5 Easy Tips For Daily Happiness

Happiness is a plight that everybody seems to be searching for. I would be lying to you dear reader if I said I knew the answers to eternal happiness or even happiness for a long period of time because I myself have not achieved that. I can give you the five ways I use to brighten my day and turn the fate of a seemingly bad day around.

#1 Give time, attention, integrity, and compassion to others
I am not one to fault individualism, it's necessary to put time and attention into your own self and your own well being, but individuals who become self obsessed and aloof to the needs of others stand a good chance of being unhappy. Time is the best gift you can give to someone, it can not be bought, returned, or refunded. Taking the time to look someone in the eyes and show them that respect is one of the greatest gifts. Life gives us so many opportunities to execute this, we just don't always take them. Don't worry, it's never to late to start. Next time you walk into a coffee shop, whether it be Starbucks, Tims, Dunkin Donuts, or Second Cup, look the person who hands you you're order in the eyes and say thank you. It's a small act but it shows that you view that person as a human rather then just a server. If you're not a common visitor to coffee shops this will work in any restaurant, and any server. There's a thousand ways to show love and integrity, it starts by giving someone attention, and looking them in their eyes. Wouldn't you want the same?



#2 Take time for yourself
Congratulations, you've made it to step 2, you've given someone attention and you're still searching for happiness. Now it's time to give yourself attention. Life for many individuals (including myself) is a rat race. It's waking up everyday and following a repetitive procedure to get to were we need to go. Living in this constant cycle and never getting out of it is one of the biggest creators of my unhappiness.  It's important to dedicate at least an hour of your day to taking time to do something that makes you truly happy or that benefits you positively. For me that's writing this blog, diving into a great piece of literature, sketching in my beloved sketchbook, or sometimes just sitting in a cozy room and focussing on my thoughts. Take some time in your day to do the things you truly love, dedicating at least one hour before bed to something positive and uplifting can really change your perspective of your day.


#3 Remove yourself from unnecessary negativity

Negativity seems to find its way into almost every environment and it can really put a damper on your mood when it gets infiltrated into your environment. Negativity comes in a barrage of forms, sometimes its through negative media, other people's words and complaints, or someone else's behaviour. Whenever possible you have to remove yourself from those situations. I am currently attending school and someday school feels like everybody's complaint session. Listening to other people complain about things that are not worth complaining about is white noise and unnecessary negativity. Sometimes I have to make the decision to remove myself from those environments and go to a more positive space like my school's art room or library. When you are faced with negativity sometimes you have to make the tough decision to remove yourself from it whether that be a negative relationship, a negative group of people, or just a negative environment in general.



#4 Unplug and look up from your devices
This one is probably the most difficult. Literally at this moment I am writing this blog post on my tablet computer while listening to music on my iphone and the music is being projected through my bluetooth wireless speaker. Although technology is a great thing and a great resource it is essential that we give life attention and not always spare down at an invention. When I have meetings, meals, or hangouts with other people I give them my full attention by not having my phone out. This ties into tip number one because it is giving someone time and integrity but giving them your full attention. Even sometimes when I'm alone I have to put my phone across the other side of my room so that I can get work done, have piece of mind, and eliminate some of the white noise technology can bring.



#5 Stop procrastinating, get what you need to get done completed

Okay if you have gotten to this step I applaud you. Procrastination is probably one of the biggest enemies to hard work. It is every student's worse nightmare when you put off all your assignments and studying till sunday night when it is all to be completed the next day. I find getting things done right away and having time to relax and do something I truly want to do is far more satisfying then putting something off until the eleventh hour. This step requires organization, sometimes I have to make schedules so that way I can a lot time for everything I need to complete. I have a day planner so that way I can view my evenings tasks at a glance, and sometimes I have to set reminders on my computer and phone for more urgent matters. The satisfaction for completing tasks in a timely fashion with time still left in the day is one of the best feelings in my opinion. I feel motivated, accomplished and I can relax guilt free.

So there you have it, five types on how to brighten your day, week, or life! Use as necessary, and remember, they may not be easy but they are possible.

