5 EASY ways to be happy!

I'm always inspired to write things related to happiness, as it is the thing that I've been struggling to achieve for the past few years. As I suffered from a breakdown back then, I wasn't happy at all. I hated myself so much and my self-esteem was extremely unhealthy.

And I knew that, I HAD to do something about it.

Whenever I turned to my friends asking them what do they do if they are not happy, I often get answers like spending time with family & friends or joining activities. But I realised these only lead to short-term happiness. In order to be and remain happy, it is the MINDSET that tells yourself you CHOOSE to be happy, and no one else can control nor decide your happiness, but you.

Recently I have been getting the hang of happiness, so these are the 5 ways that personally works for me!

1. Count Your Blessings 
THIS is probably one of my proudest (positive) habits! I count my blessings regularly. I would just smile to myself out of no where expressing how blessed I am, even at the simplest thing. Be it a text from a friend, parking spot, coffee done right, good weather and many many more! Before I fall asleep, I reflect on the day and identify things that I'm grateful for. And I get really excited getting up the next day to explore what else I could be grateful for!

There are always something to be thankful and grateful for. Always look at the good things in life. When you appreciate what you have, what you have appreciates in value.

2. Laugh Out Loud 
Just be yourself and literally laugh out LOUD (Don't fake it lah!). As most of you already know, laughing triggers the happy hormones - Endorphins. When you laugh, you tend to worry less and just enjoy for the moment.

There is this thing about me - I laugh at the slightest silliest things. I often make my own jokes and laugh at it (with myself!) where others could just give me that stare. Haha yes you geddit.

3. Spend Time with Yourself 
Okay, this is a tricky one. When I say spend time with yourself, it doesn't mean being alone and feeling lonely. Loneliness is not something to aim for, but being alone doesn't mean feeling lonely.

Spending time with yourself means having your OWN time trying to understand who you are and what you desire in life. It is the time you have with yourself with no distractions. Slow down and keep your mind clear! This allows you to set your priorities straight making sure that what you're aiming for is something you want, not something you want because others want it.

Remember, you don't need anyone in your life, but yourself. Do things you like and be happy of the things you do.

4. Make a To-do List
...and making sure you tick all the listed items off at the end of each day. Seeing things getting ticked off from the list is probably one of the best feelings ever (at least for me!).

This gives me a major sense of satisfaction and it makes me really happy. Create a list at the start of each day and commit to it! It does make a difference.

5. Have Lesser Expectations 
I'm still trying hard to achieve this. Having a certain level of expectations is healthy as that is what you set out on your goals, but only to a certain extent.

I'm the kind of person that gets pretty insensitive with the abilities of the person I'm dealing with. There were many times I expect people to do something for me, because I wouldn't mind to do as much for them. But when they didn't, I felt terribly disappointed, which is by far the worst feeling I've experienced.

Expectation is the root of disappointment.

I constantly remind myself that no one owes it to you to do a certain thing. You can't control others, but YOU can control yourself.




Ask yourself the question, are you happy?

28/365 Grateful

I enjoy going for a morning jog around the neighbourhood.
I enjoy taking a stroll at the park in the evening.
I enjoy walking home at night from the city.
I simply enjoy wandering around whenever and wherever I want.

And it's sad I can't practise any of the above here.

I miss Melbourne, a lot a lot. :'(


Nothing much, probably just grateful that I have lived in this beautiful city.

27/365 Grateful

My parents bought ChiYan a playground set. I was playing with the slide (despite having the weight limit of 17kg LOL) and she cheekily queued up after me to play the slide. That laugh on her, totally made my day! Truly grateful to have such happy distraction around the house! :)

"It's amazing how the things you remember forever are the things you'd rather forget and the things you desperately want to grasp onto seem to slip away like sand in the wind."

26/365 Grateful

Today's collage! Saturday well spent catching up with stories!

#1 Wore my new necklace out from Dainty and Bold.
#2 7-min Brunch Pasta. Finally catching up with Ben at Breadfruits, Desa Sri Hartamas.
#3 Salmon Pesto Pasta, Breadfruits.
#4 Bacon French Toast, Breadfruits.
#5 Baked Eggs, Breadfruits.
#6 My DW meets Ben's DW. :D
#7 Chacha arrived in Dubai and I received this pic from her of her sis's place in Dubai. Yes, the amount of photos and postcards on the wall are truly impressive!
#8 Had buffet at Saisaki for dinner. Haven't had buffet for so long! Super food coma but the company was really good! :D #happyshufenishappy
#9 Ended the night with a beer tower at Weissbrau, Pavilion.

