If you enjoy reading motivational articles on seeking happiness, dealing with negativity, overcoming challenges, and finding meaning and purpose in life, then I have another blog that compiles all of my writings regarding the above topics and more.
Here are some articles from the blog:
To You Who Are Unloved
To you who have been made to feel unloved, unwanted, or unappreciated, whether as a child, as a partner, or as a parent, this message is written for you.
It hurts to feel unloved or unwanted, especially not getting love from the people closest to you. However, just because a certain person or a certain group of people are not loving the way you want them to, it does not mean you are worthy of being loved.
The Inflated Balloons We Carry With Us
When we blow air into a balloon, it inflates. When we continue to blow, the balloon gets bigger and bigger. Eventually, it reaches a point at which we need only a single puff for the balloon to burst in our faces.
Why do people get angry easily, with a single incident causing them to lose their heads? The reason is that most people are carrying very inflated balloons. The air inside represents the negative thoughts and emotions that are bottled up inside us. It takes only a slight provocation or misunderstanding to ignite a full-blown outburst.
Comparison, Envy, Unhappiness
Why is everyone else living in EC or condominiums while I am stuck in my HDB flat? Why do all my friends own cars while I am still taking
public transport? Why is my friend’s hubby so sweet and always
pampering her with gifts?
Humans love to compare, don’t we? The revolution brought about by smartphones and social media gives us more opportunities to do so. We look through the pictures our friends share—pictures of the things they have and the places they have visited. It is perfectly fine to compare but if comparison makes us feel unhappy, we have to do something about it.
Coping With Sadness
Sadness is one of the most painful emotions that human beings can experience. Sadness usually comes from loss, especially the loss of people who are very close to us and who have touched our lives on many occasions. Because we are all social beings, we will inevitably experience loss and the pain that comes with it.
The pain of loss can come in waves, not just during the period when the loss occurs. While it is natural to grieve and experience sadness, we must not let these emotions overwhelm us and pull us into a downward spiral.
My Mum
My mum never spared me the housework from a young age and till today I am grateful for that. Ever since my teenage years, my mum had “bestowed” me with responsibilities of cleaning the house, ranging from sweeping, and mopping the floor, to cleaning the furniture, ironing and washing my own laundry (and yes, hand-wash not machine-wash).
While it means less time for TV, computer games or even studies, I am glad to pick up essential life skills that I still find useful today. Other than knowing how to do the housework, I am able to do it faster through years of practice and even new chores like changing taps don’t scare me off.
We Always Have A Choice
We always have a choice.
A plate of shrimp fried rice costs $13.80++ at Ding Tai Fung, $6.80 at Wok Hey, and $4.50 at the zi char stall.
An EC near Canberra MRT costs 3 times the price of a nearby BTO.
A private childcare can cost more than $2,000 per month while an anchor operator childcare can cost as low as a few dollars for the low-income families.
And the list goes on.
A Colleague On Long Medical Leave
I have a colleague who is on long MC. It started off with a minor illness which became worse and eventually required surgery. So, he kept extending his MC from days to weeks to months. Every time we thought that he was coming back to work, there were new complications and he had to extend his MC again.
Guess what my other colleagues in the office were saying behind his back? “Wah extend again ah? Then his work how? I need to keep covering?” “Wah MC so long, so good life!”
Words of Wisdom From a 75-Year-Old Taxi Driver
One day, I met a very wise old man during a trip. He was a 75-year-old taxi uncle who was due to retire a month later after 40 years in service. He shared about how his passengers gave him the wrong instructions but still scolded him for the mistakes he made when he followed them.
Guess how he reacted when he was scolded? He smiled and apologised for it. He explained that getting into an argument with the passenger would do him no good. The passenger might file a complaint even though they were in the wrong and the taxi company would still summon him for questioning and to write a report. In the midst of these follow-ups, he would waste precious time during which he could have earned more income.
How To Handle Your Negative Thoughts Effectively?
Many of us do not know how to handle our negative thoughts, such as anger, worries, fears sadness or depressive thoughts.
We sometimes focus on them and allow them to manifest into something bigger. We sometimes try to suppress them or fight these thoughts but again it is ineffective. They end up coming back stronger. Just like how you use paper to wrap fire, which resulted in the fire burning more ferociously.
The Greatest Source Of Unhappiness
The greatest source of our unhappiness does not come from not having enough but not being satisfied with what we have.
Take, for example, you sold your Yishun BTO flat that just MOP for a good 200k profit. Then, you looked over and saw your Uni classmate sell his Dawson BTO flat (which he bought at the same time as you) for a great 400k.
Your Uni classmate, who was initially happy with his 400k profit, then saw his army friend sold his EC for a whoping 700k profit and felt unhappy about his decision to buy a BTO instead of an EC.
To read more, you can head over to my blog via this URL:
https://findingthemagicalrealmofhappiness.wordpress.com
You can also download a copy of my 400-page motivational book which I spent 6 years writing:
https://tinyurl.com/h9kxs2kt
Motivational Stories For You 