The Science of Happiness

According to "How to Be Happy, According to Scientists" written by Alison DeNisco Rayome, the following habits could improve your contentment levels and by extension make you happy or happier.

1. Enhance your social connections. 

2. Engage in random acts of kindness.

3. Express gratitude.

4. Practice mindfulness.

5. Practice self-compassion.

Click here for "How to Be Happy, According to Scientists". 

Delving deeper on happiness, Christopher Boyce opines that happiness is "grounded in connection, purpose and hope, yet has room for sadness and anxiety too".

Click here for "I’ve spent years studying happiness – here’s what actually makes for a happier life".

Photo by Surface on Unsplash

What is clear is that healthy human connections would be a vital ingredient that make us happy.

So, make time to cultivate close relationships. Do not just talk for the sake of talking, but learn to listen with empathy without judging and pay attention to what your counterparty is saying in such a way that they feel that you understand and feel for them; make deep and meaningful conversations.

After all, everyone wants to be heard, understood, accepted and loved. Yea, show some love by being a good listener and kind human being who: does random acts of kindness; say "Thank you"; care for other's people feelings and circumstances in life; treats oneself with kindness instead of self-condemnation; and so forth.

You can certainly make a difference to your own life and the lives of those around you by applying the habits which create happiness.

Thank you for reading and sharing Daily Refreshing.

Catch Hold of Your Time

We live in the realm of time. When you have time on your side, ride the waves and savour the sheer pleasure of life which is available beyond what you could ever attain even when you have all the time in the world.

If faced with the lack of time, hang in there and know that you will find the time again to do what you enjoy. In this regard, the recent post at Daily Refreshing in January 2023 on creating your Vision List of 300 would certainly help to align your focus on what you desire and attract those dreams and goals into your life.

Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

Taking an unhurried shower, sipping cappuccino in a cafe, taking a stroll along a boulevard, venturing farther and further afield, or just spending precious moments in the presence of your loved ones, are just a trickle of things you could do with time and immerse yourself in the essence of life -- leisure, rest and recreation; alongside your purpose and calling in this life.

May you truly be able to find the time to do what you enjoy and let the following poem spur you to catch hold of your time and find pockets of solace to be un-driven.

Leisure
by William Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass, 
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Thank you for reading and sharing Daily Refreshing.

Pay Attention: Time for Better Recall and Deep Learning

Our teachers were right when they told us to "Pay attention" during lessons in classroom.

Pay attention to the following YouTube clip and you would, inter alia, learn how to get it when learning something new and train yourself to recall things that you have registered well during the learning phase.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

This could be one of the most transformational video that you get to watch and it does not costs you an arm or a leg.

Click here for How To 10X Your Memory & Learning [New speech] 

Create Your Vision List

Further to the earlier post on "Transform Your Life with a Fresh Perspective", may you be spurred on to create your Vision List of 300 things that you would like to see come to pass by this time next year.

If you do not have Microsoft 365 (to use Excel worksheet) which would require subscription after the trial period, fret not, as you can login to your Google account and use Sheets for free.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

You can create a list using the following suggested format:

S/no. | Category   |  Description
1.       Family         To have a date night with spouse every Friday
2.       Finance       To save $500 every month
:

By using Category (e.g. Family, Finance, Career, Business, Spiritual, Community, etc.), you would be able to sort it using Excel or Sheets. Or, you could just create a different tab for each Category in Excel or Sheets.

As you work on the list, you will train your mind to focus and be intentional to complete your list to the best of your ability, be it more than or less than 300.

Then review the list every day before you go to bed or whichever timing that suits you best. This habitual review is crucial for you to crystalise and refine what you really want and you could then edit your list accordingly.

This exercise would be empowering and you can confidently expect to see some results as you keep this list before you in your thoughts and prayers. 

Remember, you have not because you ask not. And, you did not know how to ask because you did not have your Vision List.

But now, you have your Vision List!

Transform Your Life with a Fresh Perspective

Money and fame are often held out by people as the measure of your success in life. Some may even suggest social capital such as how influential you are and your connections with movers and shakers of industries.

If we would just reflect a bit, it is only fitting for us to not only acknowledge God, but be still and know that He is God. He is the great I AM and is not dependent on anyone or anything. He created the cosmos and everything that exist, and has by His own power raised His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead. 

He is the source and giver of life, light, love and so much more, and even more than what we can think, ask or imagine.

This truth and first step of seeing God for who He is by giving Him the honour and worship due would surely refresh and enlighten you with a new perspective that life with God's blessing is true riches, including eternal life for all who have His Son and believe in Him.

Photo by Peter Fogden on Unsplash

That said, as gleaned from the following clip by Steve Harvey, you could take the good challenge of the the following two steps:-

1. Ask God for what you need; you have not because you ask not.

2. Write down what you envision as clearly as possible. Make a list of 300 things and you could well check that by this time next year, you would have received around 10% of the things on your list. 

Click here for Write Your Vision | Motivated +

"Then the Lord answered me and said:

“Write the vision

And make it plain on tablets,

That he may run who reads it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it;

Because it will surely come" "

Habakkuk 2:2 (NKJV)

 

Be Intentional

Tide and time await for nobody. We have already crossed over to 2023 for some three weeks now; the tide will continue to ebb and flow due to the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon, while time marches on.

Photo by Alina Kacharho on Unsplash

This new year you might wanna consider living life with intentionality. For example, if you like to learn how to bake the perfect apple pie, you would consciously be on the look out for recipes on the internet and make the time to try them out and tweak them so as to achieve an optimum finished product that you can share with your family and friends.

Or, if you are thinking of trimming your belly fats, you would glean from the internet on a suitable diet to adopt and be careful with what you eat as well as find out and carry out suitable physical exercises (start small at home; no need to hire a personal trainer or build your own gym).

Being intentional is a state of mind where you hold out your desired goal in front of you all the time such that it become infused into your subconscious so much so that it guides your daily choices and decisions.

You could say that being intentional is a follow through on your New Year resolutions or desired goals to be achieved. It is taking deliberate and persistence actions that transform into an active habitual part of your daily life.

I believe you would be able to achieve your goals in due course as you live your life intentionally and steer your yacht to your port of call.

Happy New Year 2023!

Thank you for reading and sharing Daily Refreshing.

Make Your Day with A Song Request

"All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;" -- William Shakespeare

More than ever before, all the world could be a stage for you and you do not have to leave your home to perform your stuffs such as busking, juggling, standup comedy, cooking and physical exercises. 

If you do well and resonate with your audience, you could well be the next online star and launch your e-career.

For your refreshing, hope you would find that the following sample by Marcus Veltri, Rob Landes and Frank Tedesco on YouTube would make your day, too.

Click here for Pianist and Violinist AMAZES Strangers on Omegle

Click here for Pianist Plays Stranger’s FAVORITE Songs by Ear

Thank you for reading and sharing Daily Refreshing.