1. Free your heart from hatred—forgive.
Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. When you forgive you are not only putting things behind you but also freeing yourself from hatred and pain. Being unable to forgive is like taking a poison continuously and slowly killing yourself from bitterness, grudge, anger. Guilt and hatred bring stress. Stress are killers. Forgiveness is about generating your own healing. When we hold on to pain, old grudges, bitterness, and even hatred, many areas of our lives can suffer. It’s we who pay the price over and over. We may bring our anger and bitterness into every relationship and new experience. Our lives may be so wrapped up that we can’t enjoy the present. The bottom line is that you may often feel miserable in your current life.
Forgiveness can be very challenging. It is a commitment to a process of change. It can be difficult and it can take time. It may be particularly hard to forgive someone who doesn’t admit wrong or doesn’t speak of their sorrow. But keep in mind that the key benefits of forgiveness are for you. Forgive and start changing yourself.
2. Free your mind from worries.
“In every life we have some trouble; But when you worry, you make it double. Don’t worry, be happy…”
We’re all familiar with the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. When we hear it playing on the radio, we sometimes can’t help sing along with the music. We feel the energy flowing in our veins in every note and for a moment, we are worry-free. But how do we keep ourselves from worrying too much?
People tend to worry about even the smallest things in life such as dress to wear for a certain occasion; necktie that will go best with the new long-sleeve polo; nail polish colors, or worry about loved ones, and etc. What we don’t know is that when we worry, we clutter our minds with stress and anxiety and start to create a worry-filled nest in our heads. We sometimes find it difficult to free our mind from worries because of our responsibilities and obligations. At times like this, remember to see God in our situation and look at this today from another standpoint. We may feel discomfort, or may not have food in our tables, or no single penny in our pocket. But put in mind that once upon a time, God was tested and was given a lot of things to worry about and yet, He remained calm and looked for His Father’s hand in every situation.
I saw this article on the net. This might help when you feel like worries and anxieties are creeping in you. Please click here and see the ways on how to deal with worries. Worrying too much is depriving yourself from being happy or stress-free. Don’t miss the fun.
3. Live Simply.
I know that most of us want to live a simple life. But only a few have the guts to walk their talk. Some still want the complexity and constant drama of their lives (parang ako lang) and have a hard time leaving behind their complicated but flamboyant lives, in exchange for a simple one. On the contrary, we don’t really need to leave our belongings and go straight to the mountains to live a plain and simple life. We just need to determine the things that complicate our lives and identify which of them we can possibly avoid. Buy what we ONLY need and not what we want. Yeah, I know. Easy to say, but definitely difficult to put into action.
Let’s try to observe this: Slow down a bit. Read a lot. Spend more quality time with your family and friends. Eat healthy, think wisely.
4. Give more.
We always want to live a meaningful life. We are generally happy when we are making a difference in the world. We feel pretty good inside and we feel the surge of joy and the passion to give more.
The quote “it’s better to give than to receive” is true if we learn to give selflessly, not only financially but also emotionally. A little act of kindness is more than a charity work. It’s an expression of love. And we will only experience that “special kind” of feeling if we give without expecting anything in return.
When I read the story of Dylan Wilks, the rich young Englishman who gave up his wealth to start improving the life of many poor families in the Philippines, I was moved. I didn’t realize that in the time where corruption is eminent, there are still people like him, out there who are willing to give unselfishly for the sake of other people. It’s not too late for us to do the same. We may not be able to build a house for the poor, but we can share our hearts to the people.
5. Expect less from people but from God.
Admit it or not, we tend to expect a lot from other people that we end up disappointing ourselves. Most of the time, we allow the opinions of others to control our lives, feeling desperate to please them. We neglect to see the fact that we’re putting a certain amount of pressure in us that if we fail to meet this goal, we become miserable. We become unreal.
Becoming real means accepting yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, acknowledging that in God’s eyes you’re a work-in-progress. It is not fair to expect another person to fix you, or change your life, or suddenly become who you want them to be in order to make you happy. That kind of behavior just causes stress and resentment, and an unhealthy dependency you’ll end up dealing with later. Remember that people aren’t your answer, God is. If He chooses to use a certain person to bless you, He’ll do it; if not He’ll use somebody else. So stop living with unrealistic expectations and ask God to help you live with His expectations.
Are you willing to follow these simple rules? :)
Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply,
to enjoy simply,
to think freely,
to risk life,
to be needed.
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