Steps To Live A Happy Life

Eastern Wisdom

 zenhabits
breathe.

The Pause Upon Which All Else Relies
by Leo
9 Feb 2012 at 8:56am
Post written by Leo Babauta. There is one little habit I’ve learned that has changed everything else in my life. The pause. When we fail, it’s because we act on urges without thinking, without realizing it. We have the urge to eat junk, and we do it. We have the urge to check email instead [...]
The Thousand Cuts Fitness Program
by Leo
6 Feb 2012 at 10:43am
Post written by Leo Babauta. I’ve trained for marathons, triathlons, 10Ks, a 13.5-hour challenge, Ubanathlons, and more. But my favorite fitness program isn’t one where you train for a major event. It’s where you get fit by a thousand little actions. When the actions are tiny, they are easy. You have no excuse. You can [...]
The Two-Headed Beast of Successful Habit Change
by guest
2 Feb 2012 at 9:20am
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Tyler Tervooren of Advanced Riskology. I used to have a lot of bad habits. I still do, but I used to have a lot more. Here?s just a small sampling: I woke up late and went to bed early. I procrastinated on my most important work. I [...]
Create the Habit of Meditation, & the Zen Habits Premium Membership
by Leo
31 Jan 2012 at 3:03pm
Post written by Leo Babauta. It’s something I should have created a long time ago: the Zen Habits Premium Membership, and a mini-course that’s included with it called Create the Habit of Meditation. The membership is a monthly subscription of $19.99, but really it’s a commitment to changing your life, and the tools needed to [...]
Creating Silence from Chaos
by Leo
27 Jan 2012 at 3:20pm
Post written by Leo Babauta. We are often afraid of silence, because its emptiness feels idle, boring, unproductive, and scary. And so we fill our lives with chaos, noise, clutter. But silence can be lovely, and therapeutic, and powerful. It can be the remedy for our stress and the habits that crush us. If we [...]
The Habits That Crush Us
by Leo
23 Jan 2012 at 11:26am
‘Don’t panic.’ ~Douglas Adams Post written by Leo Babauta. Why is it that we cannot break the bad habits that stand in our way, crushing our desires to live a healthy life, be fit, simplify, be happier? How is it that our best intentions are nearly always beaten? We want to be focused and productive, [...]
Learning to Sit Alone, in a Quiet Empty Room
by Leo
17 Jan 2012 at 1:49pm
‘All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.’ ~Blaise Pascal Post written by Leo Babauta. Think about some of the problems of our daily lives, and how many of them would be eased if we could learn to sit alone, in a quiet empty room, with contentment. If [...]
Life as a Conscious Practice
by Leo
13 Jan 2012 at 9:15am
‘Everything is practice.’ ~Pele Post written by Leo Babauta. When we learn a martial art, or ballet, or gymnastics, or soccer ? we consciously practice movements in a deliberate way, repeatedly. By conscious, repeated practice, we become good at those movements. Our entire lives are like this, but we’re often less conscious of the practice. [...]
Your Top 10 Clutter Questions, Answered
by Leo
11 Jan 2012 at 11:33am
Post written by Leo Babauta. Decluttering is a skill that you learn with practice, just like any skill. And just like other skills, there are many little questions and problems you need answered and solved as you get started. Those of you taking the Clutterfat Challenge this month are facing these problems, and I’m here [...]
Clearing Your Life for a New Year
by Leo
9 Jan 2012 at 12:55pm
Post written by Leo Babauta. Every January, people rush out and get a gym membership, set a list of goals or resolutions, and get ready to take on a new year of frenetic activity. Unfortunately, we don’t often clear space to make room for all this new stuff. The beginning of the year is a [...]


