Happiness.

What is it? Where does it come from? Why does it have to be so fleeting and evasive?

No one truly knows, but those that have found it can teach us how to find it. I like to think that it’s a state of mind, rather than a place or a situation.

If you’re looking for happiness, but can’t seem to find it, or you’ve forgotten where it is, let these happiness quotes inspire you, daily if necessary:

1. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss
2. “The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” – Commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin
3. “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. “Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.” ― Jacques Prévert
5. “Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” ― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
6. “If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy
7. “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” ― Marthe Troly-Curtin, Phrynette
8. “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.” ― Dalai Lama XIV
10. “Seven Deadly Sins: Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Science without humanity. Knowledge without character. Politics without principle. Commerce without morality. Worship without sacrifice.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
11. “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” ― Albert Camus
12. “Happiness is never stopping to think if you are.” ― Palmer Sondreal
13. “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” ― John Lennon
14. “There’s nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
15. “The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters.” ― Audrey Hepburn
16. “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien
17. “Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.” ― Fyodor Dostoevsky
18. “Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.” ― Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness
19. “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ― Marcel Proust
20. “I’ve got nothing to do today but smile.” ― Paul Simon
21. “Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
22. “The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” ― James Openheim
23. “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.” ― Mark Twain
24. “Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get” ― W.P. Kinsella
25. “Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.” ― Margaret Young
26. “It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
27. “Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne
28. “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” ― Frederick Keonig
29. “Happiness is a direction, not a place.” ― Sydney J. Harris
30. “A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour.” ― Author Unknown
31. “There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.” ― Lady Blessington
32. “Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.” ― Author Unknown
33. “If you search the world for happiness, you may find it in the end, for the world is round and will lead you back to your door.” – Robert Brault
34. “Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience
35. “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.” ― Carlos Castaneda
36. “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will.” ― Epictetus
37. “What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” ― Joseph Addison
38. “Happiness does not come from without, it comes from within.” ― Helen Keller
39. “I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.” ― Martha Washington
40. “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
41. “The way I define happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you have, right now, regardless of the circumstances, while being the best you that you can be.” ― Leo Babauta
42. “Happiness is not a life without pain, but rather a life in which the pain is traded for a worthy price.” ― Orson Scott Card, Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
43. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
44. “It is only possible to live happily ever after on a daily basis.” ― Margaret Bonanno
45. “Remember this, that very little is needed to make a life happy.” ― Marcus Aurelius
46. “I wake up every morning with a great desire to live joyfully.” ― Anna Howard Shaw
47. “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha
48. “Happiness is the art of never holding in your mind the memory of any unpleasant thing that has passed.” – Author Unknown
49. “Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself – no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are – completely; the good and the bad – and make changes as YOU see fit – not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” – Stacey Charter
50. It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” ― Lucille Ball
51. “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ― Tich Nhat Hanh

Image by Celestine Chua.

This time I am back again with a round-up of the coolest Happiness + Motivational posts on the Net for this week. Please read and leave a comment which ones you enjoyed the most!

6 Best Happiness + Positive Living Posts this Week

1. The Greatest Lesson I’ve Learned: When and where does the search for happiness end? Does it even end? This post is written beautifully, where the author shares how ticking goal after goal after goal still leaves you feeling empty inside. Could it be that this drive for “more” is actually stopping us from being happy now? What do you think?

2. The Best Way to Change Your Habits? Control Your Environment: Like everyone, I’ve had some habits that I am not proud of. Sometimes, I’ll sleep in. I procrastinate. I can be a personal development junkie. Reading this post made me reflect how I’ve overcome some not-so-amazing habits in past — changing the environment — and I trust you’ll agree also. Read it and then come back to share your thoughts.

3. Five Positive Things People Forget When They’re Down and Out: We all go through ups and downs in life. We lose confidence, we fail, we fall, we are afraid. This post shares 5 things you tend to forget when the going gets tough. I loved pick-me-up #1 the most!

4. How to Inspire Others W/o Saying a Word: To some extent, I agree with this post. Why waste words when the same can be said with much higher impact with an example? Personally, I feel stories work even better in place of examples, but I get what the author is saying and urge you to read it too.

