by Rhea Vitto Tabora We have all experienced the joy of childhood, laughing our hearts out even at things that any adult won’t find funny. Then we all grew up. And somehow, we lost the ability to laugh. What stole the little joys in our hearts? Is it the crazy traffic? Is it the piles of work on our desk? Is it the hectic schedule? Is it the long queue at the cashier? Is it the insufficient budget? A couple of Sundays ago, the priest in our church mentioned during his homily that children laugh more than 300 times a day according to one study while adults laugh less than 20 times a day. Then he asked, why can’t adults be as happy as the little children? 300 laughter sounded a lot. But to my six-year-old son, that is an easy number to beat! He can laugh even at the sound of a plastic bag being blown away by the wind. He can laugh endlessly watching a video of himself laughing! When my little boy laughs, I will always stop whatever I am doing and before I knew it, I am already having a good belly laugh myself, because his laughter is more contagious than any communicable disease.
I searched online if the 300 vs 20 numbers were real. Many numbers were thrown around – between 300 and 400 for children (which one site commented is just an urban myth). There was one study which suggested that adults laugh an average of 17.5 times a day. But I don’t think we need to dissect the science of laughter here. Just look around and observe – children really laugh much more than adults. The primary reason (or excuse), of course, is that children play more and, therefore, laugh more than adults who are either studying or working or worrying about life. Have we actually lost the ability to laugh as adults, or have we buried ourselves deeply into our daily lives that we have forgotten even to smile? Have we become too serious facing life’s challenges? Have we become too sad because of too many negative things around us? Is losing our playfulness and sense of humor the price of growing up? Why are we not laughing enough anymore? Have we all forgotten the healing benefits of laughter? Don’t we want to experience the wonderful feeling of laughing again? Are we embracing anger, stress, and fear, more than positive feelings, love, and laughter? Blame it on traffic, piles of work, bills to pay, corrupt government officials, negative headlines, tight deadlines, and slow internet connection.
Face life with more joy and positive thoughts. You deserve a less stressful life, even in the midst of negative events around us. Think of things that make you laugh. And do things that make you happy. Bring humor back into your life. Watch funny videos. Spend time with happy people. Laugh at yourself. Let your spirit free.
So, have you laughed enough today? Give yourself a break. Everyday. Laugh more. Starting today.
by Rhea Vitto Tabora Who doesn’t want to be happy? We thought it was our ultimate goal. We thought it was all that matters. Because when we are happy, everything else seems to be positive, creating a constructive domino effect in every aspect of our life.
I came across this quote by the famous philosophical essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, and I had to read it twice to absorb it fully. I had to pause for a while – no, a long one. I asked myself, what can be greater than feeling happy in your life? Is there a higher form of euphoria? When you are useful, when you are honorable, when you are compassionate, are you not happy as well? Then it hit me! Happiness is the result of the good things that you do, but it’s not your ultimate purpose in life. I’m going against Audrey Hepburn’s words here. But really, happiness isn’t everything. Enjoying life isn’t all that matters. My message to myself: Be productive. Be useful. Go beyond the boundaries of your talent and effort to make a difference in this world.
What's your take on this? Do you agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson, or do agree with Audrey Hepburn when she said "The most important thing is to enjoy your life — to be happy — it's all that matters."? Share your thoughts below.
by Rhea Vitto Tabora The best job in the world? Doing the thing you love and getting paid for it! What can be more awesome than that? Pursue your passion, keep that fire burning, and enjoy the journey. What do you need to do? It’s not going to be a perfect ride. There will be many ups and downs, countless challenges and hurdles along the way. Prepare yourself before taking the plunge. Equip yourself with lots of dedication, energy, enthusiasm, hard work and perseverance. Remain focused, and with the support of your loved ones, there is no doubt you will make your mark in achieving your dream. The way to move forward is to never, ever give up. Only you can make it happen. I don’t mean quitting your day job though. If you love what you’re doing, by all means, stick with it because it means you’re doing a great job doing it. But if you don’t love nor enjoy what you’re doing, it might be the time to reconsider things. You’ll do better in doing the things you love. You’ll be more productive. You’ll be happier. Because doing something meaningful will keep you motivated.
So ask yourself that big question. What are you passionate about? Have the heart in mentoring? Go teach. Passionate about words? Write. Love arts and crafts? Use your creativity and make it more than just a hobby if you can. Having an affair with photography? Capture the world and embrace it. Obsessed with defending the victims? Be a lawyer. Caring for a sick person, not just your family? Work in a hospital. Love tennis? Be a player or a tennis instructor. Live a meaningful life What’s the point of getting a 9 to 5 job if you prefer to hold a brush and paint? Why not follow the path you love and live a more fulfilling, more meaningful life? Are you ready to take the plunge? It is not easy. It is in fact a life-changing decision. But as Steve Jobs puts it, “the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
If you can give birth, you can do anything. I’ve heard this saying a number of times. Giving birth is really something. No, it’s a BIG thing! I have all the mothers in the world to back me up on this claim. And we don’t need a cape to achieve this humongous milestone. So to all the moms out there, we can do anything, can’t we? And I mean things not just limited to this beautiful and joyous adventure called motherhood, but anything in life – as an individual, as a wife, as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend, as an employee, as a manager.
