Remember this...

Take time once in a while to just enjoy the moment...

When someone tries to surprise you, let them think they got away with it...

Always try to do what you are taught it can sometimes lead to beautiful things...

Try to give a gentle lift to a friend in need...

Search for the best route to what you're hoping for...

No goal is too hard to attain when you persevere...

Sometimes it's better to watch from a distance and plan your next move carefully...

Get to know someone first before accepting that he may be your enemy...

Be careful what you put into your body, health is too important to ignore...

Present yourself well and mind your manners...

Remember, no matter how much you resemble your siblings, you are still unique.

Whenever possible, jump and clap for joy!

Always keep in mind that the world is filled with marvels... look for them

You never know what awaits around the next bend.

Be kinder than necessary

For everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS IS A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR AND A BAD MEMORY.

A sharp tongue can cut your own throat.

If you want your dreams to come true, you mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

The heaviest thing you can carry is a grudge.

One thing you can give and still keep...is your word.

You lie the loudest when you lie to yourself

If you lack the courage to start, you have already finished.

One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.

Ideas won't work unless 'You' do.

Your mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what you might have been.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.

Happiness is...

How do we explain this paradox and what are some simple things we can do to bring more happiness into our lives?

The causes of our moods are complex, and not entirely under our control. About 40% of happiness derives from our genes. You are born with a certain temperament that makes you more likely to see the sunshine or the clouds. Researchers call this our biological set-point. Some of us are naturally more optimistic or extroverted, which helps us connect with others and get out in the world, leading to more opportunities for happiness, and a stronger support system. When good things happen, they make us happier for a while, but then we adjust our expectations and begin to take them for granted. Researchers call this hedonic adaptation and estimate that it takes, on average, about two years to adapt back to our regular happiness level after a major positive life event. In that time, we can go from being giddy in love to complaining that our partner won¡¯t do the dishes, or from celebrating our new home to complaining about the utility bill.

Despite these limitations, there are things you can do that have been proven to increase your enjoyment of life. Some involve a change of mental focus. Others involve building certain types of relationships, and still others involve learning and practicing new habits and ways of behaving. To be happy in the long-term, we may have to stretch ourselves in the short-term. A willingness to try new things, or to see old things in new ways, may be a prerequisite for lasting happiness.

Below are some rules you can follow for a happier life:

Focus on Lasting Meaning, Not Momentary Feelings

Things that make us feel good in the moment may actually end up being unhealthy for us, creating guilt, remorse and negative consequences down the road. All types of addictions fall into this category, as does mindless materialism, and grabbing things for ourselves without considering others or giving back. We may feel good or have a rush of excitement in the moment, but in the long run, we worsen our mood with debt, health problems, shame and guilt, or ruined relationships. Feeling good in the moment, and the next, and the next, is not much in our control; life has its inevitable mundane moments and ups and downs. On the other hand, if we focus on building a meaningful life in which we act authentically and are guided by our core values and the things that intrinsically inspire us, we can achieve more lasting happiness. The feeling may not be as intense as a momentary high, but it is deeper and more enduring. When we build authentic relationships and contribute to our family and community, we feel good about ourselves, even when we face financial or health problems.

Build and Nurture a Support Network

Research has long shown that loving relationships with partners, friends, and family make us happier and healthier. Having loved ones we trust, who will support and comfort us through the hard times, makes us feel good about ourselves and more hopeful about the future. The good news is that you don¡¯t need a village¡ªjust a few people who genuinely care about you can be enough. When it comes to social support, quality trumps quantity. So focus on deepening your relationships by supporting others and being more willing to be vulnerable with friends, if they are open to it. And spend less time with superficial friends unless you are doing meaningful things with them, such as volunteering or supporting each others¡¯ careers. Remember also that building relationships takes time and you may have to face setbacks in the quest to find true friends or partners.

Deliberately Savor the Good Times

Our brains have a natural negative bias. Survival is more important to our brains than happiness, leading to a natural threat focus. Good and peaceful moments are quickly forgotten or missed because we are worrying about some impending deadline or relationship problem. We need to practice every day to rewire our brains for happiness. This means deliberately focusing attention on the positive parts of our day, such as a morning hug from our spouse, a goal we accomplished, or the cute bird in the tree outside our window.  Research also shows that we can extend our enjoyment of special times by deliberately thinking about them, taking photos and displaying them on our desks or in our homes, and talking about them to others. (Facebook and blogs are useful tools for this type of sharing.) Reading about others¡¯ meaningful experiences can also give us a piece of the happiness pie, especially if they are people we care about.

