The Secret to Happiness

Adriana Happiness, Mental Health, Passion, Positive Attitude, Success May 23, 2025May 26, 2025happiness, secret to happiness

We need three elements in our lives to make us happy.

Happiness is often rooted in three essential elements: purpose, relationships, and money.

Purpose gives us direction, a reason to wake up with enthusiasm, and a sense of fulfillment from contributing to something greater than ourselves.

Relationships—whether with family, friends, or a partner—provide emotional support, belonging, and joy, reminding us that we are not alone in life’s journey.

Money, while not the sole factor in happiness, offers stability and access to opportunities, reducing stress and allowing us to enjoy experiences that bring comfort and excitement.

When all three are balanced, life feels richer, more meaningful, and deeply satisfying. Would you like me to expand on any of these?

The three ingredients for a happy life are:

Purpose

We all need a purpose in life, something that engages us and helps us look forward to the day. It doesn’t need to be paid work, so long as it is an activity that gives us connection and interaction.

Relationship

We need someone in our lives to share the good and the bad. Someone who cares about us, someone to love.

Money

We don’t need heaps to make us happy. We just need a modest amount to feed, clothe and house ourselves with a bit left over for pleasure and to save.

Healthy and Happy — What makes for a Happy Life?

If you are lacking in any of the above three elements of happiness, you must first BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

Managing Personal Debt

Adriana Debt, Happiness, Success, Wealth August 26, 2024August 27, 2024Debt

by Chris Sheldon

Do you have your credit card under control?

Having a Credit card can often lead to racking up huge amounts of debt, well beyond your capacity to repay within the month required by most credit cards.

The holiday season, Christmas time, can be a particularly dangerous time for over-spending. “After pay”, credit cards, tap and go, all are fraught with problems for all of us. Using these easy-pay systems feels so easy and we think we can pay these items off at the end of the month. But the end of the month comes around quickly and we have forgotten about all the other items we also have bought, with absolutely no thought to keeping track of our spending.

Retail stores make it so easy for us to part with our money. We can pay the furniture or TV item off in two years’ time, but that time also comes around very quickly and huge fees can start applying, with no chance of paying it off quickly because in the meantime we have bought several large items, also on the pay-later scheme.

It’s such a trap for us all. Retailers just want our money whether we can afford it or not. We often know at the time of purchase that we won’t be able to pay these items off, but the desire for the product outweighs affordability. We just don’t realise how quickly debt can grow and often these items are things we don’t really need or could put off until we have the cash.

Many of us have been down this path of over-spending and built up credit card debt that has gotten out of control. If you cannot pay back your credit card debt each month, then you have a problem. If you are spending more than you earn, your debt will escalate.

The Solution to over-spending

The answer is simply to BUDGET. We all must learn the skill of budgeting properly, writing a list of the things we spend on each month.

The first step is to open an account for a DEBIT CARD.

We live in an age where things are changing very quickly and we want everything now. We don’t want to wait… we want all things bright and beautiful that we see every day. We want the brand-new car, and a lovely house to show off to our friends, along with the latest new furniture, of course. This can look very impressive to others but deep down we know that being up to your neck in debt can cause stress, leading to some long-term health issues. Our neighbours, friends and family may also be suffering from a similar debt crisis. Living well beyond our means is a major problem. From the outside, it looks like we earn a great wage and manage our debts. Some of us might be paying off the debt each month, but it is a huge issue for most people. Banks or finance companies lend money so easily and retail stores have sales all the time and we are tempted to buy the latest and greatest. We live with an ”I WANT IT NOW” age.

Why Budget?

The top 4 things that most people want when they retire are …

+ To be debt free, their house fully paid off and to have a nice car
+ To be comfortably retired with enough money to enjoy a great lifestyle, being able to make lots of choices for themselves
+ To be able to travel frequently in their own country or overseas.
+ To be able to help their children financially.

This all sounds so familiar and to many so very unachievable, but by changing our ingrained spending habits, it can become achievable.

For a lot of us, most of our money each week is going out as soon as we get it, having to pay for all these items …

The loans for the cars,
Credit card repayments for the things we can’t afford right now
A 25 to 30-year loan for the new home, paying interest to the bank at a
much higher rate than we are earning on our savings account.

Over spending creates so many issues. We struggle to live in balance, causing much unnecessary worry and anxiety for ourselves.

