How to be happy (particularly in your workplace)

A survey in 2014 showed that almost half of Singaporeans are not satisfied with their jobs. Reading this statistics made me feel grateful as even though research was not my dream job, I was satisfied with my research assistant job and stayed in that position for three years.

Currently I'm working in education sector, a field that requires long working hours and unfortunately doesn't pay me much. However, I feel happy in this field for the past 1.5 years, and once my colleague asked me, "What makes you happy?"

So here is a little sharing about it.

disclaimer: I'm not always happy =P

1) It's okay to make a mistake

There are moments when I feel sad and discouraged because I keep making mistakes at my workplace. Until now I still make mistakes. However, I realize that once I remind myself that it's okay to make mistakes, I feel happier. I learn that my self-worth does not depend on how many mistakes I've committed.

2) Others make mistakes too

It can be quite irritating when other people make mistakes too (that may cause you work more). Again, people are not perfect. Of course we should try to help our colleague to be a better person, but we can't force them to change immediately. Remember that back to point 1, we make mistakes too and many other times our colleagues have been understanding with us.

3) Smile, even when you don't feel like it

Recently I subscribed to a course on Highbrow about small habits that yield big results. One of the recommended habits is smiling! I really feel that it makes a huge difference.

"Scientists have claimed, 'Smiling stimulates our brain’s reward mechanisms in a way that even chocolate, a well-regarded pleasure-inducer, cannot match.' It releases positive chemicals in our brains that tell us things are OK at this moment. It’s a time of peace and joy."

 I really feel that it makes a huge difference. When my students leave at 3pm, I feel tired, yet I still need to prepare and move fast to prepare for the following day. I'll sit in the office for awhile, and tell myself, "breathe!" and smile and move on! Sometimes, as I carry rolls of paper or cutting stuff, I'll hum and sing my favorite song to make me smile or I just make silly comments to make other people laugh. It makes me happier!

Quick update!

Hi!

I haven't been writing for quite some time. Oops, four months!!

Some thoughts that I have recently:

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Next week is All Saints' Day. I talked to my friend about it and said "Don't forget it's day of obligation". My friend said, "Umm, what's the difference, since we've been going for daily Mass?"

That got me thinking. Well, I will try harder to attend Mass on time that day! I feel a bit sad, am I not supposed to try hard to attend Mass on time each day? Anyway, this conversation really reminds me of the advice of someone that I need to think of each Mass that I attend as my last Mass.

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My colleague went to a medical check-up. Another colleague said, it's for her milestone (to have kids, since she's married now). It may be because I've known quite a number of people who cannot conceive, I talked to my colleague, Oh well.. I don't think it should be seen as a milestone because there are people who get married without thinking much about it just because it's supposed to be a milestone. Also, each child is a gift. Some couples are blessed by not having kids so I would love to see it not as a milestone.

Good news is, my colleague found out that she's expecting! Woohoo! The whole office is rejoicing. We need to pray hard for her and her baby though because our students fall sick easily so the environment is not too good for my colleague.

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New year is coming soon!
I finally reached the third book of the Lord of the Rings. I've been thinking about this year's happenings since my birthday. It was always a reminder how fast the time flies!

Paul and I have not managed to take our level 2 climbing certification. It's one of my new year resolutions :( However, we have improved a lot this year, we're not as good as our friends yet, but at least now I have more strength to do 6a+ route. I still have problem with slanted wall though. When we climb on Sundays, we observe kids who attend climbing course and try to listen to what their coaches say to the kids so we know the trick to climb some difficult routes. HAHAHA. However, when we try it, we are often not able to follow the same technique as the kids are often stronger than us =P but it's fun!!


My close friend is engaged and she will get married next September. It was a great news and a motivation for me to pray hard for my friend.

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I've been writing some articles for a  website about dating and marriage. Sigh, I need to improve my writing skills!

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That's all for now! :) Will try to write more over the long weekend. Yeay!!