the sky is not the limit, it is the gateway to infinite possibilities,
Liv Alexa 

Me To We

On October 2nd of 2014 I was so blessed to have been able to attend my very first We Day. Going into the day my expectations were I'd be hearing speakers talk about how my generation needs to care more about world issues and get more involved because we're below expectable as well as great performances from Hedley, Neverest, Karl Wolf, Kardinal Offishall, Kendrick Lamar, Joe Jonas, R5, and Lights. My only expectation that was correct was about the performances being great. We Day is based off of the movement of  "Me to We" which was created by "Free the Children". The day was not a day of shaming our generation, it was a day full of bringing our generation up and showing the positive impact we've had on the local and global community. Creig Keilburger himself expressed the view many people have of our generation "slacktivists", selfie obsessed, and lazy and discarded these stereotypes. He stated it's because of our generation that 45 Million dollars was raised for more then 1 thousand global and local causes. It is our generation who donated 14.6 Million hours of their time to volunteering for worthy local and global causes. It is because of the action and drive within our generation that allowed 2.5 million young people to have taken part in a Free the Children Campaign. That doesn't look like slacktivism to me.
Empowerment was the very prevalent idea of We Day 2014, empowering us to be changers within the local and global community, and how other individuals have been empowered by the work of Free the Children. I consider myself to be an empowered individual, I am fortunate to live in Canada a country in which I am relatively safe and my rights are protected, I have opportunity to extend my education past high school, and I am able to execute my goals and dreams. Even with these luxuries there are moments in which I feel weak. When a am belittled, bullied, or disrespected my sense of empowerment escapes me. We Day taught me how I can get my empowerment and self work back in my hands. Through empowering individuals in my community through both large and small positive deeds, I develop my own self worth and I feel empowered through being able to empower others.

I have countless great memories from We Day and many speakers who's messages are now living in my heart but there are a few I would like to share with you. A quote spoken by the director of RBC (her name has unfortunately slipped my mind) has really stuck with me. While speaking on the topic of economic empowerment she said "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." This has resonated within me for these post We Day days. It is human nature to want to be recognized and given glory for our actions, we feed off validation. Although validation gives temporary happiness and satisfaction, it does not fill the void of the lack of joy that is innate within all of us. That void is filled through giving to others.

Col. Chris Hadfield (a well known Canadian astronaut) said a profound statement when speaking on the topic of technological empowerment. "The sky is not the limit, it is the threshold to the stars." This does not only speak for the possibilities for technology, this speaks to the possibilities of us as individuals. We should not put ourselves in a box in terms of what we can accomplish in world change or even our own personal success. As a person who greatly appreciates astronomy this quote personally means a lot to me.

Ashley Rose Murphy is the definition of empowerment. She is a Free The Children volunteer, HIV activist, and motivational speaker. Her story will remain in my heart for years to come. There isn't just one thing I grasped from her story, I have so many takeaways. I do not want to reinterpret the story she told because there is no way I can phrase it as eloquently as she did, so I will be embedding the YouTube video of it.

The takeaway I want to apply most in my life is not to let my weaknesses limit or define me, but rather to let them empower me and use them to empower others the way Ashley has done and continues to do in her own life. I am of the black race and many people see that as a weakness. They see that as something I should use as a cop out or an execute to get away things. They try and use racism and negative stereotypes to put limitations on me. Sometimes I give into these tricks, but thanks to the motivation of Ashley I will no longer let people use my race as a weakness and to any black person who I encounter who is facing this issue I will be the one to motivate them and lift them up. I want to applaud Ashley again for her bravery in sharing such a personal matter with the world and for teaching us all a very valuable lesson. I also want to personally thank Ashley for responding to my tweet today and following me on twitter, I would be lying if I said I didn't fangirl. To any and everyone who is battling a "weakness" whether that be mental illness, bullying, self hate, cancer, or exclusion use these things to empower others who are facing the same issues because it will in turn give you self worth.

To empower is to the authority and the power to achieve something. Free the Children is empowering people all around the world and give them the resources to create a better life for themselves. It doesn't take much difficultly to empower someone who is so ssuppressed I can empower a whole community by purchasing a 50.00$ goat, which will in turn multiply into a herd providing them with a source of income, food, and milk. I can empower a woman in Africa by buying a rafaki bracelet for 10.00$,  half of that money will go to her, and half will go to making her community better which in turn empowers so many more people then just one. This hunger and spirit for empowerment I have garnered from We Day will not be short lived, I plan on continue to carry out this spirit of empowerment in all areas of my life. It will be another dosage of self worth for me.

the sky is not the limit, it is a gateway to infinite possibilities,
Liv Alexa

Self Worth Sufficieneny

"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

This quote sets the premise for the focus of this blog. I've been searching for my sense of self worth and trying to find confidence within myself for a very long time. Through doing this I developed an attitude of entitlement. I felt that when I did positive deeds or an act of service within my community I was entitled to praise, respect, and acknowledgement. In the circumstances where I didn't receive these things it left me feeling extremely unhappy. Recently through a lot of wisdom I've received from a plethora of sources I realized I am seeking out praise, and in doing that I was developing excessive pride rather then a healthy dose of self worth. Pride is the number one killer of happiness and relationships of all forms. I wish to share my realizations, knowledge, and experiences as I develop them on this particular topic. The latter post to this one will be about the most recent event I attended, We Day Toronto hosted by Free The Children. This event created so many new memories, epiphanies, realizations, and passions within me and I cannot wait to share them with you. It is my intent and hope to spread positivity and my wisdom with how to develop self worth and be changer within society. I am excited for all the amazing projects and opportunities I will be taking on this year. Through these opportunities I will be providing other people in this world with empowerment and self worth and through that I will gain my own identity and self worth. This is going to be a year of change.

the sky is not the limit, it is the threshold to the stars, 

Liv Alexa