Sadness, loss, stress, pain, defeat and other negative situations are all part of life. You cannot live without ever feeling any of these emotions. It is not evading them that counts, it’s how you deal with them.

And one of the BEST ways to deal with anything negative is laughter. It’s said that you have not lived a day if you have not laughed and I truly believe that.

The health benefits of laughter.

1. It calms you. A hearty laugh gets rid of body tension and stress, relaxing your body for a good 30-45 minutes after wards!
2. It makes your immune system happy. Laughter lowers the  hormones that cause stress while boosting the ones that enable your body to fight diseases.
3. Just like exercising… laughter releases of endorphins. Endorphins are your bodies own ‘feel-good’ chemical. When released, it advances feelings of happiness and overall well-being. This is why even if you don’t want to exercise at the start, you tend to feel darn good after doing your fitness routine anyway.
4. A good hearty laugh keeps the blood healthily flowing. Ever noticed how you laugh? Your sides move up and down, your mouth pulls at both ends, your jaw muscles tighten, your head bobs up and down, and so on. All these movements increase blood flow all over your body, which in turn protect you against heart problems.

Quick ways to find something to laugh about.

1. Watch a comedy movie or TV show.
2. Look at quirky family pictures/videos.
3. Call a friend who always makes you laugh.
4. Read a book of jokes (or go online and find some).
5. Read today’s newspaper comic strip.

And on this note, I leave you with a Cyanide and Happiness comic courtesy of Explosm.net

“Nothing is so fatiguing than the hanging on of an uncompleted task”.
-William James (philosopher)

When I first read the quote above a couple of years ago, it just rang so true to me. Indeed, sometimes you get tired not by your actions but just by the thought of all those pending projects!

Since I normally handle a couple of projects at a time, I have to make a conscious decision not to stretch myself too thin. By this I mean I always have to get a grip on myself that I don’t get too excited on new ideas and start new projects before I close existing ones. In short, I always aim to be a FINISHER.

So, how do you ensure that your tasks move at a pace that will get you to the end? Read on.

Define the project and what the finished product should be.

Projects can be long or short so this means it can take just one day or even a week or a month. Whatever it is though, don’t start a project without at least a tentative deadline. Also, define what the finished outcome should be. Otherwise, how will you know if the project has been successfully done?

Assuming you’ve specified the project, determined the results, and listed down action steps leading to the achievement of the goal, it’s time to follow-through.

Wake up really early.

I don’t know about you but waking up late during the day makes me lazy the rest of the day. So if I have a certain goal in mind, I set the alarm clock to a very early time.

Exercise and then shower.

To clear my thoughts and put it in the right ‘action frame of mind’, I exercise. The energy boost I get from running or jogging clears my head and pumps up my blood so much that I feel I can handle anything! A quick shower after wards wipes my body and mind clean, enabling me to can sit down and think clearly.

Breakfast and coffee.

Well, a rumbling stomach does not feel good and just gets in the way of what I need to do so I get a healthy breakfast and bring a nice big cup of coffee to my desk. Somehow, a steaming mug of caffeine always creates the right setting on my work desk.

Just do it!

At this point I do not even entertain anything else rather than the task or project I have made up my mind to do. As such, I avoid all calls and don’t even check my Inbox. Depending on the project I want to finish, I would be in this ‘zone’ for the rest of the morning or the rest of the day.

Here’s a great mental tip: make sure you have a list of those things you need to do to finish a project and cross them off after you’ve done them. The mind registers just how much you are finishing and sort of eggs you on to accomplish more, faster.

Keep at your list and before you know it, you would have accomplished what you set out to do.

One of the strongest bonds we will ever form in our lifetimes is that of friendship. A friend is someone we almost take for granted, not realizing how massively important their existence is in our lives. And when we lose one, it suddenly hits us how that relationship was so important. How do you move on?

Say goodbye.

A lot of people try to deal with grief by ignoring it. However, if you do this, you’re not really getting rid of your sadness. You’re just delaying it. And when it hits you, trust me it’s going to be like a sucker punch to the face.

So the best way to deal with a lost of friend is really to say goodbye the best way you know how. It can be as solemn as possible or even a party where all your other friends can gather not to grieve, but to rejoice in how much your departed friend has touched all your lives.

Acknowledge what the friendship has done for you.

We all serve some form of purpose to one another so what has your friend helped you achieve? Were you a better person because of him/her? If not for this friend, maybe you would not have discovered a special talent you have, or not found out just how much you love something (traveling? cooking? etc.). Acknowledge the best thing that came out of that friendship… and pay it forward.

Commemorate the friendship.

There are many ways you can commemorate a friendship. You can get a tattoo or play videos of your gang together each time his/her birthday rolls along. You can make a donation or even establish a charity foundation in your friend’s name.

Build new friendships.

