Entries from April 2009 ↓

Image by Kevin Zhengli

You don’t need a new house to make yourself comfortable. Neither do you need a new body to build up self-respect. What you need is to realize the power of small changes. They’re the ones that make a difference.

So you’ve bought yourself a new shirt that fits you perfectly? It’s a small change but I’m sure you’ll feel amazing wearing that shirt. The important thing is to keep on making those small innovations into your life.

Create a celebrating attitude towards small details that matter. By the way, thanks for taking the time to read this article.

Image by Still Burning

We all make mistakes, that’s why we’re human. But I’ve realized that we can’t learn from all of them. If we did, we would be completely perfect. Once again, that’s impossible.

When you make a mistake, please try to learn from it. Make the effort not to make it in the future and to improve your life in a way that wasn’t possible before. Why? Every mistake has a hidden treasure chest of know-how and valuable life tips.

So either open that chest and grab everything it contains with full force, or ignore it and wait for another one to come across to.

Not learning from a mistake give us a feeling of guilt, doesn’t it? If you can’t make it go away instantly, it will pass with time. But know that guilt puts you in a one step forward and two steps back situation. You’re focusing on your past negative experiences, intead of trying to fix the faults in the present.

That’s why we’re human. We make mistakes, we learn from some of them, and others we just repeat. However, don’t make the mistake of feeling guilty.

Image by Dany Sabadini

Happiness is achievable only when you search for it. In that search, you may come across some obstacles. You may even fail the first, second, third time you try. Whatever you do, please keep on searching. Don’t quit that easily.

Why most easy-to-follow tips don’t work

Here’s the news: most happiness tips just won’t help you. I’m not sure that most of mine will help you, too. Unless you adapt them to your life.

Experimenting your way to happiness simply means trying out what makes you smile and feel well. For example, blogging might make me feel great, because I’m able to communicate ideas. But maybe you don’t feel the same. You’ve tried it out and it didn’t work for you.

So you switched to something else, didn’t you? Golf? Watching that favorite movie? Proposing marriage or finding a new girlfriend?

If you try a happiness tip and it doesn’t work, find a new one or adapt it to your own everyday life. But please, keep on experimenting and trying until something makes you smile.

Image by Scott Liddell

You’ve heard that old saying that fear is your friend, haven’t you? I completely agree with it. So let me share my top three reasons why.

1) Fear often tells you what exactly to do

It’s just a useless emotion focusing on the negative result of your current actions. It’s a result of hesitation and lack of self-assurance. That’s why it often tells you what to do, so as to be satisfied with yourself.

Make that first step and face your fears.

2) Fear is only an assumption

You can’t be sure that your worst fears will come alive. However, if you completely focus on them, don’t expect anything else – that’s because you’re focusing on failing just from the start.

My way for facing fears is doing what I fear by focusing on a positive result. Try it and you won’t be disappointed.

3) Fear is irrational

So you had an accident in the water as a kid and you never learnt to swim. You’re not afraid of water. You’re afraid that past events will repeat, which is often unlikely. It’s impossible to drawn taking swimming lessons from professionals, isn’t it? So why not try?

So think rationally and understand that most fears are just silly.

By the way, Leo Babauta has written a great blog post called A Guide To Beating The Fears That Are Holding You Back, I really recommend you take a look at it. He shares 9 practical tips on how to overcome fear that we all should try to practice.

Image by Sarah

Easter holidays make me happy. We’re celebrating them this week here in Eastern Europe. We even have one day off work on Monday. But just painting those eggs won’t make a greatly spent holiday, will it? Here are my tips for really making use of Easter:

Catch up with relatives that you rarely see or call. During any holidays you have the chance to bring some difference into your social life with people you already know but rarely socialize with. So take that chance and enjoy the communication. As long as it is with relative that you like.

If you have to see someone from the family that you dislike or vice versa, just try to keep the irritation to a minimum. Remember that you can’t please everybody in the whole world. However, understand that the person in front of you is also a human being and there’s a reason for your dislike – realize it and change it.

Buy some presents. Even something as simple as a chocolate easter egg or a bottle of great French wine can give the person who they’re for a true smile. And a true smile is the best present possible for any holiday there is.

Feel free to check out some easter gifts here.

You also have more time to spend with your family. So try to iron out any problem that has occured during this week and chase those negative feelings out of you and your loved one. After all, holidays are all about gratitude and forgiveness. If you feel and spead them, then you’re the hero of the day.