5. Why Did This Man Work for 36 Hours Straight? Could workaholic-ism be a solution to come out of procrastination? Hmm. It’s interesting to ponder. To each his own, so if working straight 36 hours helps this entrepreneur, then why not do it? But only time can tell if this is a long-term strategy or a one-time tactic. Your thoughts?

6. The Best Way to Be More Confident: Finally, someone who gets confidence! I was nodding when I read “confidence is situational”. You may be confident in your “tribe” but when you’re put in a new group, the equation changes. The post also picks some helpful passages from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic’s book Confidence.

You will also enjoy the last Round Up Post.

Image by zahin_muhamad9207.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

There is one point in your life when you lack confidence and it leads to losing something that you desire.

Confidence is something that has to be built. At times, we feel fear and self-doubt.

There are times that we do not believe in ourselves and all negative thoughts sink into our mind and those negative thoughts hinder us from doing or achieving our dreams.

These feeling of fear and doubt will not help us reach our full potential. This article offers five useful tips which help you eliminate that fear and let go of any self-doubt in you.

Related: Converse Confidently

5 Tips to Let Go Fear and be More Confident

#1: Do it!

There is a famous line by Susan Jeffers. She says that you have to feel the fear and do it anyway! They say that 90% of the things that we fear will never ever happen.

You have to remember that false expectations may appear real. If you fear it, most probably, you will not do it. The result is that nothing really happened; nothing was made to happen because of the fear that hinders you.

#2: Focus on the Positive

In our brain, we have our own memory bank. In that bank, we must deposit all positive thoughts. Withdraw all negative thoughts and experiences that may affect the way you think or perceive things.

This is because if you only have positive thoughts, you will feel good and if you feel good, you are more confident. Try to observe all the thoughts that you have. How do these thoughts affect your everyday living?

#3: Arrange things in perspective

Bear in mind that people are actually more alike than they are different from each other. It is advised to get a view of other people. After that, you make an understanding attitude especially when you are in a situation that is uncomfortable to you.

Through this, you will be more confident around new people. If for instance, you have to talk in front of a lot of people and you are feeling nervous, just remember that probably they are feeling the same way as you are.

#4: It takes practice and perseverance

Sometimes, the feeling of failure wants us to easily give up and just let fear and self-doubt take over. But that should not be the case. What you should do is strive hard and persevere.

As you persevere, the fear of failure will fade and you will be more confident in doing things to achieve your goals. Keep on practicing and learning. These are the key to be confident and successful.

#5: Think and act confident

If you feel scared and not confident, act confident nevertheless. To try this the next time you want to be more confident and release any fear, do these five basic things: Sit in the front row, always make eye contact, walk fast, say your opinion and smile.

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How do be more confident and let go of fear in your life? Share your tips with us!

Image by Wonderlane.

Imagine the most positively motivated person you have ever met and ask them if they had always been this motivated.

The answer would probably be a no. Most people face a slump in their personal and/or professional life. And it is very much likely that the person you admire felt unmotivated and uninspired when hardships came calling.

But what separates achievers from non-achievers is their ability to quickly stand up after taking a hit. There are no common ways to deal with tough situations. Each person reacts to adversity differently.

For the time when the going gets tough, here are a few tips to help you get back to action once again quickly and truly. Take a look:

1. Focus on one goal at a time

People often lose motivation when they have too much going on in their lives. Juggling too many things at the same time can be taxing, physically as well as psychologically.

If this is the case with you, reset your priorities and try not to focus on more than a few things at one time. As counterintuitive as it may appear, this way you will be able to do more in less time.

2. Keep yourself active

Did you know that individuals who exercise regularly are more successful? Yes, that’s right. Busy as you may be, make it a point to take some time off daily to do something physical.

And I am not talking about frequent walks from your work desk to the coffee machine and back here. What you need to do is religiously follow a mild exercise regime, be it power walking, jogging, lifting weights, or yoga.