Borrowing more is not the answer, as the cycle starts all over again.

Leakage and wastage

We need to look at where exactly is the leakage or wastage happening. The money that is going on STUFF we really don’t need or can do without. The one item that give us no pleasure and we don’t feel happy about is CREDIT CARD INTEREST. And this is one of the biggest causes of leakage. If you are still paying for the holiday you have not long taken, you obviously could not afford it in the first place. If you keep putting items on the credit card and you never pay it off, just keep paying the monthly fee, your debt compounds.

Sound familiar? If so, you need to take a good look at the monthly interest that you pay on each credit card or any other items you are paying off. To seriously address this leakage or wastage, you may need to take out a loan for paying off all the items you have listed and reduce your credit card limit and only use your credit for emergencies or services charges only. Then, take out a debit card where you put in each week an amount you can afford for food, petrol and essentials each week, to get your spending back in check.

Tip: look around your house and yard and see what items you could sell that you are tired of that could bring in money to help reduce debt.

Credit card debt consolidation

To be continued [OTHER AREAS OF WASTAGE]

Dream BIG

Adriana Happiness, Success, Wealth February 5, 2023July 7, 2023Dream Big

You need to dream BIG to achieve BIG.

Most people spend their time, energy and resources.in life doing anything but their hearts’ desire. A lot of people talk about what they are going to do one day but never really focus on their dreams and what they really want.

Some people waste their time and their lives on frivolous things, trying to get from A to B to C but they often don’t have a purpose or a long-term outcome… where they would like to be in the future.

Some work towards bringing them about.

Why dream big…

Vision and Motivation:

Dreaming big helps you create a compelling vision for your life or career. It gives you a sense of purpose and direction, motivating you to work towards achieving your goals. When you have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, it becomes easier to stay focused, overcome obstacles, and persist through challenges.

Stretching Your Limits:

When you dream big, you set ambitious goals that push you outside of your comfort zone. This encourages personal and professional growth, as you need to acquire new skills, expand your knowledge, and develop a mindset of continuous improvement. By reaching for the stars, you’re more likely to achieve significant accomplishments that can propel you forward.

Creating Opportunities:

Dreaming big opens your mind to possibilities and opportunities that you may not have considered otherwise. It allows you to think beyond current limitations and explore innovative solutions to problems. By having audacious dreams, you’re more likely to discover new paths, forge unconventional connections, and seize opportunities that can lead to success.

Overcoming Failure:

Dreaming big prepares you to face failure and setbacks along the way. In the pursuit of ambitious goals, it’s common to encounter obstacles and experience setbacks. However, dreaming big helps you develop resilience and a positive mindset that allows you to learn from failures, adapt, and keep moving forward. It enables you to see failures as valuable learning experiences rather than roadblocks.

Inspiring Others:

When you dream big and actively pursue your goals, you become an inspiration to others. Your passion, drive, and determination can influence and motivate those around you. By setting an example and sharing your journey, you can inspire others to dream big, believe in their potential, and strive for success themselves.

While dreaming big is essential, it’s important to complement it with strategic planning, consistent action, and adaptability. Dreams alone won’t guarantee success—you need to back them up with concrete steps, perseverance, and a willingness to adjust your approach when necessary.

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
Christopher Reeve

Why not sit down today and write out your BIG dream?

Read more about Accumulating Wealth

Believe in Yourself

Adriana Happiness, Mental Health, Positive Attitude, Success, Wealth December 15, 2022January 9, 2023self belief, self confidence

Your Belief System

To be both successful and happy, it is very important to believe in yourself. Our beliefs are generally formed in childhood. We have learnt these beliefs from our parents, our environment and the world around us.

Our patterns of behaviour and attitudes are formed when, as young children or teenagers, we watch and learn about attitudes and behaviours from our parents, teachers and any outside influences we are exposed to. We learn about what is acceptable and what is not, and we start forming our own opinions and belief systems, based on our own experiences. These are our shaped and learnt behaviours. We learn that being polite is rewarded and that being rude is not acceptable.

When processing new information or experiences as an adult, those core beliefs systems that we have formed and adopted in our early years can sometimes be challenged, but mostly we go back to our core beliefs as that is where we feel secure.

