When you feel down, WRITE!!! Dealing with Sadness and moving towards your Destiny.

It has been tough for me the last couple of months.  The past months has been spent ruing on missed chances, lost opportunities, blaming people, and trying to escape the sad reality. No matter how much dose of temporary happiness I take, I still feel the sadness. There so many things to be sad about.  There are times that I feel that I should give up.  I am not happy anymore. Happiness is freakin' elusive that it can't be cured by just having "100 happy days". I tried that.  Sure, it helps but problems are still there and the sadness lingers.  Today though I realized that there is a positive side of feeling down, sad, melancholic, or depressed.  Sadness actually brings out those creative juices.  It is a great time to write.  You might be surprised how wide is your vocabulary when you are sad.   You can express yourself better but you are just most likely, lazier or more lethargic. When you overcome the lack of drive and enthusiasm, sad times can become one of the most productive times in your life.

Depressing days are the best days to write, blog, or create.  Your creation might be a bit gloomy or darker but a lot of people dig that.  A lot of people get it because everyone have felt that at least once in their lives.  Life is difficult and that's a fact.  If life is just so easy then why would anyone strive to be better.  There will be no amazing feats or records to be honoured if everything is so easy and achievable. Today, I embrace all the challenges in life. The lack of money, opportunities, friends, family, hair, fun, luxuries, necessities and hope. There will always be something that is lacking.  This imperfection makes life, well... life. It is not life anymore if you do not have challenges to overcome, opponents to vanquish, records to break, pounds to lose, or millions to earn. Today is a good day to take on life. To achieve the unachievable, to be better than yesterday.  Today, I also embrace to opportunity to succeed.

If you feel sad, try this. First, write all the things that you are sad about.  Do you know why this is good? This activity will help you will not repeat yourself over and over again and feel sadder. It will also be a record of what things you will or have overcome because a few days, week, months, years or decades from now, those seemingly unsurmountable problems will be solved, gone, and non-existent.  A list will also remind you of your problem in case you forgot specially in times that you  prefer to escape and dilly-dally. It is better to know your opponents and acknowledge your problems, so you know what or who are you waging a war against.  From this day, I will face my problems and look them in the eye and say "I am gonna beat you!".

The second thing that you should write is your ideal scenario.  Let's say in No.1 You are sad because you are fat then in the next column you write I am happy because I weigh 150 lbs. No.1 I am sad because I am broke -- No.2 I am delighted to have 10 Million Dollars in the bank. The best way to do this is to get a large piece paper like a Manila paper. On one end you write Point A which is what makes you sad now then at the other end write Point B which is your destiny. 

The path from point A to point B is never going to be easy. If it is easy then there is no reason that you should be sad in the first place. You have to understand that the pursuit of happiness is a journey. There will be bumps, turbulence, traffic, amazing sites, ugly sites, confusing road signs, detours, and shortcuts. You have to enjoy your ride towards your goals. It all starts with knowing Point A and Point B. You will never get to Point B if you do not know Point A. A is for accepting.  Accepting that where you are right now is a shitty place that you must leave.  Accepting who you are right now is not going to be who you are in the future. A is acknowledging. Acknowledging that your situation is not ideal. Acknowledging that you have to power to change your life. You have to acknowledge your strengths, weakness, and your potential. You also have to accept the challenge of solving your sadness. 

Make sure you write this down and post it somewhere you can see everyday. Some of your problems maybe trivial for others but since it is important to you, you should not care what others think about.  The journey is a personal one.  Accomplishing something small is a glimpse of your capability to achieve something big. Writing your problems and your goals is the start of greatness. Make it a habit and for sure, you will go far.

I am starting this habit today.  I am hoping that someone will also start a similar a journey.  I want to see how far we can really go by doing this. I am sad now but I feel a bit relieved knowing that I thought of something to help me.  I somehow realized that most of the time the solutions to our problems are within us.  It is really hard but at least now I feel excited about vanquishing my self-imposed limitations and self-limiting fears.  Can I really do it? As long I see my roadmap to point B everyday, I think I will strive and push on with the journey.

