positivity – Page 2

PRACTICING THE ART OF GRATITUDE EVERYDAY

July 25, 2018 by Little Miss Honey 954 Comments

We are often told to always be grateful and that we must practice the art of gratitude. When we were young, we are often ask, “What are the magic words?” after we are handed out something and our little young selves would readily reply, “Thank you!” But I came to realised now that I am older the words “Thank you” are indeed magical. That act of gratefulness was subtly engrained in us when we were young but we never understand how it is to be truly grateful.

I remember in my 2nd year high school Values Class, our teacher who is a nun, taught us the importance of Gratitude. She shared a story of a lady who practice it daily. The lady would thank God from the minute she woke up, from the beauty of the sun, the little blessings that she have in her life (that is often taken for granted by most people) up to the comforts of having a bed to sleep as the day closes. I was inspired by the story that I tried to be more grateful with all the little things that God has blessed me and appreciate everything that has been given to me. I sometimes would create a Gratefulness List after every month or sometimes I would enumerate the 3-5 things that I am grateful for that day. But of course from time to time, I would often forget practicing it and discontentment would set in.

But recently, during the last stages of my pregnancy and after I have given birth to Zeke, I started thinking about God’s blessings that he has generously bestowed upon my life. I felt like a spoiled horrible daughter who was showered with so much gifts by her loving forgiving Father. I felt ashamed and undeserving of all His love and generosity. So I started thanking God as much as I can. I started appreciating all of his blessings in my life. From the blessing of family, my wonderful healthy & loving kids, the opportunity to experience living in Singapore, the gift of employment, genuine & supportive friends, the wellness of my family back home, the beautiful scenery of Singapore, being able to blog & to earn from it and all the many little wonderful gifts God has given me. I realised I was given so much blessing that I have no right to complain about little discomforts like back pain from carrying heavy bags with breastmilk pumping paraphernalia, long tiring walks to & fro work,unruly kids, and all the grumbles that didn’t fit in my fairy tale concept of what life should be. Humans are predisposed to have a bottomless desires so satisfaction & contentment are hard to chase.

So How Can We Practice Gratitude in Our Daily Lives?

Gratitude is not merely saying “Thank You!”. The spirit of gratefulness must go beyond the act of spitting out words that resembles being thankful. To be truly grateful, it must be part of you and your being would reflect the positive aura of gratitude.

First, we must Stop Complaining. Complaining goes against the principle of gratitude. How can you feel grateful if your brain and mouth are full of complains, from how hot the weather is, to not having enough money, to be unfortunate that you have insensitive workmates or how crowded the public transportation is and the list goes on. When we do that we encourage the bad vibe of discontentment. This would result in misery and not reap the benefits of gratitude.

Together with not complaining, we should also Look at the Good Side of Everything. Remember that lesson on seeing the glass half full and seeing the glass half empty. A thirsty person who is ungrateful and was given a glass of water would say, ” I am so damn thirsty, why would you just give me so little water to drink!” A thirsty person who practice gratitude would say to the person who gave him water, “Wow! I needed this so badly. I love that it is super chilled. ” followed by a sincere “Thank you!” See the difference? Both were given the same amount of water but their reactions differ. The grateful one even appreciated that he was given a cold drink. I assumed the ungrateful one wouldn’t even noticed the water handed to him was chilled.

Grateful people often Smile. Grateful people are happy people because they feel blessed. They don’t see nor acknowledged the lack but they focused on the abundance. Because of their radiant glow from being grateful, they attract positivity and abundance in their lives. Hence, there will be more thanksgiving which would result to more abundance. What a wonderful cycle to be in, right?Who wouldn’t like to smile with that? Some people would call them lucky. But in reality, it is just due to the simple act of gratitude.

Another habit that grateful people have is Acknowledging the Blessings or Creating a Gratefulness List. I try my best to practice this but truly grateful people have this habit down pat. Some, at the end of the day, would have a Prayer of Thanksgiving to God for all the blessings they received throughout the day. They would enumerate the blessings they have received. Some do it in the morning upon waking where they say all the things they are grateful for as they start their day. Some like me who likes making lists, would write down the things we are grateful for, either by the end of the day, start of the morning or after every end of the week or after every end of the month.

