Five Principles for Happiness in 2007

Five Principles for Happiness in 2007

by David Bach

The arrival of the new year marks a symbolic time for fresh starts. Many of us take it as an opportunity to set goals, contemplate decisions, and renew commitments. It’s special because of the revitalized sense of hope it brings.

Before you make your New Year’s resolutions for 2007, I’d like to share some thoughts about how it’s never too late to start living a rich life.

The Live Rich Factor

Most people believe that if they just had more money, the things that make them unhappy would disappear and their lives would be better. The truth is that your life can be better without more money. It can be better today, but you need to make some decisions and take some actions.

You don’t need me to tell you what will make you happy — only you know that truth.

I believe each of us has the power to discover our purpose and become joyful in the process of journeying toward that purpose. It’s not easy, however. Nothing important and meaningful ever is.

What you need to do is create what I call the “Live Rich Factor” in your life. I call it this because those who find the purpose that leads them to joy are truly the luckiest people in the world, because they’re living richly.

There are five basic principles involved in creating your Live Rich Factor:

Principle 1: Give Yourself a Break

We all tell ourselves the story of the one that got away. You can’t move forward if you spend time focusing on what you shoulda-woulda-coulda done in 2006 or before. It’s over, and its time to move on. The fastest way I know to do this is to write all of your regrets down on paper.

Make a list of all your personal and financial if-onlys. For example, “If only I had saved more money. If only I hadn’t quit that job. If only I hadn’t taken the job I have.” You get the idea.

After reading the list aloud to yourself, get rid of it. Let it all go by literally burning the list (safely). Now you’re ready for a fresh start in 2007 — a new beginning.

Principle 2: Get Connected with Your Truth

The hardest thing to do is be honest with yourself. Asking yourself some key questions will lead you to some amazing discoveries, and possibly motivate you to do what it takes to create the life you envision for yourself.

I suggest writing your (honest) answers to the following questions in a new journal for the new year:

▶ What makes you happy at work?

▶ What makes you happy at home?

▶ What makes you happy with your friends and family?

▶ What makes you happy when you’re by yourself?

▶ What do you love to do?

▶ What would you do with your life today if you weren’t afraid of failure?

▶ What’s not working in your life?

▶ What are you currently doing that prevents you from experiencing joy?

▶ What’s working in your life?

▶ Who’s not working in your life?

▶ Who in your life is subtracting value from and adding misery to it?

▶ Can you fix any of these relationships, or should you let them go from your life?

▶ What relationships are working in your life?

If we were getting together one year from today, what would have to happen for you to be able to tell me that you now have more joy in your life?

What’s the single most important thing you’ve learned about yourself as a result of answering these questions?
You’ll find that by putting your answers down on paper, they’ll become clear more quickly and the actions you need to take more obvious and easier to initiate.

Principle 3: Stop Judging Yourself

Be nicer to yourself in 2007. Many people talk to themselves in a way they would never accept from a stranger, friend, or loved one. If this describes you, try stopping the negative conversations you have with yourself immediately.

For one week, simply commit to saying “stop it” when you think a negative thought about yourself. If you’re in the habit of saying negative things to yourself, you’ll find this is one of the most difficult exercises you’ll ever do. Carry a notepad with you and make a mark each time you catch yourself thinking negatively. You’ll find that as the days go by, your negative thinking can quickly be reduced.

Principle 4: Stop Judging Others

It’s hard to be joyful when you’re always judging others. In fact, it’s close to impossible. Judging others creates a huge amount of stress in our lives. It affects our marriages and our relationships with our kids as well as the way we relate to friends, co-workers, and society in general.

We’re not here to judge one another.

The next time you find yourself upset at someone or some situation, catch yourself and ask, “Are you judging?” Judging others is often an unconscious habit. But it’s a habit that can be changed the moment you decide to stop doing it.

Principle 5 : Pursue Fun with a Vengeance

It’s OK to pursue fun. It’s what children do. My greatest joy these days is the simple pleasure of playing with my three-year-old son, Jack.

This holiday season with Jack taught me the simple power of pursuing fun — again and again. What was fun for Jack this Christmas? It turns out it wasn’t the Big Wheel that my wife, Michelle, and I stayed up so late building on Christmas Eve. And it wasn’t the Star Wars Lego toy (although he was pretty excited about that).

Instead, what Jack found the most fun was a new game I made up to keep him entertained. The game was called Geronimo — and it involved Jack jumping from the bed onto a stack of pillows yelling “Geronimo!” This silly little game ended up bringing us both hours of fun. The price of the game: nothing. The fun: priceless. And the laughs? Endless.

Why do we stop pursing fun as we get older? Fun shouldn’t be squeezed into a few weeks of vacation each year. And it shouldn’t be squeezed into the last chapter of your life when you “get to” retire. Fun deserves to be a part of your life now — in 2007.

But fun doesn’t just happen. You have to make it a priority in your life or it’ll go missing. Life’s too short to not have it.

