Tip 4: How to pursuit happiness in a practical approach

There are a lot of books about "how to be a happy person". This is one of the books with tools which can be applied readily.

[正視我優勢-經管教練啟動正向思維] 
~ 鮑慧兒

[正視我優勢-經管教練啟動正向思維] ~ 鮑慧兒

With years of experience as an executive coach, the author suggests a lot practical ideas on how to deal with daily life challenges, such as negative emotions handling, workaholic, disputes and complaints handling, family pressure, etc. Some sharing below. 

1. Dr. Ben-Shahar - Bringing Happiness to Life

The author shared a popular professor in Harvard University Dr. Ben-Shahar who share about Bringing Happiness to Life. A very good website. 

http://www.talbenshahar.com/

A link below where Dr. Ben-Shahar share 6 tips of Happiness:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5295168

2. Dr. Seligman - Values in Action Survey

If you like taking surveys, www.viastrengths.org could be fun a spend a little time on. It helps you to identify your core strengths that you can leverage on. We can't be a perfect person but leveraging what we are strong at, and apply on our daily lives is more effective than looking onto our weakness. I spent USD 35 to purchase a Pro report. DOWNLOAD if you are interested to see how it is look like. 

For me, I have gone through a lot of deep thoughts about who I am, what I want to be, and I am glad to see that my goals align well with my strengths.  =)

3. "I have to do it" is wrong. The Truth is, You always have a choice! 

The author quote some great examples on how we often makes our lives terrible while giving a excuse "I am forced to do so, I don't  have a choice". 

Some typical ones are: I hate my job, but I have to do it. I hate my boss, I wanna quit, but I have to work under him. I have to earn a living for my family, so I have to stick to this stable but superb boring job. I can't quit smoking, it's in my blood. Does that sound familiar? 

After all, it is you who make this decision, not your boss, not your company, not your family. Look for the reasons of this decision now! For example, I am still working on this job because I am lazy in making up my resume; or I am afraid of changing to new environment; or I love teaming with the colleagues here; or because I love my family, so I chose to endure the hardship at work and earn a better life for them; or I want to quit smoking, but I'm afraid that the side effects will affect my daily lives. 

Review your reasons for decision. If it is a right choice, you should be proud of yourself! If it is because of procrastination or fear, you may consider moving on and give yourself a chance. 

***********************************************************

Happiness is here and now. The choice is in your hand. Be grateful for what you have. Believe your life will be happier every day. 

P.S. Before I started this blog, I don't realize there are so many great stuff flowing around! Thanks hubby for bringing me this book when I am at my lowest point, whenever I look at it, I always find something useful. ^0^

分享四: 如何得到快樂(實用版)?

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Tip 3: 8 Tips on How to squeeze time for Myself and the Mind?

Listen to our Hearts

Very often our lives are filled with lots of things that keeps us amazingly busy: working, taking care of families, run errands, meeting friends, chasing TV drama, games ......in the end, piles of books are bought but unread, the yearly resolution was never revisited, and you don't feel having a good life in general.

To be a Happier and Wiser person, it is of paramount importance to give time to ourselves and build Self Awareness. Once you tried this out, you will see how much difference it brings to your life.

Understanding a lot of us are tremendously busy at work and for family, I have come up some tips which is easy to practice!

Ground Rules to give time for yourself:
1. Noble silence - do not talk to anyone, watch TV, listen to music. Just listen to yourself. Why? Because when there is other information flowing in, your mind's attention will focus on the external environment, but not internal.
2. Focus only on one thing - Breathe. I know! our minds float away easily! Just switch back when you notice the mind has floated away.
3. Accept yourself. Do not scold yourself. - It's a time to watch objectively how is your body and mind doing. Do not Judge. Just Observe. If you notice something unpleasant, accept it and move on.

Tips to give time for yourself:
1. Get Going! - Promise yourself that you will make time for yourself and well-being! Motivation needs to come from within. Commit at least 15mins a day or 2 hours a week, and increase step by step.

2. Get rid of your Mobile when returning home from work - It is a more relaxing time of the day. You have finished some work, feeling tired and want to relax a bit. Instead of browsing emails and facebook, or chatting with friends on unimportant matters, Shut down (complete silence with no vibration) your mobile and focus on your breathe. You may feel boring and uneasy, or even the hands a little itchy! Observe these feelings, ask why you are having these feelings, keep on drilling down by asking Why.....while you are building up awareness on yourself, you will find some useful and interesting.

3. Get some exercises - Jogging, yoga, running, swimming...do something you like Regularly! Exercises are not only good for health, it's also perfect timing to give time to yourself. So next time when you are doing exercises, stay silent.

