Happy International Happiness Day everyone!

So just how happy are you in your life?

And just how much happiness is there around you?

Today is the day decreed by the UN for universal happiness and this is the second year of this day happening.

So to start with, here are my 17 tips to become happy right now.

And no matter where you are at in your life, always look on the bright side of life!

But just what is happiness – and how can you sustain these feelings of happiness?

Is happiness what you feel when your favourite football team wins? Only for you to get really upset when they get thrashed the following week?

Or is happiness the feelings you get after a night out with your friends and drinking beer and feasting on your favourite dishes?

Or is happiness being with your loved ones and seeing your little child at play?

I believe that happiness is all of the above – and is much more. The challenge comes when we see happiness as transient and dependent on external factors as in the above examples.

So how can you sustain happiness and how can you generate it from within you, no matter what’s going on in your external world?

Let me explain a bit more by sharing what’s going on for me right now.

It was my birthday yesterday and what an amazing day it was!

With over 300 messages on Facebook, Gmail, Mobile and WhatsApp I certainly felt the love yesterday! And today I am basking in a sea of love, gratitude and appreciation.

I love you all and am so proud to have you all in my life:-).

I now just have to remember that every day is my birthday!

My birthday reminded me of how easy it is to have happiness in our lives – and also just what’s important in my own life.

• Heartfelt birthday messages from family and friends from around the world meant a lot more to me rather than any material gifts.
• The simple gesture by a friend of bringing me some home-made cakes meant more to me than any fancy party in a glitzy club.
• A leisurely walk in my spiritual place Regents Palace meant more to me than a visit to anywhere else in London.
• A deep morning meditation and a reflection on my life to date and all the lives I have impacted rather than on the things I have not yet done or the things I have accumulated.

So these are clearly the sort of things which make me happy:-)

My point is this – what’s important to you in YOUR life? What really makes YOU happy!?

It’s a while since I came to the conclusion that what makes ME happy is making a difference to others. And now I truly believe that is actually what WE all want.

Just look back on your own life and recall the times when you’ve made a small or big difference to a stranger. Or remember the time you went out of your way for someone when you didn’t really have to.  THAT feeling of fulfilment, joy, elation, or whatever you felt is what I call ultimate happiness.

And what would your life be like if you chose to live such a life from here on!? A life of service to others? No matter what work you do now or what stage of life you are in, you can indeed bring this sense of making a difference

That’s the amazing thing – to get ultimate happiness in your life, you don’t have to pack up your life, go on a pilgrimage or live in a cave!

You simply choose to live a life of making a difference to others!

And that my friends is the secret to ultimate happiness in your life.

Ultimately we all want to make a difference and we get the biggest kick going by making others happy!

So when will you begin?

My Life from Here Onwards

A birthday is always a time to reflect not only on the year just passed, but also your life to date. And to then create an intention for your life from there onwards.

And this is exactly what I did yesterday. I looked back on my life and what it’s been about to date.

I feel that there is still so much to be done – and yet there’s so little time!

One thing that seems to be human is that no matter how much we have done, it’s never enough!

As you look around the world today, granted there is a lot of strife and discord around us. And yet there is also a lot of nobility, beauty and splendour. I much prefer to focus on the latter whilst also remaining realistic and practical.

All around me I come across so many inspirational people who are out to make a difference in the world and create their legacy. It blows me away when I meet such people or read about them online. There is massive change going on in the world and I am so happy to be part of this the massive, positive shift happening around me.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Yes, there is so much injustice, dishonour, outrage, shame, violence, racism etc. in the world. But there’s also so much concern and desire to share what limited resources we have. And a desire to make the world a better place.

There are so many inspirational people out there who care for the truth:-

• People whose commitment is to the truth and to compassion, not to any sides.
• People who take grave risks and take a stand for the greater good.
• People who use wise speech rather than the right speech.
• People who show compassion and mercy even to those who have caused them terrible atrocities.
• People who are willing to drop the past, forego the conflict and focus on things that bind us.
• People who accept that it is what it is and are prepared to choose and create something more noble and lasting.

This reminds me of the famous prayer attributed to St Francis of Assissi:-

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

To end, where I am at is that I now have a searing sense of urgency!

And what do I want to create?

A friend put it so beautifully recently:-

“I want to create a world that works for everybody”.

So join me and let’s make it happen together.

Make It Happen 2014 Survey

Thanks to all of you who completed my recent survey. There were 103 responses in the end!

I had promised to do a draw for a FREE one hour coaching session worth £250. The draw was done by my friend Dr Thuvaraka Vetpillai. Incredibly she picked out her own name! So we did the draw again and the lucky winner is Trisha Em.

Thuvaraka also gets the free coaching session – she is an incredibly caring doctor and an inspirational newcomer to the coaching profession – and I am delighted to be part of her coaching journey.

New Coaching Page

As part of my quest to make a difference to you all, I have revised my coaching page.

The key coaching question I have for you is this:-

What’s your biggest challenge I can help you with?

Please contact me to find out how I can help you – let’s get cracking with the coaching!