Add Color To Your Life with a Pinch of Positivity!
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it" -Alan Kay, American computer scientist
"Just go out there and do what you have to do" -Martina Navratilova, Czech tennis player
"The best work is not what is most difficult for you; it is what you do best" -Jean-Paul Sartre, French writer
"I always prefer to believe the best of everybody - it saves so much trouble." -Rudyard Kipling, English writer
“If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars,
to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life?
It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony.
We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.” -Mitsugi Saotome, Japanese aikido teacher
The Trouble Tree
Short flash film, a heart-string tugger,
that will remind you about the "important things"
As soon as you accept the idea that you are in control of your thoughts you will be able to create your own happiness.
-Lucy MacDonald
Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.
-Margaret Lee Runbeck
Take a look at this fascinating list of five things that people who are not depressed--who lead what they consider happy lives with a positive mental attitude--usually have in common. Some may surprise you. How many of these things do you have in your own life?
Faith
Whether you belong to an organized religion, or simply believe in the power of prayer or positive energy, several studies have suggested that having a spiritual belief system of some sort tends to go along with a longer life and fewer incidences of depression.
Plenty of Affectionate Give and Take
This can be measured in many ways, including everything from the number of hugs we give and receive to the giving of praise or help to others, from friendly interactions with the check-out clerk to a loving exchange with a friend on the phone.
Staying Happily Busy
People who are engaged in many pleasant hobbies and interests have less time to brood or be unhappy. Note, however, that “happily busy” is not the same as “stressed busy” or “way too busy.”
Making the Best of It
Life is not always the proverbial bed of roses. So when it hands you a lemon, do you get sour or do you make lemonade? Trying to maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity is a great indicator of happiness. When we ask “What am I meant to learn from this?” rather than “Why me?” we’re halfway there.
A Sense of Purpose
When we believe we are here for a reason, that our lives have purpose and meaning, we are more apt to be happy. It is a hallmark of real joy to know what your passions are, and to pursue them.
Who's Helping You Out?
All my life I've been seeking the right quantity and quality of people in my life.
It's not something I've done particularly well, because I have conflicting desires.
Part of me is a social butterfly - imagine me air kissing left and right and calling everyone daaaaaaaaaahling. That route leads me to having many associates - but no real intimacy.
Part of me is a hermit, and loves being secluded, hidden away from the exhaustion of social interaction. That route leads me to an over dependence on just a few people.
I've slowly come to realise that this is my bottom line: I want people in my life but I have limited space for people in my life.
So I have to make sure:
1. I have absolutely marvellous people in my life
2. I keep them in my life
A tough thing to pull off. So here are my three criteria for finding them in the first place.
1. Who makes you laugh?
It's all about a sense of humour. Someone who makes you laugh shares with you a way of seeing the world - and at a deeper level probably shares a sense of what's important and what's absurd.
What makes me laugh? It's typically a combination of cerebral meets over the top meets absurd. Here's a pretty good example.
- Who tickles your funny bone?
2. Who makes you think?
It's normal to have a "confirmation bias". In essence, you look for evidence that proves what you want to believe, and ignore that which proves otherwise.
One of the ways our life loses some of its colour is when we stop thinking, stop grappling with issues that matter and opinions that differ.
From: Michael Bungay Stanier is a professional keynote speaker, the author of the best selling coaching tool, Get Unstuck & Get Going ...on the stuff that matters (www.getunstuckandgetgoing.com) and the creator of Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun (www.EightPrinciples.com). A certified coach and Rhodes Scholar, he works with teams and organizations to help them do less Good Work and more Great Work.