So here’s to a fun, happy, and healthy New Year. Cheers!

http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/millionaire/18930

2007/01/03 | Categories: Daily Life | 1 Comment »

Happy new year 2007

 ⓒempas

1. Korean
새해 복 많이 받으세요[Saehae bok mani badseyo]

2. Español
Feliz Año Nuevo

3. Japanese
明けましておめでとう

4. German
glückliches neues Jahr

5. Italian
nuovo anno felice

6. Chinese
新年好

7. French
nouvelle année heureuse

8. Portuguese
ano novo feliz

9. English
Happy New Year

10. Russian
S Novim Godom

11. Arabic
Kulu Sanah(‘aammu) wa antoum bi-khair

12. Indonesian
Slamat tahun baru

13. Czech
(Stastne a vesele vanoce a) stastny novy rok!

14. Mongolian
Шинэжил баяр хvргье

15. Slovak
(Vesele Vianoce i na) zdravie v novom roku!

16. Slovene
Srecno novo leto!

17. Ukraine
novym rokom!

18. Polish
Wesolych Swiat i Szczesliwego Nowego Roku

2007/01/01 | Categories: Daily Life | Leave A Comment »

year-end

I went to a downtown bar alone for the first time in my life. It was actually good. I enjoyed myself being alone. I guess everyone has their own year-end plan such as staying home or going to the parties or killing themselves. haha… When it comes to ‘year-end’, you might feel more melancholy than usual. I don’t think I felt that year-end thing before. Did I have a good time last year or past years? As long as I don’t remember any bad memories, I guess I was alright.
Then, what happened to me this year? I moved back to my hometown which I did not spend much of time of my early 20′s. So, I do not have many friends here. I have some friends who I have known since I was 15 years old but we went to different universities and made different friends who have different interests or views. It means… we have little in common, and it is difficult to make conversation. I might be the only one who feels awkward. I don’t know. All I can say is that it is too bad.

 I went to downtown all by myself. One of my credit card offers a great deal which is 4500 won cash refund when I have a payment more than 5000 won with my card at CGV cinema and Starbucks on Dec 30th. Isn’t that SWEET?!! So, I went out with beautiful make up and nice clothes. First, I arrived at CGV at 4:20pm. I bought a ticket for The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law with Jack Black. I did not have a choice but to watch this film. Because all the other movies were the last flicks I want to watch. I gave my card to a kind clerk for a sweet payment. Suddenly she told me to wait and made a call to a snack bar. I was wondering it might something wrong with my card? Well, it turned out I got CGV combo snack prize. SWEET!! I was happy but soon I realized that combo was for 2 people. Look at this.

 

 I never had this kind of prize luck when I went to movies with someone.  We always paid for popcorn. Well, when I am alone, finally I have this luck. What a weird day! Anyway, I left CGV for dinner. I wanted to eat Indian mutton curry. A restaurant called ‘A trip to India’. It was kind of small and cozy with Indian music. I liked the ethnic atmosphere. There was no customer yet. I ordered set 2 which are mutton curry and one nan with lassi. It seemed a small meal at first glance but I was so full afterwards. It cost 11000 won. I think it is a little expensive but worth to try. I loved lassi most.

 

I should go back to CGV in hurry! Ah, I have to stop by a snack bar for the prize! I asked a clerk guy “Please one coke, I don’t need 2 cokes!” but he said “You have to take 2 cokes. We have to give you all.” I replied “All right, then!”  It was pretty heavy to carry all with my bag. I wanted to give one coke to somebody else but there was absolutely nobody around me! Everyone was watching their movies. I had to throw it away to move on. It was too heavy to carry for me. I wish I had a company. Moreover I entered wrong room and asked people ‘I think this is my seat.’ ‘Really? Let me check my ticket. This seat is mine.’ ‘uh?’ and then, I realized! I had to be #2 not #5. So I was about 5 minutes late for the movie. Thank you for CGV combo. (>.<) The movie was alright. By the way, I liked the idea of Home Exchange. Amanda(Cameron Diaz) and Iris(Kate Winslet) meet online to exchange their homes for the Christmas holidays. Amanda stays at Iris’s rural house it Surrey in England and Iris stays at Amanda’s big fancy house in LA in the US. I want to try ‘swap houses’ sometime if I can, if I have my own house. haha! As I expected it, it was just another typical Hollywood romantic comedy film. I enjoyed watching Jack Black though. He is one of my favorite actors.

After the movie, I decided to go to a bar. I have never been to a bar alone. But what the heck, just go for it! A bar called Mckenzie’s. It was not big and warm. There were lots of young boys. I asked a bartender what’s the occasion. He said that they would have small gigs tonight. He added they never had live music before. I was thrilled actually because I love listening to live music. There were 2 bands. One played Jazz, the other played rock. Jazz was good but rock was not, even though I like rock. Simply they sucked. A rock band played first. I did not like their music so I was about to leave. But a bartender said he was sorry for that and wanted to treat me. ‘Oh, TODAY IS MY DAY?’ Anyway, I ordered Stout(Korean dark beer) and he gave me Cointreau and Cherry Brandy(Wenneker). It was the first time to have brandy for me and I love it!! That bartender and other lady bartender asked me to stay longer and offered more free shots but I did not have enough money for a cab. I made up a excuse and came back home.

It was fun. It seemed like I got all great food for nothing. What a lucky day!

2006/12/31 | Categories: Daily Life | 2 Comments »

Hey!

You! Stop right there!

2006/12/28 | Categories: Daily Life | Leave A Comment »