Achieve Happiness And Enjoy Life To The Fullest

"If you want to be happy, be." - Leo Tolstoy

Everybody want to achieve happiness, but how may of us are truly happy. Do you know why happiness is so elusive to most of us. It is true what Aristole said. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”. Our sole purpose in life is nothing but achieving happiness. We do everything in life to find happiness. Be it finding great love, owning a beautiful house, having a satisfying and well-paid job, getting married, staying healthy, spending time with loved ones, achieving your dreams, be liked and loved, etc. Ironically, the search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness, to quotes Eric Hoffer.

According to Darrin McMahon, PhD, author of "Happiness: A History", the more you reach for happiness, the more it seems to slip away. Ask yourself if you’re happy, and you stop to be so. Isn't happiness is a natural feeling, then why do we seek it as if it is something special and rare? So we must be looking for happiness in all the wrong places, right? And when we are happy all the time, others may thought of us as being arrogant, selfish, juvenile or we are just faking it.

"Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln

So what is happiness? Some say happiness is a state of mind. The very source of true happiness lies in our mind, and not in external circumstances. How your view yourself and your world are are our conscious choices. Your thought determines and interprets what is happening around you. And it is from your interpretation, you act or react. Thus, all this action becomes your life.

You can choose to find happiness in small, everyday things. You can choose to interpret what happens in a positive way. Or in a negative way. And your choices control much of how much happiness your will find and create in your life.

Then there are others who say to achieve happiness, is to overcome negativity and count your blessings.You need to let go and release the need to to control. One key way to achieve happiness is letting go, forgive and move on. Let go of anger, jealousy, dejection, or pride. But you may say, it is only natural that people are angry, depressed, or dejected.

But the truth is you have a choice to decide not to be angry, depressed or dejected. You know that all these negative and energy-sapping thoughts do more harm than good. Instead we should find way how to get rid of these past useless thoughts as they are hindering our path to happiness. Stop holding on to these emotional attachment. Remember life goes on.

"It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis." - Margaret Bonnano

As they say, the only time we have is the present moment. The present is the only time we have to be truly happy. Our life is define by moment by moment in the present, as long as our heart keeps beating. By our minds aren’t always in the present. Usually, they tend to veer off into the future or back to the past. Remember, the past is over and the future is yet to come. All you have is the present and it is happening right now.

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." - Babatunde Olatunji

We cannot control over time, but we can consciously live life fully and happily in the present moment. To live in the present moment requires awareness and deliberate effort to focus our minds on what we are doing or experiencing now. For example, the next time, when you are having a meal, take time and consciously savor your food and sip your wine. Or even right now, you can concentrate your attention on your breathing, your walking, or your heartbeat.

I know all these is easier said than done. We can't live everyday, keeping consciously aware of the very present all the time. But sadly, most of the time, we can easily relive our past or thinking of the future without much effort.

I think the only time, we can truly absorbed in the present moment is when we were kids. Our early childhood was a time of rapturous happiness. Kids really live life to the fullest, throw caution to the wind and live life in wild abandon. No inhibition, no judging, no worries and know nothing about the future.

Every living moment is now and exciting. Kids don't care about the passing of time, as they live in each moment that presented itself, happily and fully.They don't have much or any past to be angry with or happy about, neither any knowledge of the coming future for them. They live and laugh themselves silly all the time.

Another way to achieve happiness is stay hopeful. According to an assistant professor of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University in California, there are three essential components for hope to thrive. They are having goals, a plan and the motivation to achieve them. People cannot find happiness by playing the blame game, but instead they should be asking what should we do now and act on it. Hopeful people are happy people.

By being real and accept reality is a good way to find happiness. By having positive outlook, doesn't mean you turn a blind eye to pain, rejection or frustration. As you know happiness is not the absence of sadness. You don't always stay upbeat or happy by reciting pop psychology mantra; that is phony happiness.

