Monday, October 26, 2009

Happiness Quotes

Happiness is such an important virtue to have. If truth be told, happiness is the essence of life. So, let us share some finest quotes reinforcing the virtue and necessity of this wonderful human quality.

Men spend their lives in anticipations,—in determining to be vastly happy at some period when they have time. But the present time has one advantage over every other—it is our own. Past opportunities are gone, future have not come. We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer the tasting of them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age.

- Charles Caleb Colton

Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.

- Aristotle

People with many interests live, not only longest, but happiest.

- George Matthew Allen

In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.

- Albert Schweitzer

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.

- Aldous Huxley

Action may not always bring happiness;

but there is no happiness without action.

- Benjamin Disraeli

There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you.

- David Burns, Intimate Connections

Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul.

- Democritus

Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens.

- Douglas Jerrold

The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions—the little soon-forgotten charities of a kiss, a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment in the disguise of a playful raillery, and the countless other infinitesimals of pleasurable thought and genial feeling.

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.

- Albert Camus

Try to be happy in this present moment, and put not off being so to a time to come,—as though that time should be of another make from this which has already come and is ours.

- Thomas Fuller

Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind.

- Alice Meynell

Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress.

- Epictetus

Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.

- Benjamin Franklin

There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying things which are beyond the power of our will.

- Epictetus

Happiness is where we find it, but rarely where we seek it.

- J. Petit Senn

I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than attempting to satisfy them.

- John Stuart Mills

The chances are that you have already come to believe that happiness is unattainable. But men have attained it. And they have attained it by realising that happiness does not spring from the procuring of physical or mental pleasure, but from the development of reason and the adjustment of conduct to principles.

- from How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, by Arnold Bennett

You're happiest while you're making the greatest contribution.

- Robert F. Kennedy

The rays of happiness, like those of light, are colorless when unbroken.

- Henry W. Longfellow

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

- Aristotle

When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.

- Helen Keller

Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.

- George Santayana

No man is happy who does not think himself so.

- Publilius Syrus

Our minds are as different as our faces: we are all traveling to one destination; --happiness; but few are going by the same road.

- Charles Caleb Colton

Great effort from great motives is the best definition of a happy life.

- William Ellery Channing

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

It’s Your Life

Last post discovered the missing elements of your life and how it affects your life in general. Let’s talk about how you can acknowledge your privilege to enjoy your desires. Did I say privilege? Oh, yes, absolutely. It is your birth right to pursue what excites you most and what makes you most happy. It is as simple as allowing yourself to accept your right of enthusiasm and excitement. It all boils down to your willingness and initiative. Time is never a constraint if you are enjoying your stuff. Yes, things will have to be adjusted but when managing time has been difficult for you? Remember, how if a sudden work comes up in office and you have to go whole hog to complete it despite the apparent lack of time. So in similar way, consider your fun stuff as your priority and do it whole heartedly.

One of the best ways to enjoy this new found freedom is to write it down. It’s like making a journal where you are expressing your desires and writing down the steps you have taken to achieve them. You can always manage to bring pleasure in your busy life style and trust this fact blindly. Excuses will run away and life once again, will seem like a pleasure journey only if you desire so. Never compromise with your pleasure quotient and literally indulge yourself. The moment you starts accepting less than what you deserve thing will always come in less measure. You have to realize that you deserve more and you will get it somehow. Finally, accept what you are and what you want. This is simply your life and you have got every right to live as you choose.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Fueling Your Passions

Passion is such a magical word. It has so much effect on our life. Passion simply signifies having something in your life that you absolutely love to spend time doing. It also means you do it on a regular basis and your participation in it gives you a great high and ultimately that results into a delightful living. It always pays to take some time off from your busy lifestyle and treasure your longings. Such small wonders make life worth living. Normally, humans in this cut-throat competitive world do not spare any time for their passions. As time runs out, they also get totally involved in professional and personal responsibilities and ignoring their passions. Whenever asked, one classical answer you will always get is lack of time. But in this mad rush, we forget to comprehend how badly we are affecting our lives by ignoring our passions.