One should always find joy in the simplest things in life.

25/365 Grateful

I had a tiring week, both at work and personal. Started my much needed weekend with a scrumptious Japanese meal @ Kirishima, Dua Residency with the bunch.

And erm, pic above doesn't seem related but did you geddit? HEHE.

24/365 Grateful

Dedicating today's 365Grateful to my longest and bestest friend, Chacha! She's leaving tomorrow for her new job, and am so proud of her achievement! :') The drive home after dropping her back surely was emotional. 

This BFF of mine has been the most supportive and considerate person around, I can't even imagine my life without her. I'm going to be even more lonely. 

But for a better future, we are ALL in! All the best for your new journey ahead, can't wait to see how and where we will end up! We will meet somewhere someday. Love you long taim! x

23/365 Grateful

Nothing much. Just thinking about life, burgers, chocolate lava cake and you. -

The only picture I took today.

Today was an extremely uninteresting day. I didn't start the day smoothly. I took more than 30 min to find a parking spot and yet I couldn't find any. So I gave up and just double parked. I don't always double park, and most of the time when I do, I will surely get summoned. But today I didn't! And I should be grateful for it. Glad that this uninteresting day is coming to an end.




I broke down a couple of times today honestly. I dread doing work so much. I was just bothered...of myself. I came home thinking why I still care. Why am I still trying so hard. Why did I allow myself to be in this constant misery.

I can't tell why.

Mamma Mia this December!

I MUST watch this. Anyone anyone?

Coincidentally the shows fall on my birthday weekend this year.

22/365 Grateful

I woke up this morning feeling excited because I'm going to have a date with myself. Lol. I already have my day planned the day before, so I moved outta the house pretty quickly. I went to the post office to send a parcel (returned 2 dresses to an online boutique which did not fit me), went to the dermatologist to collect meds and here I am, sitting at a corner at VCR overlooking..my car (Just in case it gets summon or tow) and typing this entry. :)

Planning your day the night before does make a difference! You spend few minutes the night before sorting out your day and you'll save few hours the next day organising your priorities and tasks. I don't actually do this often, but I will try to! The more productive your day is, the more things you get it done, the happier you are! *grins*

21/365 Grateful

I tweeted this on Tuesday...

Totally overestimated myself, as I thought I could complete my work within 1 day. I ended up with no Kate Spade bag and massage, but 3 full days of report! :(

And today, I'm finally done! :D Omg best feeling ever, Imma do the booty dance!!!

Since I disappointed myself, I "punished" myself with a new habit.

I want myself to keep track on my schedule regularly. I want to be able to submit work before deadlines and not to cram for it last minute. So I forced myself to start writing on a planner. That also means my Starbucks planner is finally in use! My goal next month is to finish work earlier than scheduled time, and to of course improve in my performance! As quoted from my boss, we should always under promised but over delivered.

20/365 Grateful

OHHMYYGAWWWD BURGER! Burger has got to be my favourite unhealthy food! Since it's a bad food, so most of the time I refrain myself from eating burger. It sure was good having a burger after a LONG time! 

Burger in the picture is from Burgertory and is a self-customised pork burger. It's advisable to order their pork burgers instead of beef. :P 

19/365 Grateful

There's still work left to be done, so I stayed in the office till 8pm. Mum called asking whether am I coming home for dinner, I said yes and asked her to put the dishes on a plate for me, so she could clean the dining table.

And I came home to find this Hello Kitty on the dining table! LOL! My mum is too cute! <3

18/365 Grateful

I thought I wouldn't get to gamble this year since I didn't do any visiting this CNY. Although CNY had over, but someone spontaneously suggested to gather at Piau's place to gamble! I had so much fun gambling with the gang despite losing money (as usual, never had lucks in gambling). And this is Piau (in the picture), our dealer who won ALL our money. Hahaha all good ;)

Day 17 of 365 Grateful

I LOVE karaoke! I am the type of person in the karaoke who would occupy the mic most of the time hahaha! My Saturday was well-spent with this bunch of awesome friends! ;) 

Day 16 of 365 Grateful

Both Chap Goh Mei & Valentine's Day fell on the same day, which also signifies both Chinese and Western Valentine's Day on the same day. 

