I believe that some of you might have already read this before; it was a 30 seconds speech by Brian Dyson, former CEO of Coca Cola. Although Brian Dyson gave this speech on September 6, 1996, the words which were spoken back then are as applicable today as they were more than 14 years ago. He had aptly used an analogy of juggling balls to compare to what most of us have been struggling to balance in our lives: namely work, family, health, friends and spirit.
And how true it was when he described family, health, friends and spirit as glass ball and if we drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. Work, on the other hand, is a rubber ball which will bounce back when drop. This is something which we have to remind ourselves often to juggle the glass balls carefully. I hope that his words of wisdom would give you an insight in life.
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit … and you’re keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or evenshattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for Balance in your life.
How?
Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.
Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.
Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be pave.
Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings!
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.
Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.
Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
Brian G. Dyson, former CEO, Coca-Cola Enterprises during his speech at the Georgia Tech 172nd Commencement Address Sept. 6, 1996
Very often, we may take for granted the simple things which we enjoy in our daily life until we may not be enjoying it the way they are. In this short film directed by Constantin Pilavios, it was mentioned in the film that, “… happiness is nothing more … than moments … small and invisible moments.” Moments … some of us may have taken for granted. What are the little things that we have enjoyed doing but have given up because of our busy schedules day in, day out?
Some of the Random things or simple pleasures I like:
A sunrise!
A bright sunny day.
A cooling breeze blowing in my face on a hot day when I am walking.
The singing and dancing of the leaves and branches to the wind.
Blue skies!
White and big fluffy clouds which remind me of cotton candy I had when I was young.
The dark clouds before the storm.
The smell of rain in the air and the peacefulness before the storm.
The sounds created by the rain falling on different things.
The raindrops falling down on puddles of water and the ripples.
The fresh smell of the air after the rain.
The droplets on the green after the rain.
Rainbow!
The green of the trees and grasses.
The flowers.
Going for my run.
The occasional snails I see when I go for run.
The wild mushrooms I see when I go for my run… it could be quite hard to spot them around my place.
The wonderful feeling after the run and sweating it out.
Singing while I am walking.
Watching people and observing them in the public transports.
Watching children playing, running, smiling, giggling and laughing.
Observing and act of random kindness.
Performing act of random kindness without expectation.
Making a different to the life of another.
Last but not least, spending quality time with family and friends!
And of course a sunset!
As you have noticed, I could probably go on and on with the list of things and simple pleasures which I like and enjoy doing; and which also make me happy! When we take the time out for the moments in life, we would discover the simple pleasures these moments bring to us.
Why not take out a piece of paper or make a post in your blog today and do this exercise with me? Write down as many as you want, the simple pleasures which you like and enjoy doing everyday …. and most importantly which also make you happy.
Photo by nbphotogfy
————————————-
Get Identity Protection. Don’t allow thieves to use your information. LifeLock helps you. Enroll Now.
That is a bold title I must say and yet all of us know the secret to happiness; it is how we apply the secret that our results vary from each other. Some are naturally happier and some work hard to be happy but never seem to be any happier. Most people want to be happy and why then are we not happy? We may be thinking right now, “How can we be happy? We have our family problems, health problems, relationship problems, financial problems etc the list just goes on and on.” Now, can I have a show of hand who wants to be happy?
Scientifically, happiness has been said to be related to the Serotonin level in us. “Of the approximately 40 million brain cells, most are influenced either directly or indirectly by Serotonin. This includes brain cells related to mood, sexual desire and function, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, and some social behavior,” according to Xing.com.
In so speaking, is Serotonin the answer to all our unhappiness? The answer may not be as straightforward since we cannot simply inject a dosage of Serotonin into the body. Fortunately, according to an article in PubMed Central, the author mentioned that the possible approaches to increasing Serotonin are exposing to bright light, exercise and through our diet. I would leave you to explore that further on your own while I go on to disclosing what I thought to be the secret of happiness that we all know.
I read an interesting article recently by Belinda and she mentioned, “Have you ever looked up quotes on happiness by great thinkers? If not, I recommend you don’t. It won’t make you happy. It might even depress you.” I tend to agree with her to a large extent as you can find numerous quotations on happiness. And who is right or who is wrong? It truly differs from person to person; what makes one happy may not work for another. It can certainly be confusing with so much information we have accessed to. What I would like to point out is for you to select what works for you and fuse it into your own system.
However confusing it may be, I found that most of the quotations on happiness, which I adopted for my personal usage, all point in the same direction:
“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.” – Barbara de Angelis
“What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.” – Leo Buscaglia
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
It is all about YOU! It is the being we are seeing every time we look in the mirror. The secret of happiness is really no other than ourselves! The next question to ask ourselves is, “How can I be happy?” As indirect as it may seem, to be happy is simply choosing to be happy and making conscious choices in all areas of our daily life to be happy.
One may question, “How can I choose to be happy? The situation is not always under my control; I can’t control the weather, the outcome of event or people around me etc! You are right! There is no way we can always control the external factors around us. But we definitely can control the internal factor within us. The simplest thing we could all do each day when we wake up in the morning is to decide to have a happy day! I did this morning. How about you?
Join the Mailing list for Daily Love Quote in your Email now. The name and email address collected are not sold, given, or in any way disclosed to a third party. We will never give out your email address.
Subscribe
I believe that some of you might have already read this before; it was a 30 seconds speech by Brian Dyson, former CEO of Coca Cola. Although Brian Dyson gave this speech on September 6, 1996, the words which were spoken back then are as applicable today as they were more than 14 years ago. He had aptly used an analogy of juggling balls to compare to what most of us have been struggling to balance in our lives: namely work, family, health, friends and spirit.
That is a bold title I must say and yet all of us know the secret to happiness; it is how we apply the secret that our results vary from each other. Some are naturally happier and some work hard to be happy but never seem to be any happier. Most people want to be happy and why then are we not happy? We may be thinking right now, “How can we be happy? We have our family problems, health problems, relationship problems, financial problems etc the list just goes on and on.” Now, can I have a show of hand who wants to be happy? 
