I want you to know that you can be the most charming and admirable person ever just by giving positive acknowledgment to others. See the best in other people at all times, take some time out in ad day to reach out to someone and be friendly (deliberately lovely). Words are compelling; people will forget what you did and how you did it but will always remember what you said to them. When you are positive towards others, you will also be confident with yourself; people who exhibit positivity do not fall into the trap known as depression. You will discover more about depression in the next chapter.
Chapter Three
Kicking depression out!
Depression has become one of the deadliest illnesses around the world because it kills people very fast yet they remain alive. A person may be depressed and still carry on with life with no one having an idea what is going on inside of him/her. Depression is like a prison where the individual is both the jailer and the jailed; it is a state of mind that screams “I am worse, nothing is good about me…”, it is a battle of the brain that only shows symptoms when it's sometimes too late for the individual.
Causes of Depression
There are two primary causes of depression;
1. An attempt to imitate the lifestyles of others
Depression sets in when we get distracted from our journey and begin to imagine living like others. Now, when a person is unable to meet up with the standards of others, depression sets in.
2. Allowing negative thoughts get to you
Negative thoughts steam from overthinking about life and feeling like you are not enough. It starts with little ideas and then when a person feeds on it long enough, it becomes a problem.
Children below the age of eight do not get depressed, do you know why? It is because they are neither concerned about what others are doing nor do they have negative thoughts about themselves. I have mentioned before that if we are to live very productive lives, we must be like children. We are all born unique and individual as such; we must embrace our peculiar nature without looking back at what others have that we don’t have.
Depression sets in when we are not content with what we have (materially and otherwise) we feel a sense of loss whenever there is a feeling of lack for something we need and cannot get at the time. Now, what this means is that depression can be checked, it can be avoided, and you can live a happy life that is devoid of it. Listen, if you can beat depression in life, you will be able to fight off anything. Negative things happen to us and cause us to think negatively, but if you continue in that negative stead, you will gradually progress into depression.
Here’s a good suggestion, you should concentrate on positive things that will inspire optimism in you and cause you to see the best in all situations regardless of challenges. Of course, you will feel hurt and disappointed once in a while; it is a normal feeling that happens to the best of us but does not allow a setback make you drown in a well of depression. Whenever you feel like you are beginning to get negative thoughts, talk it over with someone you trust, do not keep such information to yourself. As you communicate, you will find solutions, laugh, feel like you have answers, no matter what always share how you are feeling with someone. When you take care of depression, you will have more value for time and utilize it as a valuable resource; time and its value is the focus of the next chapter.
Chapter Four
The value of time
Time is the most valuable thing ever; wealth comes and goes, knowledge goes with time and health can deteriorate but when the time is lost, it is lost forever. We all feel like we need more time, from the moment we wake up in the morning, till when we end up in bed in the evening, we feel like we aren’t given enough time. Contrarily, the more we seek additional time, the more we waste it. So, what exactly do we need additional time for? If we cannot manage the time we are given now then we would be unable to manage the additional time we seek.
However, one must wonder what exactly we do with time? We say we do not have enough time yet the time we do have, we do not spend it with loved ones, family, partners or friends. Social media has become the new avenue through which we reach out to people as opposed to being with them physically. A new day comes and we are optimistic about the plans for the day but at the end, we are unable to give an account of what we did with the whole day.
Time is extremely valuable, you have to recognize this and act accordingly. You will not be additional time than you already have now, no one gets more than 24 hours in a day but do you know that if you maximized that 24 hours, you will end up accomplishing a whole lot? The secret to utilizing time effectively is by making every second count. Don’t let an hour slip by you without achieving what you have planned for the day. More importantly, you should devote enough time to your family and friends; when you were in the university, I reckon you spent a lot of time with your friends and felt closer to them so what changed?
Oh, we became executive officers for businesses, we got amazing jobs and completely forgot that these people once mattered to us. Aside from using your time wisely to plan your life, you should also ensure that you are spending time with the people you love and those you hold dear. There will not be another spare time for you to develop a relationship with the people you love. I will be sharing some tips that will be useful to you in maximizing your use of time. If you struggle with the way you use time, just follow through with these tips and you will achieve so much with your time.
Tips for effective time management
- Plan your day ahead
- Do not procrastinate
- Tackle the most important things first
- Celebrate with loved ones often
- Set goals for yourself
- Make room for adjustments in the day
- Create a routine
- Delegate some responsibilities
- Get time for rest
- Be conscious of time every day
Time is very precious, if you waste it, you may never get it back again. It is crucial that you are conscious of time and you allow yourself to build up a pattern that is easy to follow in terms of the usage of time. If you can maximise time properly, it will be easier for you to achieve your goals. A person that is aware of time and utilises it properly, will be able to feel the beauty that is around you; oh ho beautiful this world is! The next chapter shares some secrets of beauty, you will enjoy the read.
Chapter Five
Feel the beauty around you
There is a connection between this chapter and the first chapter on happiness, you will discover later on. Our society equates beauty to the celebrities we see, the cosmetics advertisement and all other things we can feel, touch or taste. I would correct whatever notion you have about true beauty that isn’t consistent with what beauty is about. Beauty goes beyond what we can see, it is a deep appreciation of the heart and a quiet acceptance of the fact that beauty goes the physical.
When I said this chapter is connected to chapter one, I was trying to show