Dr Doreen Tan

What do you want?
A great job? A fulfilling relationship? Wealth and success? Or maybe all of these? We look for any or all of these in our constant search for happiness. Happiness is an integral part of the success you want to achieve in life. You need not be wealthy, famous or beautiful to be happy in life. Life's success can be found anywhere if you know how to discover it.

1. "I choose Happiness."

I believe that most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. I believe that all that it takes to create a happy life comes from within you. The lens with which you choose to view everything determines how you will interpret what is happening. And from your interpretation you act. And all of this becomes your life. You can choose to find happiness in small, everyday things. You can choose to interpret what happens in a positive way. Or in a negative way. And your choices controls much of how much happiness your will find and create in your life. I choose happiness and it came to stay.

2. "I plant the seed of Happiness."

I have always been sure of one thing in my life: I wanted to be happy. Indeed, who doesn't long for happiness? I had this longing in my heart even at a tender age. I knew this even when it seemed impossible to be happy. Born to a decent but poor family in Albert Street, Singapore, life had not always been easy. Our family of seven together with relatives formed an extended family that had to survive on my father's measly salary as a policeman. To help him out, my mother used to go from house to house getting laundry jobs. In our impoverished situation, it was so easy to feel grumpy and miserable. But it has been said that the foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet. I decided right then that if I wanted happiness I would have to plant the seed.

3. "I begin happiness within my family."

Human relationships are consistently found to have the most important correlation with human happiness. No doubt about it that happiness starts within the family. If we are troubled by family matters, that really dampens our enthusiasm in all of life. Love and understanding must take root within the family. From there we learn harmony and begin to know what it means to be supportive to one another. Put family first -- that is where it all begins and ends!

4. "I strive to work with passion."

I believe in committing myself to my career as work represents my life's effort and aspiration. For me, working happy is working smart. A happy work environment creates wonderful results. With a supportive and harmonious team, you win half the battle. Yes, the link between work productivity and happiness is pretty much well established. There appears to be a process here and there appears to be a cognitive process that gets set up when people are feeling good that leads to more flexible, fluent, and original thinking. I have learned that when I work with passion, there's actually a carryover to life as I live it everyday.

5. "I aim to nurture a network of friends for life."

There is a well known phrase in Spanish "Amigos para siempre" which means "friends for life". A person alone is an unhappy person. We can start small – even a kind smile to a random stranger will not go unrewarded. You will never know what a ripple such simple act of kindness can do to create a lasting friendship. Friendship and friends continue to remain central to my life. The relationship that I share with my friends is grounded on mutual concern. It is born of the need to reach out to people and to not be too calculative as not everything has its equivalent in terms of money. Be kind to people because that is how you will be remembered. Value friendship till the end of time and you will secure for yourself a treasure that money cannot buy.

Happiness tips 6-10 up on my next post !