It is always easy to push aside your special fun time and postponing your favorite activities to some other day but unfortunately that later date never come. Have you ever seen that date coming and offering itself to you requesting you to indulge yourself? No, you have not. How often you have seen other people stopping for a while in the hectic journey of life and doing things they love the most? How many times you have discovered that you really need to pause and reflect upon your life and find reasons of missing fun from your existence? Well, if you have not then it is high time you once again rediscover your passion and submit yourself wholeheartedly to it. It won’t take much of your time to pursue your passion. In fact, it could be one of the reasons of you enjoying other aspects of your life in full flow.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Colors Affecting Our Performance

Productivity is greatly values all across the world. People normally associate with one’s professional life but if we see it from other perspective, we will find productivity factor applies to all the spheres of life. The more productive you are, more you are valued and appreciated. Several factors affect one’s performance and productivity. We already know about motivation, will power, environment and such related elements that greatly affect our performances. One of the lesser known elements is color. Yes, we are talking about colors that powerfully and quickly affect our choices that we make in our day to day lives. This surprising fact is proven by scientists who took great efforts and several research projects to come to this conclusion.

It is also known as color therapy. Alternative healing makes a great use of color therapy. The research says, when you are stressed, combining the five senses will create a powerful synergy. One can take for example case of deep breathing with visualization or mixing music with exercise.

Talking about effects of different colors, Green is omnipresent. It symbolizes a new life and growth. Green promotes healing. Orange represents high activity and cheerfulness. People often use an orange object on their works stations to feel good. Red is a powerful color that depicts energy and boldness. Red also represents confidence. Blue is a soothing and relaxing color. Blue often instigates creativity. Purple makes you feel empowered and regal whereas yellow enlightens you. White inspires you to go clean and brown symbolizes stability. Finally, the color black is very powerful and represents mystery and depth.

Friday, August 14, 2009

The Power of Achievement


We all strive for success and achievement in every sphere of life. Right from family, friends, relationships, career, love, and parenting we want to touch every pinnacle. So what is the difference between a loser and winner? Isn’t it all about some solid achievements that make all the difference? The more you achieve, better you feel and more confident you are. Achievement also makes you hungry for more. It fuels a kind of inner desire that has the ability to take you too far in the tough journey of life. Let’s share some famous achievement quotes to fuel the fire and reignite the passion:-

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstances.

- Bruce Barton

Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of other people.

- Nido Qubein

A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements.

- Orison Swett Marden

To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.

- Leonard Bernstein

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, Just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.

- Napoleon Hill

The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas of enthusiasm.

- Thomas J. Watson

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

- Michelangelo

Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.

- William Arthur Ward

Picture yourself in your minds eye as having already achieved this goal. See yourself doing the things you'll be doing when you've reached your goal.

- Earl Nightingale

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.

That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.

- Abraham Lincoln

All great achievements require time.

- Maya Angelou

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Taking Responsibility

Life is all about choices you make. We must accept responsibility for each and every action we take. But before that, one must understand what our choice is. There is a subtle difference between choosing any random way and following the path you have chosen. There are several elements in life that is beyond our control but these entire events sum up our life. Things keep happening and life is far from fair. Not everyone has same share of luck and achievements but at least we can begin on a fresh note if we just start making right choices.

External factors like family, friends, economy, money etc decide our conditions to a great extent. There is this maxim, ‘The best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.’ Now, isn’t that wonderful? The best way to handle things beyond your control is to accept them. One thing you shouldn’t do at all is to term yourself as victim and feel awful about your existence. That’s a pretty lame approach to tackle things.

The point is, we cannot choose what happens to us but we can always decide how best to respond what happens to us. Now that you have accepted the things happing to you, move on to gulp and swallow part. Its time you start changing the things. One is either part of the problem or part of the solution. It’s high time you decide which part you want to choose!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Controlling ‘Upset Feelings’

We humans are designed in such a way that we get to experience the entire spectrum of emotions ranging from happiness, sadness, contentment to being upset. In that light, feeling upset is a normal part of our life that we feel every now and then. So why do we feel upset? Well, reasons could vary depending upon person to person. The most likely cause of feeling upset is when things don’t go as we plan, when things do not turn out to be the way we had anticipated. But, this feeling should always be temporary. We can not afford to let this upset feel last longer. Once you allow it to last longer, it will start making a continuous presence in your life.

The trick is to learn how to control one’s feeling of being upset over trivial matters. Upset is kind of addiction. If you are liberal with it will continue to bother you. One basic step is start using breathing technique. Take a deep breath and start counting backwards and you will immediately feel a lot calmer than earlier. There are several such options to make you get rid of ‘upset feeling’. One easy way is to make a list of all the factors that irritate you and then tear it apart. Call up your friends and talk about your problems. Try to do what you love most. Go out and share your stuff. You can also try to write your feelings in a diary. Sort out issues with the person you were upset with. Lastly, trust your positive qualities and make the most of what life has given you.