Category Archives: Miscellaneous

To live well and laugh often

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The following is a famous poem that has been falsely accredited to many authors. It seems to belong to Bessie Stanley.

He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.
-Bessie Stanley

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Mediocre jobs for mediocre satisfaction

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I’ve been putting off publishing this post for a while now but I think it’s important to do so. I enjoy writing positive and constructive posts but every now and then you have to be aware of the things that threaten your happiness, well being and levels of enjoyment. We’ve all had less than satisfactory jobs before (well, most of us). This following post indicates why it’s necessary to leave these jobs as quickly as possible for our own sake – global financial recession in place or not!

So why are we all here? I think it’s quite old to think that you do a job simply for the money.

Humans, being curious species, we search for more than just shelter and a bit of cash savings.

Fulfilment is the new currency nowadays. What do I mean by that?

  • We want relationships
  • We want good health
  • We want money to do the things or buy the things we desire
  • We want spirituality or faith, that offers the logic we need, to better understand the circumstances that we face
  • We want time. Free time to enjoy our spoils

This is my understanding of what comprises fulfilment in one’s life.

How can you feel fulfilled if your job doesn’t reach the same high expectations that you’ve set for the other aspects of your life? Life is about risk. Risk identification, risk mitigation and risk management. You’re taking a risk when tolerating bad working conditions (in other words, continuing in a crappy job). The risks are that the stresses involved will affect other areas of your life and eventually, decrease your levels of enjoyment. Continue reading →

Too busy for grudges, no time for enemies

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The title says it all. If we all sat down and had a discussion about all the times we were hard-done-by, I think we’d be able to fill libraries worth of stories!

Guess what? Worse things have happened to others. Life goes on and if you can read this if means you’re still breathing so time to move on in the same way, time already has.

Enemies

It’s quite possible to make enemies out of anybody, even people we don’t know personally (eg. George Bush, Sadam Hussein, Alan Jones etc). It’s just not necessary. A smart man from Delloitte once said:

It’s not worth holding grudges. You waste your own energy and possibly give ammunition to those who aren’t in your favour. Continue reading →

Pride

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I’m a proud person. Because I am content with who I am, I feel blessed for the things I have experienced until today and am pleased with the direction I’m going in.

Does feeling proud mean that you are selfish and arrogant? I don’t think it does.

I think it implies that you respect yourself. You are confident in the values-system that guides you and most importantly, you understand your own self worth.

Being proud requires you to set boundaries for yourself on how much you tolerate certain actions or attitudes. It basically means: “how much shit am I willing to take before I refuse, avoid, or walk away from a situation?”

Being proud does not mean that you have to adopt an obnoxious personality. It means that you should become aware and protective of your dignity. Your reputation might not mean much to you but it risks being damaged if you don’t defend your pride.

I’m definitely not advocating for people to go out and impose their pride – or willingness to defend it – onto other people. I’m just saying, you should think about your pride and self worth if you are in a space where you are being unfairly abused, humiliated, or discouraged.

If you’re a good person then why should you allow for unpleasant conditions to affect you? You should know when to speak up and refuse to have your pride hurt.

There are things worth defending. Be proud. You deserve to be, no matter who you are.

A healthy attitude

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Much greater than words or beliefs, this has to descend from feelings.

The best way to have a good attitude is to trigger the feeling of gratitude. Now, there’s no need to start thinking of how grateful you are for your house, career, etc.

The best way to feel gratitude (at least in my experience) is to find music that absolutely impacts on you in a positive way. The kind of songs that make you say loudly in your head “MAN, THIS IS BEAUTIFUL”!

Well, there are many different triggers for feeling gratitude.

It’s drawing these few moments (sometimes minutes) when we feel inspired and our minds are at ease. Guilt, anger, envy, sadness, all disappear and we unconsciously give thanks for being here to appreciate this beauty.

When you feel peace in your mind and you are grateful for things such as music, then it’s pretty easy to have healthy attitude.