Had dinner with my family to end the CNY. I love and appreciate special days, because that's when all of us come together for dinner, since all of us are always busy with our own schedules. 

Day 15 of 365 Grateful

It rained yesterday and today, like finally! 

The weather has been insanely hot for the past weeks. I've always been good with just the fan to sleep, but couldn't help but to switch on the air-cond since few nights back. Glad that it rained, the after-rain weather sure was good! :D

Day 14 of 365 Grateful

This makes you really, really happy. 

To share with you, this video of a little girl named Kayden experiencing her first time in the rain has gone viral for the past few days in social media. I watched it today and it warms my heart completely. I hope this video brightened your day, it definitely brightened mine! Her genuine and joyous reactions were just priceless. So if there is one thing you learnt from this precious little girl, is that even in a rainstorm you can always find happiness. People often only emphasise on the downs of their life, and are always lack of the appreciation in beautiful things that happened to them. To me, this quote has been an inspiration to me - Everyday may not be good, but there's always something good in everyday. It all depends on the way you view things. Somehow things are not as bad as it may seem if you look at it differently. :) 

Back to the title..

Dedicating today's gratitude to Bibimbap! I love bibimbap and had it for lunch today. I have been craving for it some time already since I didn't get to try any during my trip to Korea last week. Glad that the colleagues didn't mind going to the same place for lunch again since they went there two days back when I wasn't around. Happy tum makes a happy me! :) 

Day 13 of 365 Grateful

Hi!

How bad I skipped 365grateful series for close to a month now, nothing to be proud of. =X Habits are like this, once you stopped, it really takes extra effort to be back on that routine again. Soooooo..keep up your good habits!

And, start eliminating the bad ones! At least TRY to, even simple bad habits, if you realised. For instance, not replying messages, especially the last seen and double-tick features on Whatsapp make it a lot worse. If you're not gonna reply someone's message, it wouldn't hurt to just tell them you're busy. That's why I always appreciate conversation that starts with hello and ends with bye. Which also means I dislike the fact that people would just hang up the phone without saying Bye! I'd call you again and make sure you said bye to me! It is jusssssttt a BYE. This bothers me too - not holding doors for the people after you. Simple courtesy, guys!

Okay stop looking at the negative side, the bright side is..I'm gonna resume 365grateful! ;) I still prefer 365grateful over 100happydays, simply because showing gratitude makes you happier. It is not happy people who are grateful, it is grateful people who are happy. :)

My haul from Korea! I didn't realise it was THIS much until I finally unpack today! I'm starting to love Korean cosmetics and so far those I've started using have been serving me well. 

Most of them are from Innisfree, which is my favourite Korean brand so far. Innisfree uses natural ingredients from Jeju Island and emphasises on eco-friendly packaging. When it comes to make-up, I'll usually pick the mineral lines because I have very sensitive skin. And, Innisfree has it covered for me! I'm a happy Innisfree customer. ;D

A Korean haul post perhaps? Hopefully. 

Goodnight my dears! :) 

Day 12 of 365 Grateful

My recent craving; Chocolate Lava Cake/Chocolate Fondant/Chocolate Molten Cake or any name else. I have been so crazy about this dessert! I'm grateful for whoever who created this dessert, you are a God because you bring me to heaven each time I have it!! Hahaha! 

Chocolate Molten Cake from RBB above was just mediocre, please leave me a comment if you know any other place that serves this dessert! Thank you. :) 

Day 11 of 365 Grateful

Look at the amount of MyKuali!!!! ChiYan can you excuse abit? This time I want to take a picture of the noodles not you lollll. I took all the packets out from the box and put them on the floor, she then came to the picture and treat the packets as her 'toys' and arrange them! Haha ok you're so cute I forgive you. :3 

I have always wanted to try MyKuali's White Curry Noodle ever since the hype it created on social media. Yes I'm a proud victim of social media! :P And guess what, my dad came back from Penang with 2 boxes of MyKuali!! Yes for real, and no, I'm not sharing any hehe! :P I'm grateful and lucky for always getting what I want and crave for! :)

Day 10 of 365 Grateful

Came home to a parcel of dresses I bought online last week! There are times when I received my online purchase but it's either it didn't look good on me or the sizing was off. So each time whenever the dresses I bought online fits me well and looks good on me, it is like a bonus to me, and I'm grateful for this.

