Begin happy is better than being a king – African Proverb

It’s again time to re-assess what’s happening in our life, what’s making us happy, and/or what actually can make us happy.  Here are my thoughts on being happy in 2016 and beyond via my first blog for the year, not that I have completely figured out the secret yet, and still struggle to find meaning and source of happiness 🙂

If you have time for only one item in the list, just read the first one.

1. JUST BE HAPPY – Technically, there shouldn’t be any reason needed to be happy. You will only need a reason to be unhappy. It is supposed to be our default state.  Looks at the small babies, and they always seem to be happy.  Do they have a reason to be happy? Start working on that reason(s) that is/are causing you to be unhappy.  We often we link our happiness to a reason or an event or a person.  We need to master the art of ‘unlinking’ that reason.  Yes, it is easier said that done.

2. RELISH CURRENT MOMENT – Enjoy the current moment and pay attention to what’s happening around and appreciate the beauty and goodness around you. If you are always talking, you are only repeating what you know. If you also start listening, you might actually be learning something you do not know and might actually need it.  Start doing less parallel processing and doing lest “Whatsapp’ing when you are with someone else, and enjoy the current moment

3. DO WHAT YOU LOVE or LOVE WHAT YOU DO – It is often not possible for most folks do what they love, but if we start loving what do do, we eventually be doing what we love.  We spend 40% of our life at work space, it is important that we do what we love or better yet start loving we do.  This is the magical recipe for adding lots of value to your work and consequently rise higher both in work and life

4. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY – If the goal of your goal(s) is to achieve happiness / peace (which is we all go after, right?) for your family, and if you are sacrificing the same thing in the process of achieving those goals, then is it really worth going after that goal?   Expand definition of your family.  It’s not just your spouse and kids.  Do include your parents, siblings, and incrementally make the circle of family little longer

5. GIFT A SMILE – Gift a smile to someone in your ecosystem by helping them in need or use 3^rdparty avenues to find someone who needs it.   If everyone takes little care of ‘few folks in need’ within their ecosystem, we will have a very different world today. Power of gifting a smile is huge.  Be selfish by being self less.  Power of gifting a smile is huge

6. BEING IN GRATITUDE – Count your blessings.  You will be surprised that you already have so much of that stuff that you ever want or need. This does not mean that you should not be aiming for greater things in life. Being “attached” and ‘detached’ at the same is an art to be learnt

7. BELIEVE IN GOODNESS – Believe me, there is lot of it out there in the people around us. We fret / sweat on trivial stuff which really does not matter. Do take time to nourish relationships and ‘really know’ the folks around you

8. EXERCISE A LITTLE– 30 minutes a day would do also good too and easy to find this much time.  Wake up at golden hour and use that hour for introspection, exercise a little, and prioritise what you want to achieve in that date/week.  Also while you do this, do practice little healthy living t.   Do a bit of meditation. This seems very boring, but is powerful and bring great deal of clarity in all the decisions that you make

9. SPEND TIME OUTDOORS – No brainer, and gives you some time for self-introspection and allows you to connect with nature.  Get some Vitamin D too, while you do this. If you are mandated to travel outside home, take it as an opportunity to learn about new regions, culture, food, folks, and more.
10. FIND YOUR ‘ENOUGH INDEX LIFFLE EARLY IN LIFE” – This is a tough one.  If you figured this one out, my “Jai Ho” to you.  We always seem to be chasing elusive moving target. Depends upon where you are today in the current phase of you life, you might want to tone down your ‘enough’ index and start relishing what you already have

Here are few events that I had loved to documented in 2015. Thank to everyone’s role (my family, my colleagues, my friends, and many unnamed folks) for being part of my 2015

1:  Moving into my own villa 369.  This has been a decade old dream, and I could make it happen in 2015  (though the journey to build a villa was scary and ridden with lots of challenges) with big thanks to my family

2:  Hosting so many folks that I know or do not know at my home, starting with few Brazilians and Argentines at the beginning of 2015

3:  Being part of big growth and experiencing Cigniti 3.0, Cigniti 4G  and attending conferences and travelling around the world

4: Travelling around the world including Melbourne, Thailand, Malaysia, Spain, Canberra, New York, Philadelphia, Maine, North Carolina, Tampa, Yarra Valley, Valley Forge, Brisbane, Kiama, Goa, Singapore,  and more to meet prospects and customers.  It wasn’t easy to travel so much, and being away from the family so many times.  However, I used weekend time to capture few glimpses some of the locations that I have visited, and did little bit of exploration, to avoid getting depressed in a hotel room

5:  Watching Incredible Indian Cricket team @ MCG and Sydney Cricket Grounds.  Though I am not a cricket fan, it was fun hanging out with crazy cricket fans from around the world

6: Travelling with my family and our guru to  Cambodia (and visiting temple ruins) and meditating at world’s largest temple “Angkor Wat“, visiting Smiling Faces of Bayon, checking Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider Famed Temple)

7:  Celebrating all major festivals within India this time with extended family, starting with Sankranthi, Dasara, Diwali, Ganesh,  Mothers Day, and celebrating big brother’s big birthday. Compared to 2015, I missed some of the major festivals in 2014, to support some of my clients

8:  Hosting and Documenting many events @ Cigniti (The Big Indian welcome for a big client, recording Happy video, Super Macchi,  Cignipix club trip, LIQE @ Wall Street,  FutureTech @ Canberra,  Xmas Potluck , Ramzan, and more)

9:  Spending at Friend’s farm and connecting with nature

10:  Finally, travelling with my family at the end of 2015 and experiencing incredible south india including Wayanad, Bandipur, Coorg, and more. I was able to travel with family twice this year. I hope to do more travel in 2016.