I have put together some photos and a video of Zain, though his smiling face will always live in our hearts. These were taken during 2002-2006 in Hong Kong. If you were fortunate to have known Zain, please leave your thoughts and prayers as comments.

“You can shed tears that he is gone, or you can smile because he has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that he’ll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left. Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him, or you can be full of the love you shared. You can remember him only that he is gone, or you can cherish his memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back, or you can do what he’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.” (By David Harkins – British poet and painter)

Here’s a collection of posts from the last couple of years that I consider to be the best, considering the popularity and comments from the readers. Most articles are short, and take only a few minutes to read. Please let me know through your comments if this collection could form a useful ebook…

Happiness:

• It all starts with gratefulness
• 4 tips for instant happiness
• Quotes on relaxing and beating stress
• The weird idea of ‘happy new day’
• Unhappiness comes from unrealistic expectations
• Controlling anger
• How to deal with negative people
• Thinking about the past, present and future

Health:

• Your health is up to you
• How to sleep well and wake up recharged
• The power of breathing
• Say ‘no’ to Diet Coke
• Negative emotions can cause heart disease
• How much sugar are you consuming?
• Causes, symptoms and management of stress
• 10 benefits of swimming

Productivity:

• The 4 D’s of time management
• 7 tips for a clean desk
• Take time to read
• Un-clutter now
• 5 benefits of rising early
• The best kept secret
• Avoid these email mistakes

Relationships:

• #1 source of happiness
• Listening with your eyes
• Tips for a happy marriage
• What do you expect?
• The power of ‘thank-you’

Motivation:

• Why most people don’t achieve their goals?
• Patience, persistence and positive attitude
• What’s true success?
• 3-part method of overcoming challenges
• Be the best you can
• Life – destiny or choice?
• Change anything

Please take a few minutes to tell me about your most favorite articles, through comments below. Thanks.

[Photo of Kuk Po hike near Tai Po in Hong Kong, taken last week]

• We want to be slim but we eat too much
• We want to be smart but we miss the class, or don’t read the books
• We want happy relationships but we sabotage them with our actions
• We have dreams but we don’t set goals
• We want to achieve our goals but we don’t plan
• We plan but don’t take the action
• We worry about retirement but we don’t save
• We want to finish the project but we don’t stay focused
• We want to wake up early but we don’t go to bed early

The list goes on. Are human beings lazy, indisciplined, indecisive and stupid by nature? Do our genes not have the willpower to fight temptations, to persevere, to do the right thing?

What do you think?

Feeling sad, depressed or unhappy? Does life look gloomy, and the world seems dreary? Try one of the following tested and proven tips to achieve an instant shift in your emotions and feelings:

1. Be grateful for the things you usually take for granted…

• Being alive and healthy
• For the basic stuff: food, water, clothes, shelter, electricity…
• Your skills: reading, writing, thinking, driving, writing, and other
• People in your life: family, friends, people you love, people who love you, those who had a positive influence in your life

2. Make someone happy…

• Compliment people: for their appearance, intelligence, skills…
• Appreciate others: for what they do for you, for their helpfulness… your family, co-workers and others; say ‘thank you’
• Listen without interrupting, without offering advice, without judging
• Offer help: your seat on the bus for the elderly; to your co-workers; fill up forms for someone
• Call someone you haven’t spoken to in years: that aunt or the old friend or that teacher

3. Think good thoughts…

• All the good things that have happened in your life, all the difficulties you were able to overcome
• Your achievements of the past, big or small
• Forgive people who have ever hurt you, intentionally or unintentionally
• Imagine yourself overcoming the challenges, conquering your biggest fears, achieving your dreams

4. Do something different – surprise yourself and others…

• Spend a little bonus time with your family
• Switch off the mobile phone when you get home
• Make time for yourself: read, breathe, think
• Break a routine about food or TV or computer or anything
• Buy flowers or a gift or a card for the one you love, without any occasion

“If you are not happy here and now, you never will be.” Taisen Deshimaru

What do you do when you are sad or unhappy? Please share your own tips for happiness through comments.

[Photo of a happy cobbler taken in a market in Mash'had, Iran]

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“Someone I loved for 12 years broke up with me to marry someone else. I am shattered. How can I be normal? In fact, I don’t want to be normal. My positivity is not working. All self-motivation formula are failing. I just want to commit suicide. You said, choose to live, no matter how miserable life is… accept the things you cannot change. But I have lost all hopes… what can I do? My mom has a lot of dreams for me, but I have no hope…”

I am sure she must have already heard all forms of consolation and advice from family and friends e.g.

• He wasn’t meant for you. He was not good enough for you…
• Things could be worse: People break up even after marriage…
• There’s someone for you; you will find him if you allow yourself…
• It’s OK to be depressed, but for how long, is your choice…
• Forget positivity; just acknowledge the good things you do have…
• Don’t worry about motivation; just try to focus on other motives in life, besides having a partner you love…
• Suicide is the surest way to end all misery and grief, but it also ends all hopes and possibilities…
• There are people who love you, who believe in you, who look up to you for inspiration, who have hopes and dreams for you… don’t let them down.
• Right now you have made a choice: to be depressed, to think and feel in a certain way, to not let any positive thoughts enter your mind… tomorrow you can choose to think differently and feel differently.

So I am not going to tell her any of that. Instead, I said a little prayer for her. What would you say to her?

1. How to improve the quality of life, one day at a time: Have a great day!
2. The top three excuses for not exercising, and how to handle these: What’s your excuse?
3. Lesson in patience, persistence and positive attitude from a uni student: Must read if you are in sales!
4. A book recommendation with an excerpt: Make Today Count!
5. Too much to do and too little time? Then this one’s for you: Do less, get more done!

I’ll look forward to your comments.

• In order to have faith in his own path, a warrior does not need to prove that someone else’s path is wrong.
• In order to arrive you must follow the signs. God inscribed on the world the path that each man must follow. It is just a matter of reading the inscriptions he wrote for you.
• When we postpone the harvest, the fruit rots, but when we postpone our problems, they keep on growing.
• In order to live fully, it is necessary to be in constant movement, only then can each day be different from the last.
• There are moments in life when we need to trust blindly in intuition.

Here are 5 articles worth reading for the week ending Sunday, 19/04.

• Ten Top Tips for the Innovative Leader – Stepcase Lifehack
• 5 Tiny Steps to Quit Being Such a Jerk – Zen Habits
• Seven benefits of uncluttering – Unclutterer
• 7 Timeless Thoughts on Taking Responsibility for Your Life – The Positivity Blog
• Social Proof: The Worst Enemy That Lives in Your Head – Stepcase Lifehack

Enjoy.