Find a Way to Feel In Control

A key piece of the happiness puzzle is autonomy. We all have a natural need to feel in control of our lives and decisions. If the circumstances of our lives are largely out of our control, we have a harder time feeling happy. The exception is if we are religious or spiritual. Feeling that a powerful and benevolent higher power has our best interests at heart and that everything happens for a good reason can allow the fear-focused parts of our brains to let go and relax. If we are not religious or spiritual, we can still feel a sense of control by trusting in our our support network, or in our own ability to adapt and learn new skills, or by seeing ourselves as competent. Focusing on past successes can help. It can also help to create new experiences of challenge and competency. This is the idea behind wilderness camps or empowerment weekends that end with a fire walk. But you don¡¯t have to go to extremes to feel competent and in control simply setting some specific, manageable goals and tracking your progress in accomplishing them can have the same effect.

Indulge Your Curiosity

When we have a fixed idea of how things need to be in order for us to be happy, we actually limit our happiness. Similarly, if we keep doing the same things and never challenge ourselves, hedonic adaptation will kick in and we will find ourselves stuck in a rut. Our brains naturally seeks novelty and challenge. Happiness creeps up on us in unexpected moments when we find something new and interesting, or when we follow our interests and let things unfold. When I moved to Marin County, some of my happiest times were when I explored a new trail and found a grove of wildflowers or a mountain stream. Another way to create happy experiences is to look at familiar things in new ways like the day I decided to take photos of the rustic mailboxes in my old neighborhood, or when I found interesting pictures of rusty and refurbished objects on Pinterest. Research by Todd Kashdan shows that curious people are happier and rate their lives as more meaningful.

3 Lessons You Can Learn From Failure

Gratitude gladiator, here’s the deal: Life will leave you heartbroken. It’s guaranteed. And just to make this a real downer—this heartbreak will probably happen more than once.

You will get hurt.
You’ll have regrets and wish you could do it over.
You’ll wince in shame and crouch beneath the weight of mediocrity.
You will fail.
This is a given.

You will be dis-invited. Worse yet, you’ll be denied outright.
You’ll show up late and lose out with him or her or them.
You'll give up too soon and cry heavy, hot tears of frustration.

Misplaced anger and rage will fill your heart and you’ll say things you wish you hadn’t.
You’ll want to take it back, but it will be too late.
People will criticize you and judge you and compare you to your competition.

Doubt will paralyze you and an undeniably rich opportunity will pass by.
You’ll wish you had said:
I love you, don't go. I didn’t see it before but I was wrong and I’m sorry.

There will be scars.
And they will be on display.
But instead of failure after failure, you will (finally) learn the lesson.
You will mine this heartbreaking experience for the gem of wisdom.

You’ll drink it with dear thirst and curiosity and rise to your rightful, magnificent glory.
You will rise again the way you most desire.
And this time pride will be your wing-woman.

You will never, ever, as long as you live, escape heartbreak, failure, or pain.
This is absolutely certain. It is the Universe’s benevolent way of helping us ascend to a higher consciousness. To grow.
Pain and failure is certain.

So this begs the question “Why spend any time trying to avoid the unavoidable?”
Peel the ancient armor from your skin, your protection is not as necessary as you think. Status quo is an illusion and you’ve been duped.
Shift your energy instead to getting the most out of life.

Really, failure can be an opportunity to learn + grow + s-t-r-e-t-c-h your beliefs and abilities.

Here are three heart-smartening ways you can make the most of your dust-ups:

1. (Finally) learn the lesson the Universe is trying to teach you.
When we make the same mistakes and fail in the same way over and over and over, it’s usually The Universe trying to teach us something. And it’ll keep trying until we get it. What lesson are you not learning? That you shouldn’t date married men? That you shouldn’t work in that industry? That you shouldn’t have more than two drinks at networking events? Take a clear-eyed look at your failures and learn the lesson you’re being taught.

2. Re-evaluate your desires.
Sometimes we fail because we don’t really want that thing we’re going after. We engage in self-sabotage because we’re chasing something for the wrong reason—we’ve been told it’s what we want, everybody else is chasing it, we’re good at this thing. If you’re failing again and again at something, check in with yourself. Do you really, actually want this? Maybe what you want is something different and it’s in a different direction.

3. Take a (mini) break and focus your efforts elsewhere for a minute.
If you just made a royal mess of your personal life, take a deep cleansing breath, close your Match.com account, and spent a month really focusing on networking and promoting your services. If you just lost a big client, take two weeks to drink green juice and run in the hills. Point your energy in another—equally important—direction for a little bit. You’ll regain your confidence while still building towards the life you want.

You’ll fail. It’s a given. But you can get back up and keep going.