Solitude

Daydreams and flying time are kissing cousins.... Mathew*, a twenty year old college student, Terri*, a thirty-three year old who works in finance, and Pete*, a fifty-nine year old granddad, might not have much to talk about. But they have at least one thing in common: they all feel that the days, weeks and months are speeding by too quickly. “I barely have time to breathe,” says Terri. Mathew echoes, “I can’t seem to find a minute just to think.” The theory that I have always heard (and one underscored by scientists like   neuroscientist David Eagleman of Baylor College of Medicine and Warren Meck, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University ) is that, for a number of reasons, time seems to go faster as we get older. But these days it’s not just the over-forties who are complaining. Speeding time seems to be afflicting us all, from small children to folks in their mid-nineties!  It seems that life is moving too quickly. There are pl...

Where can you find happiness?    A boy was standing at a beach facing the bright sun when it was about to set. A old man who passed him just had a look at that young boy, he found that boy was crying. He inquired the boy, he said I am not happy. The old man asked Why are you not happy?. What ever I do I fail in that, I don\'t succeed. Is that the only reason for your lost happiness questioned again by the old man. He said, hell a lot of things are there, why should I tell you all those stuffs. Old man looked into the boy\'s eye and told, happiness lies within you. It was a shock then for the kid, he asked how come? I am not happy still. In reply to the question old man gave a simple formula to the boy, Happiness = Adjustments / Limitations He then explained the boy, life is full of happiness when you have adjustments and limitations. Happiness is directly proportional to Adjustments and inversely proportional to Limitations. When you feel ...

Negative people are an unfortunate fact of life. Whether it’s the coworker who is always complaining about the company or the sister whose judgmental remarks make every visit an ordeal, they drive us nuts. Here’s the bad news: we’re not going to change them. But we can learn to react to them in ways that protect our self-esteem as well as our sanity. So we’ve gathered some great tips for you: Steer the conversation in a neutral direction. Talk about books, movies, celebrities  — anything that will stop the complaining or snarking. If a person is talking about a specific problem  (the high cost of medical care, the amount of work she has to do), just listen to her and try to understand how she feels. If you want, ask if there’s anything you can do to help, but only if it won’t drain you. Don’t argue.  That just draws you into the cycle of negativity. Complainers are likely to think that you’re trying to talk them out of feeling angry, and that can make them even angrier...

Here are 4 steps  identified for genuinely getting past disappointment: 1. Let it out. One of the hardest things to do in a world where everything is immediate—we are all under external pressure, and time is a scarce resource—is to just let yourself experience a feeling. Even at the most difficulties times, such as grieving, on average we only allow ourselves 1 to 2 weeks off or work, and then we mostly expect to get back into normality again. Human beings are not very good at allowing the experiencing of emotions in full without trying to speed up the process. The only time we have this ability in its purest sense is when we are young children who have yet to be told or taught what is socially acceptable. Children will tantrum and cry and scream, or laugh until it runs out and they are genuinely ready to move on. I’m not suggesting we lock ourselves away for weeks at a time whenever we have been disappointed, but to be aware of any sense of obligation to “just get ov...

To remain happy and optimistic when you fail is more important than achieving success. Optimism plays a substantial role throughout our life from childhood through adolescence into adulthood. So, it is necessary to be optimist or positive in spite of any kind of failures or obstacles emerging on our ways, because optimism in failures brings significant advantages to our lives. It leads people to inventions, and makes them be stronger in disasters. In addition, it enables people to live longer. In fact, there have not been any crucial discoveries in history without failures. It is an inescapable part of our life that may guide people to innovations. For instance, a light-bulb, one of the major inventions of mankind, was invented by Thomas Alva Edison after failing more than ninety times. So, as a proverb says: “Only who gets lost, discover new ways”. It proves once again that optimism in failures is the main motive for success, because after reaching success we are no longer willi...

What is it that compromises an adolescent’s health? Is it poverty, no access to healthcare or the right intervention methods? NGOs and facilitators working with young people all over the country say it’s a combination of all these factors. Youth in the 10-24 age group, constitute a large percentage of the population. Healthier than the other age groups, they are also more vulnerable to health risks, physical and mental, and also transitional problems as they grow towards adulthood in terms of education, work and expanding relations. At a recent Workshop for South Asian Journalists on Reproductive and Child Health: Issues and Perspectives, organised by the Population Foundation of India (PFI) and USAID, an overview of the various NGOs working in the field to ensure better adolescent health awareness revealed some interesting viewpoints of working with and for the young .      Using resources    ...

7 habits of really happy people We all know that person. The one who is always laughing, crackin’ jokes, having fun, and just being happy, no matter what’s going on.   Everyone is attracted to them, and perhaps you want to be like them. But maybe you think it’s impossible to always be happy. However, you most certainly can be happy like them and you SHOULD be happy like them. They are no special secrets to how these people can have so much joy. They don’t possess anything that you don’t have. The only thing they do is practice habits that make them happy. So here are seven habits that can be found in people who are always really happy. If you can practice these and turn them into habits you’ll be just as happy as them. 1. Don’t care what others think They don’t care what others think or have to say. If they did, they wouldn’t let themselves free and be happy because of the possibility of scrutiny. Really happy people also never let negative people and their a...

What does that smile really mean?   50 different kinds of smiles make it difficult to decide. Just because someone smiles at you, it doesn't mean that they are pleased to see you, or even happy. Humans have a large repertoire of smiles which indicate different things. We need a good understanding of facial expression and body language, to work these out correctly. There are eighty muscles at work in a smiling face. Genuine, happy smiles tend to broaden out from a minor facial movement to a broad expression that encompasses the whole face. Smiles don't have to be happy. They can be smiles of fear, misery, or even contempt. Smiles send powerful messages in terms of body language, but there seems to be a difference in the way they are used. Women smile more than men when they don't know what to do, because they know that if they smile they won't get it wrong. Men tend not to smile when they don't know what to do because they see it as a sign of we...