Sunday, September 30, 2012

Rule # 16 -- Exercise and Eat Well



"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -- J.R.R. Tolkien


Contrary to more philosophical and theoretical rules, the 16th part of the 18 Rules of Happiness by Karl Moore is pretty practical. A good body somehow contributes to a good perspective in life.

I will admit that I do need to work on this aspect of the rules. You see, for most of my life, I have been almost completely vain. I never did want to gain those extra pounds. However, in the past few years, I have somehow gained a different perspective.

True, I need to exercise more and shed more pounds and fats. But I am not without exercise. I get a dose of my daily walk and during this time is when I get a lot of my great ideas for writing and blogging. So yes I would agree that exercising adds to your happiness. 

The thing is find what works for you best. I'm sure there are many ways by which to exercise and keep fit. Whatever you like most is likely to work out fine.

Ah, eating well is indeed necessary. We need to do away with more junk food and go organic. Easier said than done, however. But if one is truly committed to being healthy, nothing is impossible.

Refresh and nourish yourself. Increase intake of fruits and vegetables as well because they are healthy for the body. I previously wrote an article on "Why Fruit Smoothies Are the Best for Your Health."

Next time around, I will share some ideas for feel good food.

And just for some extra happiness, Karl Moore suggests this song from The Boo Radleys... Wake Up Boo! ^_^

Remember, exercise and eat well and you will be happy.



Sunday, September 23, 2012

Rule #15 -- Accept What Is


"Happiness is a function of accepting what is." -- Werner Erhard

This rule reminds me exactly of what the saying I once came across but have struggled to understand, "When you fight life, life always wins." I don't even know who quoted it. I've always wondered what it meant, but now I think I have an understanding of what it means.

Karl Moore's 15th rule of the 18 Rules of Happiness states that accepting what is in your life can bring you a step closer to happiness.

Life can be full of struggles. You can be an advocate for a worthy cause and thus fight for it. That's good. You can still push for that, but it all starts with acceptance. Perhaps start with acknowledging that there is indeed a problem and an issue. This helps clear you of all the emotions that could be weighing you down. Without that, you get to think with more clarity. You feel more energetic to change what you can.

The point here is, worrying is pointless. There are times when you can't change anything or anyone. Just start by acknowledging that fact. It is what it is. That's life. If you can, shrug and smile about it too.

Just accept what is -- and you will be happy. 


Sunday, September 16, 2012

Rule #14 -- Enjoy Simple Pleasures


"Simplicity is the essence of happiness." -- Cedric Bledsoe

Like I always say, life is simple. I'm glad that Karl Moore took note of that too in his 18 Rules of Happiness. The 14th rule states that to be happy, enjoy simple pleasures.

How often do you find yourself complaining about what you don't have, rather than appreciating what you truly have?

Do you have a list of simple pleasures that make your day? I know I have and have even written a blog about it on my main site. If you don't have a list of simple pleasures, maybe it's time to start drafting one.

Simple pleasures aren't complicated at all. It could be a daily routine like that daily walk to work or school, or the gardening task you need to do once a week, or even the morning cup of coffee before you head to work each day.

For me, having my daily 15-20 minutes to myself with a cup of coffee is one of my simple pleasures. Somehow my day isn't complete without it. It allows me to think and reflect and to appreciate life as it is.

So what makes your day? Take time out and make a list today.

Enjoy simple pleasures -- even rituals -- and you will be happy.


Sunday, September 9, 2012

Rule #13 -- Intention Sets Direction



"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford

In this 13th installment of the 18 Rules of Happiness, Karl Moore states that your intention sets your direction. How so? You may ask.

Have you ever woken up and felt it would be a good day? And you turn out to be right? Or perhaps woken up feeling really lousy and terrible and your day turned out to be disastrous?

You may not have caused it, but your expectation more often affects the outcome. Think of the times when you thought a project would be a failure and then it really becomes that.

What I do is I usually block out any negative thoughts or vibes in whatever project I wish to undertake. Thinking of the negatives makes me feel like I'm attracting them.

If your intention sets your direction, you may as well make sure you set the right and positive intention in place all the time.

Decide on how great your day will be and it will happen for you.

Set your sunny intention -- and you will be happy.


Sunday, September 2, 2012

Rule #12 - Have a Dream






"A person starts dying when they stop dreaming." - Brian Williams


In this 12th part of the 18 Rules of Happiness, Karl Moore says it's important to have a dream in life. It's the driving force to keep you moving forward.

Everything starts with a vision, a hope, a goal, a dream.

Ask yourself, what do you dream of?

Would you like to travel? Would you like to perform on stage? Would you like to write a book? Perhaps you dream of being your own boss?

Dreams are truly important. Without them, life becomes boring and meaningless. What direction will you be headed if you don't have a dream?

Set aside time to jot down your dreams. It doesn't even matter how you record them -- a scrapbook, a journal, a portfolio, etc.

Have a dream -- and you will be happy. 


Saturday, September 1, 2012

Testing a Run

Testing a run. Not just for fun. You see I've made some revisions at my TwitterFeed account and I just want to see if it's working fine now. This is a break from regular topic.

So what's TwitterFeed? Well TwitterFeed enables me to auto post my latest blog post to my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. It really is awesome, but sometimes fails to work esp. when I don't get to post too often. So I do some tweaking to set it running again. Thus, this post. :P

Today's sponsor is Board of Directors Social Network. Hope to see you there! ^_^