Things that can make you happy

There are many things that make people happy; so many people say there are big secrets to be happy.

 

Now instead of giving you some big secret to live a happy life I have something simpler; some little things that can make you happy daily.

 

Focus on these little things you do daily

1. Waking up, fully rested. Isn’t that feeling of waking up perfectly rested just amazing and doesn’t that make you happy?

2. Having a good appearance; looking good for the day, that’s very cool.

3. A good breakfast.

4. Finding money you didn’t know you had. Rich or poor this is a great feeling.

5. Hearing your favourite song. Music changes your mood.

6. Enjoy the weather –  cold or warm!

7. Getting  work done, because you are just so productive and in a very determined.

8. Your 8 hour work day was so productive it just flies by.

9. Getting to leave work earlier.

10. When you get home, kicking off your shoes.

11. Watching your favourite movie or series

12. Having a good healthy supper that you enjoy

13. Having a nice shower or  a long bubble bath.

14. Getting ready for bed feeling content and accomplished for all the tasks of the day.

15. Smiling when you drift off to dreamland

Sure we don’t always have great days,  however we should try to enjoy these little things that we experience daily.

Change your mindset!

Happiness is a choice and you can live happily!

Cheers!

 

On fire – can we handle the flames?

Fire is an amazing (and terrifying) force of nature. Our ancestors relied on fire for warmth, protection and for food preparation purposes. This is still true for many people in the world.

Fire, however, can also destroy, ravage, scorch and kill.

All eyes are on the raging fire burning rapidly through Cape Town’s southern peninsula:

People are evacuating their homes, and there has already been considerable damage to the vegetation and to properties. Sadly, many animals are dying in the flames.

I am glad to see that the general public is being so generous with their emotional and physical support for our fire fighters and other rescue service personnel. These people must be so exhausted. Yet, they are not giving up.

Imagine facing a fire so fierce that even experts describe as ‘unstoppable’ and ‘uncontrollable’. 

Have you ever felt that a situation was helpless, hopeless?

I came across a picture of an exhausted fire fighter who was taking a quick drink of water. During his break he noticed, just a few metres away from where he was standing, a small tortoise that was about to be burned alive. This fire fighter was clearly exhausted, filthy and dripping with sweat from the extreme heat. He dropped his water and raced towards the tortoise. He got to the tortoise in time and handed the small creature to another fire fighter so that the tortoise could be taken out of the danger area.

Wow.

Fires can be really scary. The amount of damage that they can cause can be indescribable and unquantifiable. But, there’s something quite interesting about fires … Land  becomes stronger and more fertile after a fire. Fires are sometimes nature’s way of renewal. 

Metaphorically speaking, we have all faced fires. We have all experienced the intense flames of pain, hurt and destruction. Do we come out stronger after these fires? Or, are we permanently scorched after the ‘flames’?

“Fire bursts out” Hard Times, Charles Dickens.

Let it go

Word on the street has it that 2014 was not the greatest of years for many people. I’ve heard too many sad stories of really unpleasant things that some of our students, friends and loved ones experienced in 2014.

 

Well, thankfully (yes, thankfully), 2014 is officially over. It’s now a new year, with new opportunities.

 

It’s okay to spend some time reflecting on what went wrong in 2014. We have to learn from our mistakes, and then, use that knowledge to make sure that we are stronger, smarter and better in 2015.

 

A word of caution here – and this is the main thing that I want to chat to you about – be careful of spending too much time thinking about what went wrong last year. Do NOT dwell. Do not get trapped in a cycle of negative thinking. Reflect YES; dwell NO!

 

Once you have done your reflecting …. LET IT GO!!!

 

Of course, most people associate the phrase ‘Let it go’ with the animated movie called Frozen. And, to be honest, Frozen is what has inspired me today.

 

 

Sometimes, we truly need to LET GO of things / people / memories etc.

 

And then we have the opportunity for NEW things / people / memories and opportunities. How exciting is that?

 

At College SA, we are all about giving our students the opportunity to try again. We want you, our students to know that you don’t have to give up on your educational dreams – no matter what happened in the previous year.

