How to be freakin happy.

WARNING: Long post ahead: Just read the red, big letters to gain the essence of each rambling.

But I'd rather you read the whole thing.

1. Take responsibility of your freakin life.

It's surprising how many people actually have very little control of their own lives.

Don't trust me?

When's the last time you complained?

"That lecturer just ruined my day! He sets really hard questions!"

"Gosh it's so cold and gloomy nowadays, it's ruining my mood..."

"There was this guy just now in front of 7-11 and he was RUDE! Gosh that spoiled my day!"

"I could've done better on the presentation, but my group members were lazy!"

"I was gonna try to do my best, but there was this girl in my class who ruined everything! I hate her!"

First, who controls your emotions and life?

You? The guy next door? Your org chem instructor? The weather? Your group members?

If you have ever complained like any one of those up there, then really, you can't even control your emotions and your life. That means:

a. You gave up the driving wheel of your life to said weather/girl/guy/lecturer.

b. In my eyes, you can't even control your life. (aka sometimes I think people like this are weak. Honest opinion, sorry for the bluntness).

I suggest people read that again, and think hard. Really hard:

Who controls your life and emotions?

*~*~*

2. STOP complaining.

Really, have you met people who complain endlessly? About the college workload, about their laundry, about people, about the weather, about everything?

No, don't go remembering other people. Just look at yourself first.

Have you complained just about everything imaginable?

Then STOP. It's annoying to people to listen to your whining, because:

a. Other people might have bigger problems than you--if you have to take 3 exams this week--they might have 5, but they're not making a big deal out of it.

b. People don't really care. Read that again--People don't CARE about your complains.

I'm sorry if this sounds unIslamic and not very loving and caring, but it's the truth.

Example: I have classes from 10:00am till 11:00am, then I went straight to school from 2:00pm, and I only got back around 10:00pm. That's 8 straight hours non-stop.

Do you care?

Of course you don't. You have better things to think about, like your driving lessons tomorrow, or the literature assignment due this Thursday, or the Physiology exam you're gonna face.

If you don't care about other people's busy/hectic lives and their problems, what makes you think other people care about yours?

Read again: What makes you think other people care or want to hear about how bad your day is?

*~*~*

3. Concentrate on what you HAVE.

Read: Be grateful damnit!

So what if you have 5 exams this week?

What if your instructor sucks?

What if the supermarket doesn't sell brocolli?

What if the class is hard?

What if you're failing at school?

SO WHAT?

SO WHAT?

SO BLOODY WHAT?

You have something to eat tonight? Then shut up.

You have a bed to sleep on tonight? Then shut up.

You have teachers, friends, and tutors around you? Then shut up. Get help.

You have textbooks? You can read? You can write? Can you understand English? Then shut up.

Do you have mouths to feed? No? Then shut up.

Do you have debts that you won't be able to pay? No? Then shut up.

Is your homeland under siege/attack? Are bombs falling on your backyard? No? Then shut up.

Have you lost any of your eyes? Your arms? How about your legs? No? Everything is intact? Good for you. Now shut up.

Gosh, gosh, GOSH, I HATE IT when people are not grateful.

Be grateful. Be grateful. Be grateful.

Please, tolonglah manusia-manusia sekalian, tolonglah, bersyukur kepada Tuhan.

Concentrate on what you have. On WHAT YOU HAVE. On What's good. On WHAT'S GOOD! WHAT'S GOOD!

"I have a pair of eyes."

"I have a pair of perfectly fine arms."

"I can walk. I can think."

"My parents and siblings are alive and well."

"My friends are awesome."

"Allah let me live today."

--Kalau nikmat Allah tu sampai 7 lautan pun tak larat kita nak tulis semua nikmatNya, kenapa kita ada masa nak mengeluh?--

--Bila kita mengeluh, macam Allah tu terlupa nak beri rezeki yang cukup kepada kita--

READ THAT AGAIN IF NEEDED.

*~*~*

4. Stop being too perasan and syok sendiri.

You're short? You're ugly? You're fat? You're too skinny? You have zits on your forehead? You think your eyes aren't level?

Really? Be glad that Allah doesn't Care about your looks. He Cares about your iman.

In fact, I'm gonna give you a fun fact: People don't care if your ears aren't level--They're too busy worrying about their own zits and imperfect skin.

Read again: People don't care about how you look, because they're too preoccupied worrying about their own looks.

There, aren't you glad to know people don't even notice about that zit you have on your nose.

*~*~*

I challenge anyone who freakin' read this blog to try applying any one of those things I just wrote for one day.

The moment you want to blame something/someone for anything bad, stop yourself and shut up. Just shut up, eat a Snickers bar, and continue with life.

The moment you want to tell other people about how bad your day has been, shut up. Just shut up and remember that those people won't care anyway.

The moment you feel like your world is falling apart, stop. Step back. Be grateful. I'm sure, I'm bloody freaking sure, unless you're a refugee, or a Palestinian under attack, then you're in a much better shape.

*~*~*

It surprises me how people can't figure these things out by themselves.

Well, aren't you glad I actually took the time and effort to tell you myself?

*~*~*

Actually, many of the things I wrote up there are Islamic things:

1. Take charge of your life.

2. Jangan mengeluh.

3. Bersyukur dengan rezeki yang ada.

4. Jangan terlalu taksub dengan rupa luaran--Allah tak lihat kalau kita pakai Banana Republic.
Kalau orang pakai baju pasar malam RM10 itu boleh lagi tinggi darjat di sisi Allah, apa guna pakai baju Coach, tapi darjat rendah di sisi Allah?

*~*~*

The take home message is this:

Islam itu agama optimis.

Betul.

Tak percaya? Tak percaya sudah.

Kalau anda percaya, cuba-cuba la kurangkan pessimism anda. Jadi optimis.

Salam.

P/S: If any of the points above seems familiar, I might have accidentally plagiarized them from 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers, Being a Happy Teenager, Successful Principles for Teens, Don't Sweat the Small Stufffs for Teens or 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself. I apologize, but I read these books since I was 13, so some points might have gotten stuck in my head.