My Point A's:

I am underachieving at work and life

I feel under-utilised

I feel that I am not using my skills and God-given abilities well enough

I am broke or close to being broke

I have a lot of debt

I am bored and unhappy with my job

I am fat

I am childless

My Point B's

I am  CEO of my company and influence a lot of people

I have a business that will help many people

I am an expert in the field sales, marketing, and social media management

I have $100,000,000 in the bank

I have 0 debt

I have a company that it fun and very successful

I will weigh 170 lbs with a 6-pack to boot

I have 2 children with my wife

These are just some examples but the full list will be on my wall.  A time will come that I will talk to my grandchildren about how I got from Point A to Point B. Wouldn't it be an amazing tale to tell someone how a LOSER like you right now became a CHAMPION?  It will be a stuff for movies. Everyone of us can be a legend. Some might have bigger goals than others but it won't really matter.  We are all born destined to be a champion.... a legend. 

What is your tale? Someday we will be talking about our tales of conquest.  The next best time to write is when you reach Point B. The tale in Point B would not be as spectacular if you do not remember Point A. So cherish Point A, for it will be very handy once you get to Point B. Never lose your roadmap. Write the things that happened in between so that you will remember.  At the of each journey, you will be surprised to see how amazing your life is and how awesome you've become. Let's get on with on with our respective journeys! 

Godspeed!

#10000happydays #100happydays Day 15: Just like Instagram photos, your ordinary life can turn magical if use the right filter.

One of the nicest inventions by Instagram is the ability to change the look of your photos via their countless filters. It is the same with your life, you can view it differently and start to marvel on how beautiful your life has been.  By being more grateful, you will start to enjoy your life more. I dedicate this day on my personal #100happydays project to having a different outlook in life and see how magnificent it has been.

Starting a happiness project

Most people want to be happy than just plainly contended. So many books have become very popular delving on this highly interesting topic. Happiness is indeed very elusive to many. It becomes harder to attain it in the age of Facebook, Twitter, and instagram as people try to measure up their happiness to the seeming happiness of their buddies.

I am now going to try to undertake a personal project on happiness. The concept is quite similar to #100happydays. Everyday I will try to think of something that transpired that made me happy. I will try to notice the smallest things that can make me smile. The small miracles. The things that I am thankful for.

While starting this habit, I will try to observe if happiness and gratefulness can really have a positive effect in general. Will there really be significant changes in my life? Who knows but today I will start my #10000happydays ;)

I hope you will start yours as well...

posted from Bloggeroid

Focus on Now

There were many times in my life that I felt that I was getting nowhere. I felt depressed thinking about all the could have beens and the countless missed opportunities. It's really tough when you hit the hard times.

There are also many days that I wasted so much time imagining and planning the future. It's a good mental exercise but the more time you spend on it, the further it'll become a reality.

In the end, I am stuck in between the past and the future whether I like it or not.  Great plans are nothing without execution. To rise about mediocrity, one has to focus on the "now". To turn my dreams into reality, I have start doing things now. The key word is doing. I will label this kind of psychology as the #Pwes method. Pwes in the Filipino language means then or therefore. It's a call to action. Many people now get paralyzed by overanalysis. I want to instill that action is key to success and productivity. Here are some things that I thought could people become more productive:

1. If you have a good idea #Pwes write  it down. If it stays only in our mind, chances are we forget about it just like dreams. In a world that is full of distractions, it is so easy to forget things.
2. Never let anyone stop positive momentum including yourself. When people get a small amount of success, they usually stop the good things happening in their lives by shooting themselves at the foot. Many cannot handle success. Majority start to fight over minor details derailing and delaying further progress. It's petty but almost everyone is guilty of this.

3. Make the most of the available resources you have. Many buy things and not use its full capability. I see a lot of people buying an iPhone just to play candy crush, not knowing that they can actually check their emails or make presentations using their gadgets. There is a lot of underutilization in the world right now yet almost everyone complain that they do not have enough.

4. If you are not using something anymore #Pwes give it to someone who can use it. Almost every week, a new phone model come out and most gadgets get replaced within a year. Where does these old models go? Millions of it are not used anymore and are just lying around in the house. Help someone be more productive by giving it away.

5. Make the most out of your own skills. Skills are an important resources as well. Many are afraid to fully develop their skills because of fear and because if opinions of others. A lot of could have the greatest were nipped in the bud by negative opinion. Only very few are resilient enough to explore their full potential and in the end attain an extraordinary amount of success.