 

We want you to allow yourself to have new hopes and new goals.

 

Don’t let 2014 be a prison – step away from it and Let it Go.

 

 

 

You can achieve your dreams. You absolutely can.

 

Now put on your best ‘Princess’ shoes and sing it with me ‘Let it go, Let it go’ ….

 

PS: For those of you that want to watch the Frozen ‘Let it Go’ video, here’s the link to the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU

No one else can play your part

“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create that fact.”  – William James

Today, the 10^th of September, is World Suicide Prevention Day.

Suicide is a topic that we as a society usually shy away from, but I feel that we should rather address it.

Since 2003, the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) work in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health to plan an international campaign for suicide awareness and prevention.

So often we ignore people who are sad or depressed. A lot of the time we only do that because we do not understand it. But from all the different ways that people die, suicide is the only one that is 100% preventable. For me, this is what this day is all about.

While I was researching, I found another campaign from TWLOHA (To Write Love on Her Arms) that has a universal message – “No one else can play your part”. This slogan really stirred some emotion in me.

We should not shun people because they are a little different from us. We should rather include them in our lives and share our happiness or hope with them. Kindness goes a long way and I do not think we comprehend just how much even the slightest bit of humanity towards someone can affect and alter their lives.

“Each of us has a unique part to play in the healing of this world.”

– Marianne Williamson

The quote from Marianne Williamson ties in with the “No one else can play your part” campaign. There will come a day that you may be confronted with a situation where you can make a positive impact on someone’s life. Don’t hesitate. You could save another human being’s life by doing or saying something that may seem so ordinary to you.

Whether you are the person who always smiles, or you are the person who never stops crying – you are valuable! You are good enough for this world, and your life is precious. You have your own part to play in this life and no one else can be who you are supposed to be.

If you are going through a rough time, or cannot remember the last time you felt happy or safe – just remember that your struggle will become your strength, and your story will have the power to change lives. You are worthy, you are loved and you are beautiful…

All over the world at 8pm tonight, people will light a candle and place it in their window to show support for those people who are fighting depression, and to remember and honour those who we have lost as a result of depression.

Students of College SA, let us light our candles and continue to share our humanity with whoever needs it!

 

Who You Are

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and then it will never be used to hurt you.”  – Tyrion Lannister

September will always be the month that we identify with flowers, green leaves and colour. In a poetic sense, spring reminds me of new beginnings, beauty, and being free.

We celebrated women the whole of August, and with spring bringing new life, it reminded me that we should celebrate ourselves. So this September I want each and every one of us to celebrate and embrace who we are!

It does not matter where you came from or where you are at this stage in your life. It does not matter who you were. What truly matters is who you have become. The person you are now is the only one that matters. And let me tell you something about that person:

The person you are deserves to be loved, deserves to be happy, deserves to find hope every day, deserves to laugh – and most importantly – deserves to live life the way you have always intended.

But remember – even though you should celebrate and embrace yourself, you should always respect and love the people around you. Just like you, they also deserve all the good things in life.

There will be days when you will be happier and more radiant than someone around you – so share your smile, share your happiness, and let your positivity spread like a wildfire. And when the day comes when you feel a bit blue, I am sure a friend or even a stranger will share their kindness with you too.

Even though we embrace who we are now, we should never forget where we came from, who we were, or what we went through. There is always a reason for everything. Sometimes a bad thing will happen to you, but you will be moulded by this bad situation and become who you were meant to be.

“When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person that walked in. That is what the storm is all about.” – Haruki Murakami

Tim Fargo said that who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today. So be the person today that you would be proud of if you had to look back tomorrow. Be the person that can say: “This is me” and be content.

Students of College SA, remember who you are and believe in who you want to be. It is spring. Love yourself, listen to the sound of hope that lives within you, and share it!

If it means anything then DO NOT give up

Hi there Dear Readers,

How are you doing today?

Carry on reading, and, once you are done reading I would love for you to leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are.