Nothing stops; life moves on and no, new friendships do not mean being ‘unfaithful’ to your old ones. Would your best friend want you to have a lonely life? Of course not. So don’t feel guilty and go out and build new friendships.

On our way to achieving our goals, we are often faced with situations where we are stumped not because we don’t know what to do but because we do not dare to do it. Many of us lead lives that have certain ‘boundaries’ and to go beyond them is not normal. However, it is this ‘out of the box’ attitude that usually enables people to attain your goals in life faster.

To train yourself to take risks in life you should get out of your comfort zone more often. Easier said than done I know but you do not have to make any radical changes today. All you need to do is take little steps and before you know it, you’re daring to live life the best way possible.

Don’t know where to start? Here are a few tips for you.

Get a completely new do.

If a makeover is too drastic or too budget-busting, do the next best thing: get a completely different hair cut. Go completely against your current hair style now, color it even or ‘hide the grays’ and you’ll be amazed at how much this simple thing boost your confidence and thus help you to get out of your comfort zone.

Get a tattoo.

Times are different; having a tattoo does NOT mean you spent some time in jail. It’s a life statement. So go and get inked but don’t settle for what’s ‘normal’. The point is to get out of your comfort zone remember? Dig deep and discover an image that really means something to you and go ahead and get it inked on your body.

Woo-hoo… Karaoke night!

A LOT of people dread karaoke night. The thought of embarrassing yourself in front of many people is just so unbearable.But really, is it? Sometimes, what people remember is not the mediocre singing but the person who was such a ‘kill joy’ because he/she didn’t get up and joined in the fun. Besides wasn’t it William James who said “We do not sing because we’re happy. We’re happy because we sing.”

So let loose, seize the moment and grab the mic already!

Volunteer and help others in need.

No, it’s not all about you. At least, not all the time. Often, we are so afraid to lose what we have that we do not take risks in life. Go out and help others. Open your eyes to the world and to the problems of people around you and you’ll soon see that what you have been worried about losing is nothing at all in the bigger scheme of things.

If you’re less afraid of losing what you have, then you’ll be more willing to get out of your comfort zone and take risks in life.

Good luck!

A goal without an action plan is just a daydream. – Dr. Nathaniel Branden

You know, the older I get, the more I realize that life is actually a lot SIMPLER than I thought. Please don’t confuse simple with easy. A lot of people think that when faced with touch choices, it’s so difficult to arrive at a decision. Actually in most cases, the CHOICE is easy. It’s accepting it or implementing the steps that follow that choice is the one that’s difficult.

So why do I say this? When people ask me what my ‘best tip’ is to reach their goals in life, I say “that’s easy, act on them”.

Goals must be followed by planned action to become a reality. Otherwise, as the great Dr. Nathaniel Branden mentioned above, your goals are just a daydream.

So what’s the key element that you need to make a goal a reality? MOTIVATION.

Motivation is the energy that fuels your actions. And each action made is a step on the ladder that will ultimately enable you to reach your goals.

Of course, planning is crucial to ensure you are doing the right things to reach your objectives in life but all the planning in the world is nothing without proper motivation.

So what can you do to motivate yourself?

For one, keep your eye on the goal and imagine how you will be living your life once you’ve attained it. I had a friend who was not happy at all with his job. He absolutely hated the commute, hated his boss, and hated what he was doing. He told me he really felt he was leading a ‘cubicle kind of life’.

He didn’t have the funds to go back to school and re-educate himself for a new career but he was always good at helping people fix their PCs on the side so he focused on that. His goal became to set-up an online site where people can ask  a question and even call for help when encountering PC problems.

He started to imagine how his life would change. No more alarm clocks (he can wake up when he wants), no more commutes (maybe 5 minutes to get to this home office), no more bosses, and every thing he does has a direct impact on HIS wallet.

This picture was so vivid in his mind that he was truly motivated to take action. He even made a ’schedule’ on when he would sit down and plan his action steps. From this point, it was one task to another. Within 3 months he had his site up, in 6 months he was in full swing online, in 12 months he had increased his savings so that by the 15th month he was able to resign his day job.

He told me that leaving the doors of his work for the last day was one of the happiest moments of his life. He stopped by Starbucks, sat down, and told himself he will enjoy the moment alone for 2 hours of uninterrupted java, chicken club sandwich and reading pleasure.

So you see, MOTIVATION is extremely important. Remember, it’s the energy you need to achieve your goals in life.

I love to surf on Youtube. I specifically like to watch ‘amateur home videos’ and corporate videos. The former because I like discovering just how hilariously creative (or just hilarious) people can be; the latter because I like to keep tabs on new marketing techniques for my business.

The other day I came across these great videos.

This first video amazingly depicts how we engage in procrastination each and every day.

This second video provides great tips on how to beat procrastination.

(Ok, Tip #10 is the marketing part of the video but all valid just the same!)