So… … rediscover your sense of adventure and ride that scary amusement park ride … learn that sport you love to watch with your partner and transform yourself from being a spectator to a player … dance on the table with your mom … revisit the places you had fond childhood memories with your sister … plan that dream holiday with your friend … submit that lengthy report to your manager hours before the deadline … and wear that stiletto and hold your head up high while walking in front of your envious officemate. You don’t have to come up with 101 items in your bucket list. Just think of that one thing you have always wanted to do and just target at hitting it. And after achieving it, reward yourself with a new pair of shoes or a new bag. Because… why not?
When you are getting a handsome remuneration package as an expatriate director for a big organization, will you ever consider leaving the post and pursue your passion instead? Writing is something I enjoy doing, be it in the creative or business field. In the course of my career, my writing has evolved from feature writing to crafting press releases, marketing collaterals, newsletters, proposals, business plans, reports, and presentations. I made the big decision last year to leave the corporate world. After working overseas for 16 years, I am back to my home country, and back to my first love. Yes, I am home! IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISIONS I HAVE MADE IN MY LIFE. Choosing between sales and marketing profession in the hospitality industry and my first career as a writer was a tough call. I searched within, and the passion for writing was screaming out loud. I realized that this is something I’ve been missing through all these years! I searched outside and discovered that there is an increasing demand for professional online writers. There’s a whole world for me to go back to! THINGS THAT I DO – feature articles, website contents, press releases, product descriptions, product reviews, and other interesting stuff. Things I don’t do – student homework and school projects. You won’t believe that these kinds of project are available online – students asking freelance writers to do their homework! Come on kiddos, it won’t do your future any good to pay someone else do these things for you. In this blog, I will focus on topics about living a happy and healthy life. I am passionate about writing, but what fires me more is my passion for achieving something more out of life than what life handed me. And I wish to share those thoughts here. At the end of the day, you’ve got to do what feels right in your heart. A writer will always be a writer. My account balance might not be as healthy when I worked as an expatriate for more than a decade, but what the heck. I am sure I will enjoy this journey. I REMEMBER MY WORKING DAYS IN HANOI. I lived and worked in the same building (yes I did!). My office was on the second floor, and I lived with my two boys (hubby and son) in the serviced apartment on the sixth floor. Traffic jam? That was a foreign word to me. My daily journey to work was a one-minute walk by stairs or a few seconds ride on the elevator if my son would pick me up because “it’s already past 7pm mom, and you’re not home for dinner yet”. My day always started early and always finished late (late means working on emails or reports until midnight). My schedule was always full and with no social life (except trying hard to spend the weekend with my little boy), I was starting to feel the bite. Great career and awesome package, but I wasn’t a superwoman who can sleep only 6 hours a night, struggling to fit everything else in 18 hours. When I moved to another workplace and assumed higher responsibility with a bigger portfolio, things started to get a bit more exciting in the beginning but the workplace was something else. And with the long working hours, I was getting burnt out really fast. But boy, the chance to finally travel 5 minutes to and from the office every day was a breather! You can’t imagine how I enjoyed that! I was finally experiencing the fun of going home after working. BUT THEN AGAIN, MAYBE IT WAS JUST ME. As what my ex-manager and friend told me, many of our colleagues in the hospitality industry are working less hours than we do, and they are happy. My friend and I were among those who had to work long hours, and we felt we didn’t have a choice. If we didn't do those things ourselves, we wouldn't get the results we wanted. After such a stifling period of my life, I am now home, and I have decided – I am going back to writing. A freelance writer I will be. And I will not put my marketing background to waste. You will see me doing marketing stuff as well, particularly online marketing. I initially thought of saying “writing is one WORD I enjoy immensely.” I now say writing is one WORLD I enjoy enormously. BECAUSE WRITING IS MY WORLD. AND THIS IS MY EMPIRE! WRITING MY FIRST BLOG IS A DREAM COME TRUE! And like I said, being a freelance writer is something I am passionate about. I can do this anywhere in the world, and do it anytime I want. This is it! This is life! And blogging, I know, will allow me to live my passion. SO GO WITH ME MY FRIEND AS I TRAVERSE THIS PATH and enjoy the journey with me while I add value to the society and make a positive impact on people in my own little way. And my personal bonus – spending more quality time with my family and finally achieving work-life balance. This is going to be awesome!
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs
