How to Be Happy - 10 Top Tips That Really Work!


  1. Know where you’re going


Happy people tend to have clear, well-defined goals. Work out where you want to be and what you need to do to get there. Ensure your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed).




  1. Know why you’re going there


Developing a sense of life purpose will also markedly increase your chances of experiencing true happiness. As well as working out where you want to get to, make sure you have a good reason for why you’re trying to go there.




  1. Go with your strengths


Work out what you’re good at and find ways to do it as much as possible. Happiness is not as much about fixing your faults and overcoming your weaknesses as it is about finding ways to focus your life on and around your talents and qualities.




  1. Don’t go alone


Enlist the support of family and friends. Those who have good intimate relationships and those who actively and consistently work to improve the quality of their relationships tend to be happier. So invite others to join you in your endeavours, share your experiences, and don’t forget to also support them as well.


 

  1. Go with a positive attitude


One of the most significant, contributing factors to happiness is optimistic thinking. Although you won’t always have a choice in determining what goes on around you, you will always have a choice in determining how you think about what goes on around you. This will largely determine the extent to which you are, or aren’t, happy.




  1. Ensure you have the energy to go all the way


Being happy depends at least in part on being healthy. Being healthy depends on keeping active and exercising regularly, eating an adequate and well-balanced diet, and ensuring you attain enough sleep and rest.




  1. Control which way you go


Happiness can be enhanced by maximising the control you have over your life. So learn and practice skills such as problem solving and time management, meditation and communication. At the same time, however, no one has complete control and so it is also important to be realistic and to accept that over which you have no control.




  1. Maintain discipline along the way


Happiness is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day while misery is a few bad habits or errors of judgement repeated every day. Although happiness might not be yours today, you can certainly start to implement the strategies you need today. Maintain focus and you’ll be happy before you know it!




  1. Be present every step of the way


Happy people tend to spend more time thinking about and “being in the present” as opposed to dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Learn from your mistakes and plan to achieve, but practice living life in the moment and enjoy happiness now.




  1. Go, go and keep going all the way


We all face obstacles and problems at times. Happy people expect this and adapt when necessary. All of the components outlined above are skills that can be learned. Just like any other skills, you’ll get better at utilising these strategies with practice and perseverance. Stick at it and happiness will be yours.

SC raises valid points on OBC quota

The Supreme Court has done well to raise issues that fly in the face of the UPA Government?s claimed logic behind its illconceived move to reserve 27 per cent seats in institutions of higher education, including acclaimed centres of excellence, for students from the so-called ?Other Backward Classes?. That the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act of 2007, whose passage in Parliament was greatly facilitated by the active collusion of the Opposition with the Treasury Benches, indicating that no party is immune to the lure of identity politics, is a deeply flawed law has been known ever since it was conceived by Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh. Yet, nobody in authority has had the courage to highlight the flaws lest it should displease the intended beneficiaries of such regressive quota politics.

Youth for Equality did put up a spirited fight, but it was doomed to fail in the absence of political support. However, it is to the credit of Youth for Equality that it has not entirely given up the fight against Singh?s dream of penalising meritorious students and degrading higher education; along with others, they have taken the issue to court. It is in this context that the Supreme Court, questioning the legality of the OBC quota in institutions of higher education, has asked the Government to explain how it has fixed the quantum at 27 percent and the criteria used for determining social and educational backwardness of castes and communities.

It has also questioned the Government?s decision not to remove the ?creamy layer? from the intended beneficiaries of its largesse. Those who dared oppose the OBC quota did raise these questions, only to be met with either devious obfuscation or arrogant silence. Recent surveys have indicated the OBC population is far less than what is claimed by those who wish to
subjugate higher education to caste politics. Curiously, although the dispute over the numerical
strength of each caste can be settled through a caste-based census, every Government has shied
away from ordering such an exercise.

That apart, there is the other issue of determining social and educational backwardness of communities:

Should the criteria be based on subjective interpretations or an objective assessment based on economic factors? Hopefully, the SC will succeed in forcing the Government to abandon its antediluvian quota policy. If that leaves our vote-bank dependent politicians smarting, so be it.


Tags: , Youth for equality,

Beyond The Thunder Of The River's Flow

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award has predictably evoked a strong reaction from all sections of the public in the state. It is strange that Tamil Nadu has been awarded 419 tmc. ft. of water against 270 tmc ft to Karnataka even though the length of the river flow in Karnataka is more than that of Tamil Nadu. The status of being a lower riparian state has earned Tamil Nadu an abnormally higher share of water meting out gross injustice to Karnataka.

Ever since the Cauvery dispute between Karnataka (then Mysore) and Tamil Nadu (then Madras) began about 125 years ago, Karnataka farmers have been the victims of the dispute. They were and are always at the receiving end, while Tamil Nadu farmers have been enjoying the major share of water, resulting in increased irrigation area in that state.

Though Karnataka contributes 56 per cent of the total flow of water against 34 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s contribution, it enjoys 66 per cent of irrigated land against 32 per cent in Karnataka. This was due to the imposition of some very unjustifiable agreements by the then rulers on Karnataka that prevented it from increasing the irrigated land. These agreements were in force till 1974.

After 16 years, the final award has been given and it shows Tamil Nadu’s strong hold on those that matter. The award has tolled the death knell on the farmers of Karnataka, as it has deprived the state of a reasonable share of the Cauvery water.

The tribunal has gone to the extent of giving even Kerala’s unutilised share of water to Tamil Nadu. As a result of this injustice, Karnataka is today witnessing strong protests and widespread discontent amongst the masses. The verdict of the Cauvery water dispute tribunal has sent shock waves down the spine of non-Kannada people –– specially among the Tamil-speaking residents of Bangalore. Such fear psychosis is kept alive by hoodlums who flourish in such environments.

I believe that the biggest error Pandit Nehru, in his otherwise visionary reign as PM, made was the division of the country on linguistic lines.

Nearly sixty years after independence, we Indians are finding it extremely difficult to think about ourselves as nothing more than Tamilians, Kannadigas, Telugus, Malayalees, etc. Perhaps it is time to undo the damage of the early fifties and plan the development of the country on geographical and practical considerations.

Tags: Cauvery, Water Wars

Sham And Genuine Art

An art collection and its display have become status symbols, particularly for the nouveau riche for many of whom art is akin to Greek and Latin as they do not even know that visual art is a human activity that can be grouped under painting, sculpture, and architecture.

That styles of painting include mannerism, impressionism, abstract expressionism, post-impressionism, abstract art etc; architectural styles include baroque, rococo, romanesque, norman, gothic, early english, etc. That modern art such as cubism makes mincemeat of traditional forms.

This apart, replication is the basis of learning. If one visits the ruins in Hampi and Aiole, students can be seen sketching the temple structures, monuments and getting inspired by the exemplary fine art. Unfortunately, ancient treasures and artefacts find a place only with international art dealers. Smugglers of “repute” remain unchallenged by the archeology department.

Fakes are being sold as orginals. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We can get from scrap brass utensils, mould-casts of different images of gods etc made by families proficient in this trade. If one wants to make money by cheating, as was revealed to me, one has to dip these in pure castor oil and bury them under the earth for 3 – 4 months. Take them out as they gather greenish fungus, dust them, tag them marking them “artefacts” and price them between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000.

Those who bemoan the sapping of Indian politics of its energies by politicians eager to promote their own interests over those of the nation should take a close look at the world of Indian art. A cabal literally controls the domestic market, subverting critics and blackmailing galleries, refusing to allow space to others. Such is their manipulative skills that domestic prices have long ceased to serve as an indicator of the true value — in monetary terms — of Indian art. Collectors who made the mistake of being misled by domestic price tags and intellectually corrupt art critics are now owners of what would be referred to as “penny stocks” in bourse jargon.

Consider granite. Most of it is as old as the earth’s formation. Carvings at Mahabalipuram shore temple, can become treasures only if they are in black granite. Buy one, break a leg or hand and or disfigure it, put it on a pedestal and it may fetch thousands of dollars.

Even carbon dating will not reveal age! We are back to square one so far as art is concerned. Let prudence prevail.

Tags: , ,

Too much fuss and debate here over ‘'Shilpa Show’'

Recently the engagement of Abhishek Bachchan with Aishwarya Rai was blown out of proportion by the TV channels. They were competing among themselves over TRP ratings. The other thing is about our desi starlet Shilpa Shetty being called “a dog” in the Big Show in the UK.


An endless debate has erupted in the media and among the people on Shilpa Shetty being insulted in London. The Indian government has made its sentiments known to their British counterpart.

Everyone should remember that 'Celebrity Big Brother' is a game show with hidden cameras. It strongly resembles its tamer version 'Bigg Boss' on Indian television. Fights, abuses and prejudices are common in such shows. Majority of the participants, if not all, are professional actors in one way or the other and 'histrionics' are part and parcel of them.

At the same time, we should not forget that Shilpa was humiliated in a foreign country by a foreign participant. Britain is not India; so it would not be prudent on our part to expect an Indian culture and attitude there. “Athithi Devobhava” is famous mostly in India. Also, Shilpa was paid a whopping Rs 3 crore to take part in the show. There have been, therefore, mixed and cautious reactions to the whole episode globally.

Shilpa's mother and sister have downplayed the incident. Some have termed the whole imbroglio as a “publicity stunt” by the organisers of 'Celebrity Bigg Brother'.

Well, the racist insult (if at all) to Shilpa Shetty is not justified, but the issue does not deserve to be the prime story of all the major newspapers and TV channels. It has really gone the whole hog about racist remarks.

As it turned out, Shilpa has denied any racism. So what was the brouhaha all about? It seems that Shilpa retracted under pressure. This proves that she is only interested in the huge pay and fame she will get on this show. There is no need for her or our media to be involved in nationalistic sentiments.

Shilpa has boosted her career by hogging the limelight and projecting herself as a damsel in distress and her family says that she is brave and a tough nut to crack. If that is so, then why did she cry on the show? She says that she won’t entertain any derogatory comments against her country. If so, then why is she still participating in the show after all the comments against India and Pakistan? Just because of her celebrity status, should the government show so much concern for her? Has the government ever stepped in whenever the common man was racially abused? It is time for us to do a reality test.

Famous actor Sylvester Stallone has said, “Shilpa is a beautiful woman and the game should go on.” Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown has gone to the extent of saying that, for the game and organisers to salvage some pride, Shilpa has to be voted a winner. All these confirm one thing: It would be foolhardy for Indian personalities to expect the same type of “reverence” in foreign soil as in India.


After pocketing Rs 3 crore, Shilpa is now getting free publicity. All this makes one think about the role of the media in present times. The day is not far off when the viewer will get fed up with these gimmicks and he/she will stop watching or reading the news on TV or newspapers. Hope good sense first prevails and the media will do its job responsibly.

Tags: , ,
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