Lastly, because you are grateful for having so much (when in fact for an ungrateful person, they think you are crazy for thinking you have so much), you have this urge to Give Back. People who practice gratitude would have this nagging urge to give back because they feel they need to share it. So monetary-wise and depending on your faith, you can practice tithing. Based in the bible, it is the practice of giving 10% of your earnings to God. And often when you tithe, blessings come back ten-folds. You can donate it in a religious sect or a charity organisation of your choice. You can also give extra money to your family members who are not financially stable or your elderly parents who does not have any source of income. But make sure that this generosity should not encourage laziness or complacency among family members and relatives that are healthy, young and capable to find a source of income for themselves. You can also sponsor underprivileged children or persons that may need your help in their education, necessities, etc.

The act of giving back doesn’t only mean giving money. You can give back by volunteering your time and skills to good causes and charitable events. You can tutor kids who aren’t able to go to school. Offering your help in medical missions would be awesome way of giving back. You can assess what your talents are. Say you are a good singer, join the church choir. Say you are a good cook, you can look for feeding programs where you can cook for the poor. Giving back can be as easy as offering help to a frail old lady to carry her heavy grocery bags as you were both going up the bus or offering your seat to an elderly man in the train.

Be a blessing to others and in turn, blessings will be given to you unexpectedly. Good begets good. Positivity begets positivity. It is how it works. I realised if I am more thankful with the things that I have, more wonderful things come. When I complain more, allowing discontentment & negativity to set in and operating in a sense of lack, blessings & opportunities are taken away.

So, let us all try to practice the art of gratitude. Let us be thankful that we are given a life to live, a world as our playground, a variety of people that we can choose to be our playmates in this funny world and resources to enjoy. To those who read this article, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I feel blessed that I get to share this realisation with you.

MY MIRACLE MORNING ROUTINE

March 6, 2018 by Little Miss Honey 1,551 Comments

I have always been a morning person. Since I was young, I love waking up at the crack of dawn before everyone where the world seems silent, new and peaceful. However, as I grew older, I would wake up a little later than usual around 7:30am the earliest and 9:30pm the very latest. When I started living in Singapore, I even struggled a bit more with waking up early because I get really tired from daily commute so I would love longer hours to sleep to rest and sunrise comes later than in the Philippines. We all need a good night sleep. Sleepedia recommends a good mattress for a good night sleep. In Singapore, sun rises around 7am. So waking up at 5:30am is still super dark that you would be tempted to crawl back into your bed & cover your head with a comforter. In the Philippines, sun rises at 5:45am or 6am. I usually enjoy watching the dim horizon slowly brightens with orange-yellowish tone as the sun rises.

I have always heard the benefits of waking up early and have learned that most successful people wake up at around 5am like Tony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Sharma, First Lady Michelle Obama, Richard Branson and most CEO like the PepsiCo CEO, Apple CEO, Twitter CEO & Starbucks CEO. I always wanted to start again that early morning waking habit this year. I was hoping it would improve my productivity and lessen my stress level. Juggling work and family can be overwhelming so I wanted to try to practice this habit to see if it can help. My interest in waking up early was ignited again when I chance to browse upon a book in Changi Airport on my way to Manila about waking up early increases productivity and improves the mood. I didn’t buy the book and I even forgot the title of the book & author.

But my desire to learn more about the benefits of waking up early and how to go about it is still pushing me to search for a book to reference to. In one of my unplanned visit to a bookstore, I serendipitously found a book that would convert me into being a member of the Early Risers Club.

I found The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. It promises to transform your life before 8AM by practicing the 6 habits that was enumerated in the book. The book is a not so thick book. It is an easy read but definitely delivers and packs a punch. Hal Elrod, a survivor of a fatal accident & enormous debt has turned his life around by applying the 6 morning habits he mentioned in the book.

So let me share with you, his simple 6 morning habits which he used the acronym, S.A.V.E.R.S. Each letter represent an activity you will be doing for 10 minutes for every activity in the morning.

1. Silence

This is 10 minutes of silence. You can use this time for meditation or prayer. Sit in a comfortable chair or on the floor with a warm wool. You can put a soft soothing music or diffuse some essential oils. But remember never do this lying down or else you will fall as sleep. Focus on your breathing. Dont let your mind talk or wander. Just be silent. Silence your mind. Be at peace with the quiet world. Allow inspirations to flow in you unintentionally. You can do all this using meditation techniques or concentrating in a higher power. If you have a strong religious inclination, you can spend this time, concentrating in God’s goodness and love emanating within you.