3. Read inspirational books

Sales reports and annual reports you read in plenty, but they are hardly inspirational, unless, of course, they contain favorable figures and you happen to own the company.

When circumstances are tough, and even at other times, inspirational books can be of huge help. Besides motivating you, these books may serve as a road map for overcoming your personal obstacles.

4. Make a public commitment

Some of the highly motivated people in the world find their motivation from others around them. If your own personal commitment does not seem to working, commit to a goal in front of others.

Not many like to look bad in front of others, and sharing your goals with others will give you additional motivation for completing what you have started.

That said, making it public may be a double-edged sword. When you’re starting out, you only want to announce your goals to the most supportive people who have your best interest at heart, and that is a smart thing to do.

5. Keep things small in the beginning

If you find yourself unable to reach your goals despite best efforts, you may be aiming too high. Instead of trying to achieve the unattainable, break your goals into smaller goals and work towards achieving them.

Although your goals are smaller, you are more likely to succeed, and the confidence you get upon achieving them will eventually prepare for you bigger, more challenging goals.

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Like everything else, motivation too is not always the same. There will be times when you may feel unmotivated. These are the times when you must dig deep and carry on and remember success is never too far for people who persevere.

How do YOU get motivated toward your goals? Share with us in the comments.

Image by SweetOnVeg.

“Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.” ~ Kim Hubbard

I must confess: I used to be terrible at making small-talk with strangers. The thought of attending a party where I barely knew a handful of people used to send me into jitters.

But then I started to realize what I was missing out on and how important good conversational skills are to building warm and long-lasting relationships.

I am much more confident now than I was a few years back and I would like to share with you a few tips that have helped me emerge from hiding behind the curtains and take that first step forward in initiating a conversation.

Hope they will help you find an easy solution to starting a conversation!

5 Ways to Start a Conversation with Anyone, Anywhere

1. Open with a friendly smile.

A genuine smile can win wars and open closed doors. No one wants to strike up a conversation with a dour-faced person. So be confident, genuine and show interest in what the other person is talking about and smile!

Watch your body language. It may be revealing more about your true intentions than you know. Crossing your arms in front of your body, leaning away from the other person, no eye contact etc. are all subtle indications of your low interest in the conversation underway and might put off the other person in talking with you.

2. You don’t have to be exceptionally clever or witty.

Don’t waste a lot of time trying to come up with the best one-liners. Your opening line is just that – an opening for you to start a dialogue with someone. Much of what happens after that depends on how and what you speak after the first opening lines and how comfortable the other person is in taking the conversation forward.

A few easy conversation starters are recently released movies or sports. Or if you are talking to a stranger at a party, you can start by introducing yourself and then asking them how they know the host.

If you are waiting for a parent-teacher meet, you can strike up a conversation with the other parents about school activities or kids in general, as long as you are not nit-picking or complaining.

And the best one of all, start with a heart-felt compliment! It can put an instant smile on their face and make them more receptive to your attempts to strike a conversation.

3. Keep your expectations moderate.

Don’t expect people to fall over themselves to have a conversation with you each time. They might just not have the time, mood or the inclination to talk at that point of time. Observe their body language and move out gracefully if it seems that they are not interested in talking.

Do not take it too personal or let it keep you away from initiating a conversation the next time. It may even be that they are too shy to talk to strangers. If that it is the case, you may have to take the lead in continuing the conversation and put them at ease.

Related: End Your Shyness Now

4. Do your homework.

Stay abreast with latest topics. If the conversation has been directed to unfamiliar grounds, ask questions and show your interest in learning more about it.

Most people will be only too happy to share their knowledge as long as they feel that you are genuinely interested.

5. Be positive and avoid complaining.

No one likes to listen to a constant whiner. Avoid cribbing, moaning or sharing your negative outlooks on life with every person you meet. All of us have enough problems already; we don’t want a person who is only going to add to it!

And while on the topic of how to start a conversation, it is better to stay far away from potentially touchy topics such as religion and politics while talking to strangers to avoid your conversation erupting into a nasty debate.

What is your tried-and-tested method to start a conversation with others? Share with us in the comments below!

Image by orangeacid.