Ambition and increasing peer-pressure ensure the ‘rat in a trap syndrome’, wherein you are trapped into running faster and faster to stay in the same place. Today, twenty-somethings are dropping dead from heart attacks caused by stress.
Focus on happiness, not the lack of it. I believe the focus on stress and unhappiness should be turned upside down. Instead of attracting unhappiness, we should plant a garden of happiness, by welcoming the positive emotions into our lives—love, compassion, wonder, courage, laughter and peace. Focusing on our unhappiness
only helps to provide more power and attention to the negative person, event or object that causes it. Take some happiness breaks.
Why wait for your annual vacation to be happy? Why not have mini vacations or happiness breaks right through the day. An hour of listening to great music can lift your spirit and you can ‘touch by the edge of the far reaching wings’ of your song, the feet of the Divine. A great book or a brilliant movie can help you experience a higher alternative reality.
Happiness Breaks: Take them everyday!
1. Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day.
2. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods.
3. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break.
4. Stay away from politics and back-biting.
5. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday.
6. Spend time reading and improving your mind.
7. Get involved in activities that will benefit others.
8. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio, etc.
9. Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family, use the power of the internet.
10. Plan to cut off from work on weekends.
11. Meditate. Take care of yourself.
12. Look at your life-goals and evaluate your job to see if it will help you achieve them.
13. Learn to say ‘No’.
14. Remember that people are more important than getting ahead.
15. If you have a toxic workplace, look for another job.
16. Know that you are more important than the car you drive, house you inhabit, your bank balance or the promise of a foreign holiday.