Oh anyway! These are the online boutiques I stick to and are highly recommended by me - LoveBonito, Twenty3, and Doublewoot! White corset dress above is from Twenty3. 

Day 9 of 365 Gratitude

My job doesn't require me to go to office everyday, I can work from home alternate days. I'm never the person who can work from home, simply because of the distraction I have at home, especially my bed and my niece! :P So I'm showing gratitude to the existence of Starbucks for the free wifi (although it sucks sometime), cosy environment and for having an outlet almost everywhere, in which allows people like me to work conveniently!

My favourite beverage from Starbucks gotta be Caramel Macchiato because it doesn't taste like macchiato at all! I do pick green tea latte occasionally when I do not need caffeine. 

Day 8 of 365 Gratitude

The past 3 days have been the busiest days at work, and no, I'm not complaining! I like being busy and is better than nothing-to-do right! :D

It was raining when I was driving home and couldn't help to be grateful that I have a car of my own.

The motorcyclists had to stop under the ramps or any shaded area to wait for the rain to stop, some made a stop just to wear on their raincoat, but aren't them risking their lives to drive under the rain?! That makes me realised how blessed I am to be under the roof that put me at ease. 

It's still the rainy season, so drive safe, guys! 

Day 7 of 365 Grateful

I used to have an iPad but it died on me after about 6 months of using it. It was so bad even Apple centre couldn't fix it. I was then contemplating whether to get a new one since the new iPad air has released. Instead of getting it for myself, i got it as a Christmas gift from my company! I'm grateful and thankful for that! Thank you and it has been serving me well. (Especially watching shows hehe!)

Day 6 of 365 Grateful

@Podgy and the Banker, Hartamas

Saturday calls for coffee and catch-ups! Ever since I started working, I appreciate the weekends even more. I'm grateful for the weekends and for always getting my coffee cravings fixed too! :)

Day 5 of 365 Grateful

Okay! Gonna start putting each picture into a polaroid frame! Better, no?

I'm such an easily pleased person. At the end of each day I have so many things to be grateful for.

This was my casual workstation today and I'm starting to enjoy working at the chill zone. I'm grateful that my workplace utilises open concept where I can just move around instead of just sticking my butt on the same spot the entire day!

Got to try Project C's brownies at myBurgerLab SeaPark. It's pay all you want basis, so I shamelessly paid RM10 for a latte and 2 minion brownies in green tea and banana flavour. The brownies were surprisingly good and I'm grateful that my picky tastebuds are satisfied. :) 

Day 4 of 365 Grateful

Paid both my credit card bills today and I'm grateful to be able to pay off my bills independently. That feeling sure was good! :D

Yesterday I was stuck in traffic on my way back from work and I was not complaining nor frustrated. I was rather grateful of having a job like mine that starts at 11am instead of the usual 9to5 job. I needed to meet my friend so I was using a different route which makes me got caught in an unusual traffic jam. I'm only experiencing busy traffic like this occasionally. As compared to those who have to do it twice a day and 5 days a week, I'm way too blessed, and I'm grateful for that! :)

Day 3 of 365 Grateful

PS: It's a bit of cheating here, cos I was too tired to update yesterday. Time has been edited. :P

I'm grateful to be able to try out new things for free since it's given by my colleague (I know it has been around for some time, but it's new to me at least!) and what's even better is that it contains rich amount of Vitamin C which is exactly what I needed!

C-C-C-C-COMBO!

Day 2 of 365 Grateful

There are sooooo many things that I'm grateful for today!

But there is one thing that I'm especially grateful today, is to have a mum like mine! She has been there with me all the time going through most of the procedures of my lost-passport case. I really wanna thank her for tolerating with my temper and emotion when the incident happened, and for being so patience in most tedious occasions. Glad that it's over now and I can now TRAVEL with my new passport!! :D Can you tell I'm very happy today?

Picture for today will be a collage of things I did today. :)

Day 1 of 365 Grateful

I stumbled upon this Project HEART at Maybank's Facebook Page today and I was moved by the intention of this project.

And..I am grateful that I have this little opportunity to help these children at Malaysia and Philippines by making a small donation. In life, I believe in always giving than receiving, because when you give, you'll end up having more. :)