We all want to feel happy. We want joy in our everyday lives. But we often look for it in big moments, when it can be found in simple, everyday routines. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to find joy even in small, ordinary things and to hold on to them for as long as we like. While these ideas aren’t new, they remind us how we can live a contented life and how much of our happiness is in our own hands. Make time to meet people,  which means stepping out of your comfort zone

My dad taught me chess when I was in the second grade. By fourth grade, I was beating him half the time, sometimes more during our marathon sessions. Somewhere in-between, I got cocky. I remember one game where he failed to notice his queen was under threat, and I told him so just as he was about to make a different move.   Dad wasn't pleased.   He said gently, “Next time you do that, I won’t play with you. In chess, never tell your opponent his move or that he’s making the w

Happiness means different things to different people. Some see it as contentment and inner peace, others as intense joy and exuberance. Whatever the name, everyone wants happiness or a sense of joy in their lives. Yet, the irony is that those who could be happy if they chose to, often don’t; whereas those who chase happiness desperately find it elusive. And then there are those who simply don’t know how to be happy.   That’s where books, among other things, help lift our s

Nobody likes to lose a job—it’s never a pleasant experience. But many of you, at some point in your careers, have been fired from a job you thought you’d keep until you left on your own for something better. One moment, you feel secure in your position, and the next, you’re shown the door—often without a good reason.   It doesn’t just hurt—it positively sucks.   The worst part of being fired isn’t the uncertainty over income. It’s the anger, bitterness and self-doubt that co

Actor-director Woody Allen once said, “If you're not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.”   Essentially, Allen is saying that success rarely comes without failure, or at least without trying and never giving up. He is also suggesting that failure comes from taking risks and pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation .   So, with this in mind, it’s worth reflecting on how you perceive failure and how it affects your abi

It took a long-haul flight from Mumbai to Vancouver for me to finally experience a comic bookstore I’d only read about online and watched with envy on The Big Bang Theory . The comic bookstore I went to was on Vancouver Island, in a small, charming place called Coombs, within the district of Nanaimo. Coombs, as many would already know, is famous for its Old Country Market—more popularly known as Goats on the Roof—where a family of goats lives on a low sodded roof. The place i

Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Vietnamese Buddhist monk, famously wrote about mindfulness:   Tea is an act complete in its simplicity. When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea. The rest of the world dissolves. There are no worries about the future. No dwelling on past mistakes. Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup. I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup. I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.

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