The Problem of Self Doubt

Core beliefs of parents are handed down the generations and they form the basis for our sometimes flawed, incorrect belief systems. When this happens, we can become self-doubters, feel insecure and unnecessary anxiety can take hold. We begin doubting ourselves and fighting against these ingrained beliefs proves to be very difficult. To work through these, we need to have a positive mindset because overcoming limiting beliefs can be challenging.

In life, we limit ourselves with these learnt limiting self-beliefs that somehow we focus on when faced with new challenges, like entering a new career or trying out something completely different.

Also, others can influence our thinking very easily, if we let them, putting up blockers for our vision for the future that we have set for ourselves. Peer pressure can play a role in confusing us at times when we want to break out of the mould and set our sights on something personally challenging. Others will have their own limiting mindset, so don’t be influenced by them. We can listen and may take their advice. We can ask others but we must draw our own conclusions.

Don’t let others stand in the way of what you really want to do. Parents, friends and associates may criticise, or their comments may come from the best of intentions, but do your own research and listen to someone who has a more open mind. If they are someone that you can bounce ideas off, you will respect their advice. Listen to them and ultimately make up your own mind.

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

Change every negative thought to a positive — be happy

Don’t let go of the dreams, passions and values you have set down for yourself. Having put these in place, ultimately the decision is yours. The sky is the limit when facing new challenges. Anything can be achieved if you believe in yourself.

Believe in yourself, believe that things will happen. Change will take place as you grow and learn. Don’t go through life missing opportunities. Grab them with both hands when they come along; learn, act and inspire others to do the same.

How to Change your MINDSET

Having made the decision, don’t doubt your abilities. If you need to take steps to improve your skills, do so. Do everything in your power to achieve your dreams. Your abilities are unique to you and belief in yourself is the first step in your journey to success. You are on your way to YOUR FUTURE SELF.

Every morning of every day, say to yourself, “I BELIEVE IN ME. I am capable of so much. I am willing to learn everything it takes to be successful, for I am going to succeed and go forward in my life, because I am ME. I am Positive and Confident”.

We all suffer from nerves. It can happen to anyone. It happens to famous musicians before going on stage. We actually need such feelings of fear to spur us on to overcome things… when we are starting a new job, meeting new people, taking on a new challenge, sitting for an exam, having to give a speech in front of a group of people, maybe your peers. These nerves can affect us in everyday life and can cause ANXIETY and SELF-DOUBT and it can affect some of us more than others.

I am a strong believer in SELF-TALK . Look in the mirror and tell yourself how good you are, what skills you have, how you are so capable at particular skills. Look yourself in the eye and say you can overcome what’s holding you back with thoughts of SELF DOUBT. Tell yourself you are going to change, you’re going to be a more positive person who always looks for opportunities and is grateful and thankful for opportunity and everything around you.

Your attitude towards everything should be from a positive mindset and this is critical to your success and belief in yourself.

Believe in Yourself Quotes

The Power of a Positive Attitude

Adriana Happiness, Positive Attitude, Success November 22, 2022November 23, 2022happiness, self confidence

How do you face a new day?

Our lives each day can be so affected by the past day’s events that they stop us from moving forward in our lives. Each day should be viewed as a new beginning, a chance to change and grasp the future. Don’t be bogged down by yesterday’s events. Start the new day with a positive attitude, open to new opportunities to make new friends, start a new project, a day to invest in new ideas for the future.

I am fortunate to be a person who wakes up in the morning ready to go, with lots of energy and enthusiasm. Each day to me is about advancing, finishing a project or getting started on something new. I look forward to each day with anticipation as I love creating and designing.

Don’t worry about the future.

If you have a positive attitude, the future will take care of itself. Don’t hanker for the past either but create your future in the present. Life is a gift – make the most of it and don’t waste a moment of it. Look forward, not backwards, unless it is to cherish the memories that you create each day in the present.

Decide that tomorrow will be the day for change, a new start to your future. This attitude will lead to a new way of thinking and looking at tomorrow’s events. Tomorrow is a new day, the first day of the rest of your life. Face it with excitement and anticipation.

What prevents you from facing each day with anticipation?

For many it is a lack of money. If you wish you had more money, you are not alone. Most people don’t have enough money so life is a struggle, but it is possible to be happy with the resources that are available. Don’t allow a lack of money to stop you from doing what you really want in life. Money is just a means to an end. Many people find a way to generate more than enough money, not just to survive, but to go on and live their dream and help others to live theirs as well. And this is the key.

“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want” – Zig Ziglar

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