4. Meditate 15mins before bed - Massage a simple blend and rub on chest and nose. Close your eyes. Focus on the breathe. Sandalwood helps to cleanse and balance your mind. You will feel enjoying better sleeping quality for the night.

Bedtime Meditation Blend:

Essential Oil
Sandalwood (Santalum album, India preferred)	6 drops
Diluted in Vegetable Base Oil:
Grapeseed Oil (Vitis vinifera) /Sweet Almond Oil (Prunus amygdalus var dulcis)	10 ml

5. Carry a book with you - No time to read? Reading is so important as it helps you broaden your mind and exposure. Bring books that you want to read but too lazy to pick it up. Instead of looking at the mobile on the train, read a book!

6. Write 3 sentences in a diary: 3 happy things happened today - Feeling the day sucks? write down in paper 3 things that makes you feel happy, it could be anything range from boss appreciation, making a monthly bill payment on time, or ability to breathing in fresh air! Appreciation to yourself and the environment around you is a source of energy that keeps us moving on.

7. Free-style dancing and swinging - We all live in places with different controls, restrictions and rituals. We frequently remind ourselves to be self-controlled. Swinging and dancing freely can help to let go and release our internal tensions. (Not with alcohol and drugs please!)

8. Read bed-time story for your children - When you focus on reading simple bed-time stories, pay some attention to your breathing, and add a dash of love and care to the tone. You may notice if your breathing is more deep and relaxed, so as it will be with your children.

Finally, a friend recommended this useful site about developing self-compassion, here's the link. Enjoy!
http://zenhabits.net/

分享三: 如何在忙碌的生活中擠出時間給自己?

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Tip 2: How to deal with Anger and be happy?

Each of us have some trigger points which makes us get angry easily. What's yours?
For me, when a person disagrees with me, even when they are expressing their thoughts very politely or the topic is very minor, I lose patience and get angry. This is absolutely bad for both parties!

When a person is angry, he/she will enter a defensive mode, and the situation could get only worsen if any party lose control. One loses the ability to solve a problem by make judgement emotionally instead of logically.

So...what to do? How to turn the situation from negative and anger to positive?

Here are some tips which works for me:

• Stop the conversation. Continue to "argue" will not help but worsen at this point. It's more important to give each party a break. 

• Ask yourself Why he/she is doing this or hold such view. We often make decisions based on our experience and perception of environment around us. A misspelling that is acceptable for a John could be like a needle in Mary's eye. Why? It could be because Mary had suffered from a serious customer complaint on a spelling mistake, which brought her lots of trouble. Such experience makes her very alert on such matter. Something important to Mary may not be the same as John's. 

• Ask yourself is your own view flawless? While you are standing firm on your view, is it really unbeatable? Be true to yourself!

Remember, the best solution is always Win-Win for both sides, but not to win a fight! 

Be happy! 

分享二: 如何處理憤怒,重拾快樂?

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Tip 1: Self Healing when Catching a Cold

Autumn has arrived and it's common to catch a cold in this season. The nose is congested, eyes are swollen, feeling tired and cannot sleep well. To stay happy, it's important to Get Well Soon!

Tips to note on catching a cold :


1. Prepare a 10ml essential oil blend for Common Cold.
The blend is designed to soothe and calm down the respiratory system, breakdown the mucous and helps the person to breathe, and help the body to combat with the virus.

Application method: Rubbing the oil on nose , throat or chest.

Note: this blend is for early common cold and suitable for children above 8.

Essential Oil
Eucalyptus Blue Gum	2 drops
Peppermint	1 drops
Atlas Cederwood	3 drops
Diluted in Vegetable Oil:
Grapeseed Oil	10 ml

I've just made this blend for my friend who is suffering from a cold. Hope he can recover sooner!

10ml Essential Oil Blend for Common Cold

2. Drink lots of water , at least 8 glasses a day

3. Increase Vitamin C intake to help boost the immune system. Two kiwi fruits provide abundant vitamin C for body protection.
4. Keep your nose and throat warm. Cover it with scarf or tissue when coughing is serious. 

5. Do something special! Listen to a music album which you really loves, close your eyes and relax. 

Reason of making this blog: Share Happiness

During this late evening, a beautiful moon rose and so as an idea of writing a blog about Happiness.

My target is Starting from TODAY: 2013-10-23, I will share one tip about Happiness and Wellness every week. They must be able to applied easily at home or at work, or able to solve some common problems within our body. 

The pathway to happiness is a learning process, this blog is an open book and welcome all kinds of sharing and inquiries. 

Hope I can really make it! 

~ Rainbow Panda Gal