6. Complain a lot but make actions to solve the problem. Lazy complainers are the worst of its kind. You have to be a part of the solution of your problems.

7. Limit your interests. The nternet has become one of the major sources of unproductivity. Information is so easy nowadays that people get stuck reading so many useful information that they end up spending hours of doing nothing. With limited interest, you can be able to get the best of both worlds.

Now is the perfect time for change. Now is a good time for #Pwes. Now is a good time to stop reading and start doing. ;)

Posted via Blogaway

March 5, 2013: Prepare for Battle!

A lot of us are thinking that life will just be practically the same until we grow old. It is not! Eventually, we will be in a battle.  The battle could be against some health or psychological problem or it could be battles against people. Many of us end up losing because we did not prepare enough. Today, my resolution is about being battle-ready....always.

As we grow older, we cannot take it easy anymore. We do not have the luxury of time. Even the young ones should learn to be "laging handa" or "always ready".  We have to be boy scouts sort of but more of scout rangers.  In our jobs, we have to always open our eyes to opportunities and be swift in exploiting it. In health, we always have to be wary against sickness and be watchful on the food that we take and the things that we do. In life, we have to prepare against enemies seen and unseen.  We even to constantly fight against complacency and the lack of discipline. In a way life is a war and we have to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually-fit to win. It is like the game of survivor, we have to always outwit, outplay, and outlast our opposition.

Beginning today, I will make a conscious effort of being always prepared for battle. ;)

Links:

If I were blank... Sabah Edition

03-04-2013: Create!

It has been a while since I last cooked my own food. Today, I decided to cook pork roast for dinner. I bought this somewhat small-size pork roast around a kilo and a half in S n R yesterday. I felt that today is a good day to cook as I home early and I had time to thaw the meat properly. After putting some olive oil and spice run, I cooked it in our turbo broiler.  It turned fine and it was well cooked. I really enjoyed my dinner.  Stephie loved it too. I am happy that I did it.  I am planning to make some sandwiches for breakfast with the leftover roast. 

I realized that to be able to have a good diet for losing weight, you have to prepare your food most of the time.  It is hard to rely on fastfoods and the portion sizes are not suitable for someone who wants to lose some weight. I have to be more creative so that I can truly make the big changes in my life. I am hoping that I can develop my own system in working out, diet, as well as in my business. With the help of this online journal, I know I will be able to track my progress and see how far I can go.  I really want to make a difference and I want create something great. I know, I can. ;)


"If you build it, he will come!!! " 

3-1-2013: The New Month

The end of February was sort of the end of many things.  The Catholic Church now does not have pope.  The Sabah stand-off has ended. In the personal front, a difficult month has just ended. The new month could mean a new start.  It all depends though on how we view things.  When facing a tough situation, it is either a man succumbs to it or fight it off. The challenge is on how to gain enough strength to fight. 

Fighting a tough opponent requires a lot of skills, guile, strategy and in some ways luck. While fortune could smile to risk-takers, it is never a guarantee.  This month is a crucial month to many people.  If I do  excellently this month, I am sure it will propel me to greater heights in the upcoming months. It is important that in this we give extreme focus on the things that we value most. I cannot have so many interests this month.  I have to let go off some of my curiosities. Today, I will try to lay down the things that I would like focus on in my life.

Work:

My focus would be on reminding my agents about the importance of results in any job.  I will be more results-oriented when it comes to my sales people.  I do not care much on their method for now, all I need is the results.  There might be a right way but polishing methods can be postponed to other months. I will also have improve my online marketing strategies to enable us to exploit new channels of sales. I will focus on updating my sites and launching some ad campaigns.

Blogging:

I will make sure that I will write at least 5 articles in my various blogs daily. It can even be short. I just to make it a habit to keep on writing new content.  I will try to improve the synergy and interconnection of my blogs.

Personal:

I will be given special focus to weight loss this month. I want to lose weight because I want to be healthy in 30's.  I also want to look and feel younger. I have more specific details on this on my other blog.

Family:

If we can afford it, I want to spend more time with my wife especially on weekends.  I want her to start exercising again and I want her to relax a bit. 

This month is expected to be quite challenging but the rewards for success will be great. March will reward the focused.  It is time to put my game face on and rule the month. ;)