DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #53- Understand and Accept Yourself

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We are responsible for our own happiness.  It is in knowing and understanding our own self that we get to know what makes us tick…what makes us angry, sad or happy.  It is then possible to define happiness in our own terms.  So let us endeavor to make a deep enough understanding of our strengths as well as our weaknesses.  It is when we play to our strengths that we find flow, fulfillment and meaning to whatever we do.  Similarly, it is when we learn to be more forgiving of our weaknesses and willing to adjust expectations that we find acceptance and contentment.

The next step is to accept those which we cannot change in or about ourselves, such as the skin color or the parents we have; and to strive to change those which we can, such as our reaction to criticisms or our attitude toward our job. 

Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #52- Learn the Serenity Prayer by Heart

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #14- Accept the Things You Cannot Change

This is the first line in the serenity prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Our inherent stubbornness is often the culprit why we find it so difficult to follow this advice (or perhaps we basically are not yet wise enough to know the difference). We need to always remind ourselves that by insisting on trying to change the things we simply cannot change, we set ourselves up to become frustrated no end.

You cannot change your situation if you got stuck in traffic because of a road accident and you’re running late for an appointment…Dang! But you can change your attitude towards the incident. You can call the person you are meeting and advise that you’ll be late, then turn on the radio or CD player and listen to good music as you thank the Lord that it was not you who is involved in that accident.

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DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #12- Live Life Without Grudges

In our everyday lives, we are unconsciously keeping a lot of grudges. To live a life without grudges is easier said than done but we should try. Let us start by pondering upon the following suggestions:

(1) accept the things you cannot change, (2) never regret decisions you have made, (3) always love what you got and remember what you had, (4) always forgive and learn from mistakes, (5) don’t set your expectations too high, (6) love deeply and forgive quickly, and (7) laugh as often as you can. These will be discussed individually in the next daily happiness tips.

Take note that the heaviest thing we can carry is a grudge and having lots of it will make life unbearable. Remove grudges one by one and observe how light and easy life can be. Be grudge-free and be happy!

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