When you suppress your negative emotions, in fact you become more anxious and depressed. Instead you should be finding outlets for your sadness and frustration. Let them go then only you gain some measure of control over your life. Confide in others about your problem. Use them as a sounding board and not as a dumping ground for your painful and negative emotions.

"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

By being grateful for what we have is definitely the simplest way to achieve happiness. In fact happiness is already right in your life. For instance, for having a reasonably good health when you can walk down the country lane enjoying the fine weather, beautiful natural surroundings with your loved ones or good friends, laughing and talking nineteen to the dozen.

We experience joy when we celebrate and give thanks for life's blessings. As they say happiness is contagious. You can be happy even by talking to happy people, listening to cheerful upbeat music, watching funny movies, or read books with happy endings or uplifting quotes. Look for happiness in the moment.

The problem is we are all too caught up with the constant pursuit of goal on how to be happy, and forget how to be happy now. We always thought something is missing which is why we are not happy. As I have said happiness is a choice we can consciously make. The potential of achieving happiness has all along with us. Or in other words, happiness is you. You are the one who decide to be happy or otherwise. When you are truly happy, you are radiant and you function fully. You feel loving, as the essence of happiness is love.

True happiness is when you are kind, generous, open, warm and friendly.

Be simple. Having less is more. More time to relax, more space to move and having more money in your saving account. Get rid of some of those desires that you may not really want or need that much. You'll feel less stressful and bogged down with worries. Life will be calmer and you can find happiness in many other simple pleasures in life. For instance, taking moment to witnessing the sunset, savoring fragrant coffee or holding hands of someone you love.

A happy outlook, in life an awareness of happiness, an aptitude for happiness can help you to achieve true happiness.

Simple Pleasures In Life Quotes

We are all so caught up in the rush and clutter of modern life, that we have forgotten to delight in the day-to-day simple pleasures in life. Small simple delights may seem nothing at the time, but when you look back or look deeper, you will realize it is the accumulation of these simple pleasures that make life enjoyable and memorable.

Before I was diagnosed with coronary heart disease, I took simple pleasures in life for granted. For instance, as simple as sipping a cup of coffee in the quiet corner in the downtown cafe, enjoying a good book, strolling by the serene lake near my house or watching raindrops trickling from the roof of my garden shed. They were trivial and insignificant.

Until when I had my bypass surgery, then only I realized that I might not get to enjoy all these simple pleasures. The popular phrase "life is short" is meaningful to me now and it is not just some bumper sticker or wall poster.

When I was lying alone in the hospital, feeling miserable and worried, then it dawned to me life is all I have. Not just about my job, my car or my next hot date. From then, I started to appreciate living in the moment and indulge in the bliss of simple pleasures in life. Now I want to live life to the fullest.

Here are some of my favorite simple pleasure quotes which could inspire to appreciate the simple things in life:

"With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy." - Lope de Vega

"Simple pleasures are always the last refuge of the complex" - Oscar Wilde 

"Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires." - Lao-Tzu 

"That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest." - Thoreau 

"Most of the critical things in life, which become the starting points for human destiny, are little things." - R. Smith

"We do not remember days, we remember moments." - Cesare Pavese

"The little things? The little moments? They aren't little." - John Zabat-Zinn

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."  - Robert Brault 

"You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need." - Vernon Howard

"The aspects of things that are most important to us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

10 Health Benefits Of Drinking Green Tea

These days we keep reading or hearing the many effective health benefits of drinking green tea. According to many sources, it is said that drinking green tea has been proven to lower the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, periodontal disease, and even the deadly cancer.

Personally I am not too sure whether the so-called proven findings are true or not, but the craze of drinking green tea for health benefits is definitely taking the world by storm.
After my bypass surgery, I am more conscious about my well being. I am more particular of what I eat and drink. Besides drinking chamomile tea, recently I have also taken up drinking green tea as well. I drink about three to four cups of green tea a day.

Here are just some so-called health benefits of drinking green tea.