 

 

Right, let’s start by acknowledging a few (difficult) things:

• We all make mistakes;
• We all get stuff wrong;
• We all start things that we never finish;
• We all ‘fail’ at certain things; and
• We all need extra chances to get things right.

 

Readers, we can be talking about diets, relationships, work projects and courses that we are studying …. we all make mistakes.

Sometimes we fail miserably.

How many resolutions and objectives have we not met?

The purpose of this article is NOT to make you feel bad or sad. No.

We need to accept that it is ok to make mistakes and to get things wrong.

 

 

 

Every day I get things wrong. Seriously. I don’t even want to mention how many ‘stuff ups’ I make on a daily basis, but the list could include things like:

• Over-sleeping;
• Not getting to work on time;
• Being an inconsiderate driver in the morning because I am in such a rush to get to work;
• Not eating breakfast;
• Not eating lunch;
• Snacking on unhealthy food;
• Not finishing my work tasks;
• Not managing to sort out my desk;
• Not greeting everybody that I see;
• Being irritable;
• Making mistakes on things I am working on …

 

Can you see, our ‘mistakes’ are many and can take many forms. You might think that being irritable is just a small mistake. Maybe. But sometimes me being irritable leads to me rushing through a project and thus not giving that project my full attention. Perhaps also my irritability results in me not being particularly nice to the people I care about. Little mistakes can lead to bigger mistakes.

It’s probably not even worth distinguishing between small and big mistakes.

We are all less than perfect. Sure, we can all strive towards perfection. But let’s get REAL here – we are not perfect. Not even the Dalai Lama is perfect.

I’m not saying don’t try to be brilliant. Brilliant is good . But make sure you understand what ‘brilliant’ means for you.

Okay, so we know about our mistakes. It’s okay. The fact that you made a mistake is actually proof that you TRIED.

 

 “There is no perfection only life”
― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being

 

My question to you – what are you going to do about those mistakes? If you have recently failed at something (no matter what it is), what are you going to do about it?

Firstly, well done for acknowledging where you went wrong. At least we are not in denial.

And now? What’s next?

 

 

So we have done acknowledgement. Now, stop beating yourself up.

Are you the kind of person that punishes yourself by constantly reminding yourself of your failures?

Don’t. Stop doing that.

After acknowledgement comes action.

Is there anybody that you need to apologise to in terms of the mistake that you made? Did your mistake hurt anybody? Often we hurt those we love the most with our mistakes.

Find a way to say sorry that is sincere and that is meaningful to the person you are apologising to.

Right, now, are you going to try again?

Are you going to get up off the proverbial floor and work towards getting things right? Are you going to set new and fresh goals? Are you going to put your true effort into trying to accomplish whatever it is you want to do / achieve?

 

 

 

How important is it that you achieve whatever it is you want to achieve?  

Again, we can be talking about goals / projects / resolutions / resolutions … anything.

What does this goal actually mean to you?

Do you know why you have this goal? Is it a goal that you can realistically achieve? For example, I know that I will never, EVER, became a world-class marathon runner. That is just not going to happen. Not even close.

What can you do differently this time to help you to achieve this goal?

How badly do you want to achieve this goal? What are you willing to do to achieve this goal?

 

“While I can’t have you, I long for you.I am the kind of person who would miss a train or a plane to meet you for coffee. I’d take a taxi across town to see you for ten minutes. I’d wait outside all night if I thought you would open the door in the morning. If you call me and say ‘Will you…’ my answer is ‘Yes’, before your sentence is out. ” Jeanette Winterson

 

Go on … what are you waiting for? Get up off the floor. Look deep within yourself and find the courage to step forward again.

Don’t give up. Ever. Keep trying. Keep hoping. Keep believing. 

“I know that life isn’t life if you just float through it. I know that the whole point –  the only point –  is to find the things that matter and hold onto them and fight for them and refuse to let them go.”
― Lauren Oliver, Delirium

Okay Readers, that’s enough soul-searching ‘serious stuff’ for now. Take care of yourselves.

S.