspire and be inspired at the same time. I believe that in this way, I’ll find purpose and meaning to my life. This is why I write NOW.

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Written: May 25, 2016