1. Live longer with green tea. It is said that green tea contains an antioxidant called polyphenols which fight against free radicals. In other words, it helps to slow down your aging process.

2. Keep you stronger with green tea. It has powerful antioxidants polyphenols and flavonoids that help to streghtened your immune system, thus keeping your health at tip top form to fight against infections.

3. Prevent obesity with green tea. According to a research, green tea can prevent one from putting on weight. It is reported in some new studies that green tea extract containing EGCg can increase the rate of calorie burning, prevent excess weight gain and also reverse established obesity.

4. Prevent high blood pressure with green tea. Based on a research, they found that drinking half a cup of green tea on a day can actually reduce high blood pressure symptoms by more than half. It helps by repressing or inhibiting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). ACE is the one which cause the blood vessels to narrow.

5. Prevent heart attack and stroke with green tea. I read somewhere that a research shows that green tea lowers total cholesterol and raises HDL or the so-called good cholesterol in both animals and people.

6. Good skin with green tea. In tip #1, I mentioned that consuming green tea can help you to live longer. It is the antioxidant found in green tea which protects your skin from the harmful effects of free radicals; the culprits which cause your skin to wrinkle and age.

7. Prevent arthritis with green tea. Again it is the antioxidants polyphenols, is said to reduce the incidence and severity of rheumatoid arthritis.

8. Prevent diabetes with green tea. One study found that green tea can reduce both blood glucose and insulin levels.

9. Strong bones with green tea. It is said that green tea can protect against osteoporosis. The high fluoride content found in green tea, which keeps your bones strong.

10. Fight cancer with green tea. This is one the most popular health benefits of drinking green tea. I read that the antioxidant found in green tea known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)is much more effective than vitamin C and vitamin E. They inhibit an enzyme required for cancer cell growth, and also kill cancer cells with no ill effect on healthy cells.

Dosage Of Good Health Quotes To Keep You Healthy

"Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it." - Josh Billings.

I agree with the above health quote. Like many of you, I took my health for granted, until the day I was diagnosed with coronary heart disease and I had to go for an expensive and risky bypass surgery.

To be honest, I had never thought I would be one of those who would have heart problem. At that time, I was in my mid-thirties, not obese, a teetotaler and I didn't gorge on unhealthy food. The only thing was I hardly or almost never exercise. I was living a sedentary and stressful life because of my failed business and a bad marriage.

Thinking back, it was not my diet, but the daily stress and most probably due to hereditary. From what I have read, there is a very high tendency for children of parents with heart and blood vessel diseases to suffer the same fate. I agree there is nothing you can do about hereditary, but you can minimize heart attack risk by living a healthier and stress-free lifestyle.

One key advice from me is to do exercise. The simplest and the most effective way is by walking. It is said that by walking 30 minutes a day, can add an extra 1.3 healthy years to your life.

Anyway, I hope the list of quotes about health which I have gathered below could motivate you to start taking care of your health. As Carrie Latet said: "If you don't take care of yourself, the undertaker will overtake that responsibility for you."

"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." - Jim Rohn

“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.” - Mark Twain

"The first wealth is health." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” - Benjamin Franklin

"Time and health are two precious assets that we don't recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted." - Denis Waitley

"Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well." - Marcus Valerius Martial “Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” - Buddha

“To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.” - William Londen

“So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.” - A. J. Reb Materi

"Doctors are always working to preserve our health and cooks to destroy it, but the latter are the more often successful." - Denis Diderot

"Sickness comes on horseback but departs on foot." - Dutch Proverb

“In health there is freedom. Health is the first of all liberties.” - Henri Frederic Amiel

“Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings.” - Publilius Syrus

"He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything." - Arabic Proverb

“Health is not valued till sickness comes.” - Thomas Fuller

"A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs." - Joan Welsh

"When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no “I’ll start tomorrow.” Tomorrow is disease." - V.L. Allineare

You can take as much dosage of these good health quotes as you like, together with a balanced diet and some simple exercises to keep you healthy.