2. Affirmations

Affirmations are series of sentences or mantra that you repeatedly say to yourself. You can create your own or get some ideas from Pinterest.

You can create affirmations tailor-made to what you want. Here are some The past has no power over me anymore

I embrace the rhythm and the flowing of my own heart.

All that I need comes to me at the right time and place in this life.

I am deeply fulfilled with who I am.

I let go of worries that drain my energy.

I make smart, calculated plans for my future.

I am a money magnet and attract wealth and abundance.

I am in complete charge of planning for my future.

I trust in my own ability to provide well for my family.

I am a unique child of this world.

I have as much brightness to offer the world as the next person.

I matter and what I have to offer this world also matters.

I may be one in 7 billion but I am also one in 7 billion.

*adapted in www.prolificliving.com

It is important you say these affirmations and you truly believe in it.

3. Visualisation

Use this time to visualised your longterm and short time plans coming true. It must be vividly real in your imagination. You can see, hear and feel it coming true. You can visualised how your day is going to go. You see yourself going about the day, you get to watch yourself, see your facial expression, feel your emotions. You can also use this time to look at your vision board. Here is a video of how to create a vision board.

4. Exercise

This is time to make your heart go pumping. This would allow you to put in some exercise regimen into your day even just for 10 minutes. You can do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), a 10 min jog, 10 min squatting, 10 min jumping jacks, yoga flow, etc. What I do is Mon, Wed, Fri, I used the app 7 Minute Wellness for Expecting and New Moms by Johnsons & Johnsons. I do the Workout Session, usually for 18 min or sometimes I cut short to 10 min. Tues and Thursday, I choose some cardio dance routine in my Active by PopSugar. Currently, I am loving the Bollywood Cardio Dance. On weekends, I do my usual yoga routine.

5. Reading

Choose a book of your choice. You can read for 10 mins. For me, I usually what I do is I put on a YouTube to some wellness or educational video which I put on my makeup for work. Some can use this time to listen to a podcast or subscribe to audible.com listen to an audiobook for 10 min. If I do not have any work, I would read one chapter of a book. My current book which I am loving now is by Esther Perel, Mating in Captivity. Or I would finish my miracle morning routine on my way to work. (My place is 1 hour and a half away from work) So I can do my 1 chapter of book in the MRT.

6. Scribing

This last activity is about jotting down your thoughts. It could be a form of journaling or making a list. I am a list-maker and a writer so I enjoy this. You can write in your thoughts for the day or create a gratitude list. You can write it in a good old notebook or you can go digital. For me, even if I would prefer to write in a notebook, for convenience, I type it in my Iphone using the Day One app. I do not time this activity and I would often do this in the MRT on my way to work.

This is my formula for this activity is using the acronym: G.A.I.N. I would often reference to the day before this. It is like my review of yesterday.

So G stands for Gratefulness, what I was grateful for yesterday and what blessings I received even the teeniest ones. A stands for Accomplishments, what I have achieved or completed yesterday. I stands for Improvement, what needs to improve in myself, what were my mistakes that I can correct next time I encounter it again. N is short for another acronym NPL (I remember it as No Pay Leave, haha). It means Notes, Plan, Learning. Here I placed what does not belong in GAI. I put what I observed, what I have learned, and my musings for the day before. The great thing about the Day One app you can also put in photos of the day (before).

Tips in Embarking the Miracle Morning

Waking up early is the toughest challenge in starting and continuing this. Dont touch that snooze button! You can put that alarm clock or your phone (if you’re using this as your alarm) on a desk unreachable from your bed so you will be forced to stand up from the bed. You can take a quick shower to wake up your senses or at least wash your face with cold water. I also drink cold lemon water first thing in the morning to jot myself away. It is also very refreshing and perfect for detoxing too. I advised you not to eat yet until you are done with your Miracle Morning routine. One thing I also realised that is my mistake why I wasnt able to achieve the early morning waking up before is didn’t go out of my bedroom so I would end up sleeping in again. After my shower, I would change to my exercise clothes. Then I would turn on the lights in the living room. Before I tried doing meditation in the living room but I never turn on the lights and my body still feels like it wants to sleep again because the world is still so dark. Now, I turn the living room lights and the ceiling fan on. And please do not do all this especially the Silence part, lying down.