Steps To Live A Happy Life

Here is your Friday STORY on: HAPPINESS: Is everything going right in your life? Unless we have structured it with the right ingredients, we'll feel that there are too many obstacles. Every time we seem to get going something is there to pull us back. But where are we going to? Most people seem to plan a route to happiness via riches; unless you have the formula correct you'll fall along the path which ultimately will bring you misery. When you decide to GO somewhere make every small step bring happiness, rather than the happiness being at the end of the rainbow. Or alternatively alter the perspective and make happiness the goal and if riches arrive as a consequence you're cutting out the middle years. If you ever needed to SELL yourself in your profession, would you approach that selling from misery or happiness? Proof I may add if you answered that right, that everything has its route in happiness. Be happy first and eternal greatness will follow. Let's imagine our body posture. If we are slumped in a chair an observer will correctly assume that your attention span is low and whatever is trying to capture your interest isn't succeeding. Yet consider if you were sat upright and glued with observation, with a face that is bright, cheerful and attentive; what impression would that give? Your body posture tells a story, rarely will it be inaccurate and more importantly it should be a reminder to yourself of what condition your frame of mind is in. Today's story is about a man who has the treasure of life, but fails to know how to use it. He thinks that the jewels of life are at the opposite side of the rainbow. He has the happiness should he open his eyes, but the riches he doesn't. He does as many people do by putting on his blinkers and fails to see what he has directly under his nose. RUNNING FAST AND GOING NOWHERE One of these days I shall pack up and go back to school. To the easy life. When I was in it, I hated its repetitive nature. Now that I am out of it, I am boggled by the ever-changing nature of married, professional life, its ups-and-downs. They have me drained of all that I used to value so much, the exuberance, the fun. So one day, I am going to leave my wife and kid behind and just fly off for a year or so. I will get my head and my body in order. Will go and sleep with some pretty chicks too. Drink alcohol too. And be outrageous. Then when I come back I will fit in better. Will be better adjusted. Not that there is something significantly wrong with my life right now. It is just that I feel that it is passing me by, this life. Quickly. Others seem to have more fun with it. I might look down upon what they get around to, all the nastiness and narcism. But deep down I guess a part of me also wants a part of that. I want to go out with vain models and I want to pose for cameras too. I want to have great energy and hop all over town and in and out of beds and make people jealous of the way I live. I want to stand out. People tell me that I have it good. Do I? Sometimes I wonder, what do people know. I might be making a buck or so here or there, but these days success makes me sad. And I find myself often wanting to be alone, sitting in a puddle of melancholy. I had a better time at college than most, but I still would like to do it all over again. Maybe I got married too early. Maybe the kid came along too soon. No, that can't be true. Whenever I look into his face, he fills me with such joy. All the waking up at night to feed him, all the crankiness in the days after, it doesn't matter. He is a part of me and I love him madly. Maybe I will take him along with me to college. Maybe I will. I don't think all those girls I'll go out at college will mind. Chicks love kids. But then again, they might not. And I can't have that. Maybe I will take the missus along. Someone has to look after the kid. Nah. That sounded callous. Almost makes it seem like I don't love her. I do. I think I do. I just don't feel it anymore. I just don't know where all the love went. Drowned in familiarity I guess. It is strange. There was a time when all I thought that mattered in my life was her and it hurt me physically not to be with her. Now, I do not hurry home and other women have started seeming attractive to me. She has gotten a bit heavy since having the kid; though I always tell her that she hasn't. Or I tell her that she is a whole lot of woman. And that I love her. Come to think of it, I do love her. The thought of me joking around with her has put a smile on my face. I think I shall give her a call at home to just say, 'Hi.' Y'know, to this day, I have not cheated on her. I have of course thought about it. All men do; it is only natural. And I sometimes allow myself that luxury. To think about it. There are several women around who I could cheat on her with. They sometimes smile back at me too. The ones that seem easy are fat. Or are just plainly too forward. Can't have either. Guilt is heavy. If I got a fat woman on me, I just might stop breathing. And where would that put me ? Crushed under a fat woman, naked. What would my kid think? Erm... I have just looked over the last paragraph to see what I have written. I must be coming unhinged. A woman can't crush a man like that. She can of course break his spirit, but to crush him she would need to be at least 500 hundred pounds. And I ain't sure as hell gonna sleep with no hippo. I ain't that desperate as yet. Guess the only way out of this situation then is to go abroad. To study. Or maybe even emigrate. The only problem with leaving here is that I would also have to take most of what is here with me as well. Khair, that's enough for now. Got some work to do. And I think I'll make that call to my wife as well. (Mohammad Qayyum) QUOTE: 'It's impossible to walk rapidly and be unhappy.' (Dr. Howard Murphy)

Happy Mondays - Step On (live)

18 Aug 2006 at 8:29am


3 Steps to Beating Procrastination

20 Aug 2008 at 2:50pm


How To Be Happy With Less

2 Oct 2009 at 7:00am



Next page: Be Thankful


Steps To Live A Happy Life News


Bela Tarr On 'The Turin Horse': The Hungarian Director Discusses His Last Fil...

10 Feb 2012 at 6:38am 

Bela Tarr On 'The Turin Horse': The Hungarian Director Discusses His Last Film
Huffington Post
And while Tarr has never made a Hollywood blockbuster, his work has been elevated by intellectuals and critics like Susan Sontag, who once said she would be happy to see "Satantango" every year for the rest of her life. Though he's frequently compared ...

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SOUTH ON 101: Get happy - Lompoc Record

10 Feb 2012 at 1:10am 

SOUTH ON 101: Get happy
Lompoc Record
By Julia McHugh Lompoc Record | Posted: Friday, February 10, 2012 12:00 am | (0) Comments Saturday is ?World Happy Day? ? so here are some tips on how to live a happier life, starting with a day in Santa Barbara. What is the key to happiness?

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How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy - The Atlantic

9 Feb 2012 at 9:34pm 

How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy
The Atlantic
?We were quite surprised to find the cysts?the parasite's dormant form?all over the brain in what otherwise appeared to be a happy, healthy rat,? she says. Nonetheless, the cysts were most abundant in a part of the brain that deals with pleasure (in ...

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How real leaders come from behind and win - CBS News

8 Feb 2012 at 10:36am 

How real leaders come from behind and win
CBS News
COMMENTARY I'm a happy guy this week: a lifelong New York Giants fan whose team beat the Packers (my wife's from Wisconsin) and the 49ers (I live in the Bay Area) to get to the Super Bowl. And coming from behind to beat New England (again) was awesome.

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3 Steps To Adding Your Pooch To Your Will - Business Insider

7 Feb 2012 at 11:03am 

Business Insider

3 Steps To Adding Your Pooch To Your Will
Business Insider
You simply need to identify a caregiver, arrange funding to help your pet live a happy, healthy life, and plan for their comfort and safety in the days after your passing. Here are the steps. Most pet owners would probably prefer to have a close friend ...

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