The Cholesterol Myths: True Or False?

What do you think of the cholesterol myths? As a layman, we are confused by the so-called findings of medical researches; especially about the correlation between cholesterol, saturated fat and heart disease.

All these while, we read that high cholesterol levels are the cause of heart disease. But now we keep hearing conflicting and contradictory findings about saturated fat and cholesterol which are said to be the cause of heart disease.

According to doctor-author of "The Cholesterol Myths" Uffe Ravnskov, cholesterol is not a deadly poison, but a substance vital to the cells of all mammals. There are no such things as good or bad cholesterol. There is no strong evidence that too much animal fat and cholesterol in the diet promotes atherosclerosis or heart attacks. Many scientists and physicians believe that cholesterol and saturated fat are wrongly accused for causing heart disease.

I have also read Dr Al Sears' book "The Doctor's Heart Cure" which also says that cholesterol does not cause heart disease, but instead it is the high homocysteine levels. And it is not fat, but starches which is the culprit of heart disease.

There is a fat researcher says that the key to stopping heart disease is by eating less sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Plus minimizing free radical damage by not consuming refined and therefore rancid vegetable oils and by reducing systemic stress.

The reason why we laymen, and even doctors and most scientists have been misled over these cholesterol myths is because opposing and disagreeing results are systematically ignored or misquoted in the scientific press.

There are claims that those cholesterol-lowering drugs which are supposed to address the true cause of heart disease are actually killing us as well. Those statin drugs which lower the cholesterol levels seem to be associated with higher rates of cancer.

Then you may ask, why are we still using these dangerous drugs? Well, It is said that perhaps pharmaceutical companies and the processed-food industry made mega bucks by keeping this "false" belief alive. Statin drugs like Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor, etc are big money earners. Remember heart disease is still the number one killer in the world.

Personally, I am still in the dark over who is right or who is wrong over the cholesterol myths. When I had my heart problem, I was told of high level of cholesterol, plaque blockages and hereditary (my mum and brother died of heart attack).

Anyway, for those of you who are suffering from heart attack warning signs, quickly go for your checkup now.

Heart Attack Warning Signs You Should Know

Before I had my coronary heart problem, I did not bother much about heart attack warning signs. I had never read or find out more about this silent killer.

After all, I didn't gorge on high cholesterol junk food, consume food or drink laden with excess sodium. The only things were, I didn't exercise, and I was living a sedentary lifestyle. Since I didn't have any health problems, I didn't go for medical checkup. Like many folks, I thought it would never happen to me. Anyway, I was not overweight, having any chest pain or shortness of breath. I thought heart attacks are just like those featured in movies; those sudden and intense where the victims felt pain and grabbed their chests and collapsed.

After I was diagnosed of having coronary heat problem, then only I found more about heart attack warning signs and symptoms from my doctor. Not all heart attacks are sudden and intense like what we see in the movies. Some will just appear slowly with mild pain or discomfort, which what had happened to me.

It was from my own experience with an heart attack, I came to know terms like angina, ECG (electrocardiogram), Thrombolysis, (PCI) Percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary angioplasty, etc.

Anyway, here are some common heart attack warning signs:

- When you feel discomfort pressure squeezing in the center of the chest.

- When you feel discomfort in other areas of the upper body, like neck, jaw and both arms.

- When you are having shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.

- When you break out in a cold sweat, feeling nausea

For many of us, we feel that all the above symptoms are just normal when we are not feeling well, may not serious warning signs of a heart attack.

Anyway, if you are suffering from any of these or all of these symptoms, you should quickly call 9-1-1 or get help from someone who happens to be in the vicinity.

For those of you who are not sure it's a heart attack sign, I strongly advise you to go for check up. Tell your doctor about your symptoms. I did not know all these heart attack warning signs before, and it nearly cause my life. So take it from me, read more about heart attack and its warning signs.