Now you would say I cannot commit to 60 mins every day. You can modify it to your lifestyle. You can do 5 min Silence, 2 min Affirmations, 5 min Visualisation, 10 min Exercise, 20 min Reading, 10 min Scribing or 15 min Silence, 5 min Affirmations, 5 Visualisation, 20 Exercise, 5 min Reading, 5 Scribing. You can even 1 min each activity. Yes you can! Combine the Silence, Affirmations, Visualisation for 3 min. Exercise can be 1 min of jumping jacks. Reading can be 1-2 lines in book and Scribing can be one line of what you are grateful for.

You can also interchange the sequence of the habit. You can exercise first then do silence, affirmations, visualisation, reading and scribing. Or you can do SSVARE sequence. There is no hard and fast rules. It is all up to you. But do it in the morning, not night.

Benefits of Miracle Morning

A few days of me doing the Miracle Morning Routine, I noticed how my mood changed tremendously. Nothing can get me down. I was really happy throughout the day. Even if work is piling and I would mess up or little bad circumstances, I was still in a positive high. Plus my productivity increased a lot. I got more things done. I interacted with people better and my relationships improves & deepens. It was like a magic pill.

Though I have to admit, there are times when I didn’t get to do whole routine. And there were a time when I wasnt able to do for 3 straight days. Gosh, my days were so horrible and I was so depressed, stressed and anxious. And my negativity attracted bad circumstances too which made it worst.

I have to warn you though, because of waking up earl, there will be some times when you get so sleepy during the day, usually after lunch or after work. Just hang on, your body will soon get used to it.

So do you want to give this a shot? Let me know if you tried it, yea!

MY LIFE MISSION: EXPLORE LIFE’S SURPRISES

July 4, 2017 by Little Miss Honey 48 Comments

Last May, I was sent to a 3-Day Self-Leadership Programme for work. I expected it to be a series of lectures on how to be a leader and some practical execution of leaderships skills like public speaking or leading an on-the-spot project. I was wrong. Instead it was a fun, relaxing and intense 3-day workshop of games, sharing , meeting new people, meditation, dancing and looking into oneself. I grew up studying in Catholic schools and the methods used in the workshop resembles that of the retreat I often had in my schools. Mind you, the facilitator wasn’t a priest. He was a very energetic, charismatic ex-Navy guy.

One of the portion of the workshop was To Make Your Life Mission Statement. This concept wasn’t alien to me. I have encountered the search for my life mission when I read Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the habits is Begin With An End In Mind. And this is where your life mission statement belongs. It is best to have your own life statement which drives everything that you do to achieve that mission.

I have to admit, those times when I read the book. I still haven’t got my life mission statement down pat. But when I got into blogging and with an intense desire to improve my blog, I reexamine my blog branding with deep analytical introspection.

When I started blogging, I created my Blog Title Header to Little Miss Honey. It is me. My name is Honey and I am “Little”, plus it has a nice ring to it. Following the footsteps of one of my blog idols, Patty Laurel, she used a tagline call to action which is Come Waste Time With Me. I wanted to follow that same context of a call-to-action tagline. I somehow derived the tagline of Explore Life’s Surprises With Me. I forgot how I came up with it and it stucked.

Photo on my header of my 1st blog

During the time when I reexamined my blog, I came to another conclusion and derived another tagline, another life mission statement. It became my anchor and guiding voice in my life. I came up with – To Inspire & Be Inspired. I hope to inspire people in my blog articles, my endeavour and how I live my life. And at the same time, I get fueled if I get inspired by everything around me – positive people, travels, books, beautiful scenery, culture, food, etc.

I wanted to get rid of my old blog tagline: Explore Life’s Surprises With Me. I wanted my blog to reflect and parallel my life vision and exploring life’s surprises seems not what I am going for. And so I thought…

That 3-day workshop allowed me to contemplate and analyze deeper in my life, my direction and how I have been living it. I realized I have two life mission statement: To Inspire & Be Inspired and Explore Life’s Surprises.

Allow me to talk more about the latter. I didn’t realize that I have been living the 2nd Life Mission Statement for some time now. I didn’t realize indeed that I have been exploring life’s surprises for years now.

Exploring Life’s Surprises may sound more appropriate for an adventurous, sporty-looking gal. I am far from it. I look like a timid little girl who would enjoy a peaceful time at home with a good book. Actually, I don’t just look like it, I am that girl. I love planning and making to-do lists. I do get anxious with change. I would often take calculated steps. But inspite of this seemingly unadventurous lady, I didn’t stay in my comfort zone and took life’s unexpected opportunities with high hopes mixed with anxiety and fear.

I learned from my mother, the real adventurer, that life is a playground for us to explore. She advocates travelling and trying out new things. She is a risk-taker and often would say yes to opportunities. She said an opportunity only knocks once, grab it . So ingrained in my subconscious and my genes, I did take on exploring life’s surprises, took the road-less travelled and yes to the unknown with a little bit of logical thinking and prudence I got from my dad.

To illustrate here are some points in my life where I allow it to surprise me. I have wonderful discoveries. I say yes to new learnings and lots of travel opportunities. Sometimes I would chose a different path, not a common decision to most. It is often scary and at times, unpopular.

1. Left Our Comfortable Home in the Philippines and Lived & Studied in the Saudi Arabia

Ok, so this was actually more like my parents’ decision. I love the school I went to before we left Saudi Arabia. I was doing well in school and I was even up to represent my school for an interschool singing contest. But I am glad we did try out living in the interesting, hot, conservative Middle East. It has opened up my eyes to new discoveries and allowed me to be flexible & adjust to new cultures & surrounding. I will tell you more about my life in Saudi Arabia someday.

2. Returned to the Philippines for college and medical school initially living only with trusted helpers

It can be scary. I was a 16 year old clueless girl leaving very far from the guidance of my parents and the companionship of my siblings. I could have lost my way but I didn’t. I learned so much about myself during those years. Luckily, in a few years my siblings followed me in the Philippines.

3. Tried living in the southern region of the Philippines that doesnt speak my dialect and changing my medical specialisation choice from the one that I have been working for eversince

Some choices I made did not necessary translate to longterm results but it was a learning experience. I realized that Davao was not for me and neither was Psychiatry. So I packed my things and went back to Iloilo. And found my calling in Family Medicine.

4. I accepted a job as a doctor in Singapore freshly out of residency, just engaged to a nice man and clueless of the advanced medical system in the first world country.

I never planned to work in Singapore. I had mapped out my plans after residency training. I was to return to Saudi Arabia and work in my father’s same company. But the Singapore offer came. And I said, yes! I love the feeling of being on my own in a foreign land. But it was a difficult time too. Adjusting to my new work with high stress level, getting to know new people and being far from my fiancé.

5. I said yes to all travel opportunities

My mom has influenced us in the love for travelling. So our family has been travelling to different countries every year. And my hubby and I have been practicing that yearly travel or more in our own little family.

6. Raising our sons in Singapore

It is not easy raising our sons in a foreign land. It is challenging and expensive with the nanny & school cost. But we took in the challenge so we can see our kids grow up before our eyes.

7. Pursued blogging in Singapore while being a doctor

Blogging is hard work. You need to make time. You need to be consistent. You need to be open for improvement and take advice from experts. It can be especially hard for me because I have a full time job and a mom to two active, clingy, cute boys. After 8 years of blogging, my hardwork is slowing bearing fruits and in a foreign land no less. I now can monetize my blog and consider it as secondary source of income. I started getting collaboration and emails from brands, PR agencies and companies. I get invites for events and food tastings. I also would get freebies for review. But if I would have been too scared to pursue it, I may even not answer email invites because I am too shy to socialize with local bloggers at events or find my blogger skills to mediocre to be placed out there.

8. Decided to venture into healthcare admin work and gave up medicine

My license to practice as a doctor in Singapore ended last April of this year. I had fun in my 4 year sojourn in Singapore. I didn’t mind going back to the Philippines or trying other countries. But I got a job offer – to work in the same company as a Quality Management Assistant Manager. I have no skills in administrative work. I dont know how to work a spreadsheet. I am so clueless of what is going on behind the scenes of healthcare. But as Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Airlines, said, “If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you are not sure how to do it- say yes then learn how to do it later. ” So that is just what I did. Yes it is hard. Adjusting is tough but I have been learning so many things and I am grateful.

I have a lot more but I guess I will stop at 8. My life journey may not be as high-adrenaline-pumping-kind-of adventure or a leave-my-country-and-a-travel-nomad-kind-of life choices. But I took on life with calculated risk and contemplation but I also said yes to things that may even scare me and are often not the easiest choice. I allow life to surprise me and I am willing to explore what else it can bring me. I didn’t realize it but I have been living my tagline as my life mission for years now.

How about you? What is your life mission?