The Happiness Code
by Nicco Liew
Winning speech for BVTMC Chapter Meeting on Thursday, 01 Aug 2019
Pathways Manual, L1P2(A) Evaluation and Feedback First Speech
How many of you want to be happy? How many of you are still waiting to feel happy?
According to the recent World Happiness Report, Singapore is ranked the 34th happiest country in the world, and the 2nd happiest country in Asia.
Do you know which is the happiest country in the world? The answer is Finland!
Good evening Madam President, Toastmasters of the day, fellow toastmasters and guest.
Today, I am going to share with you, 3 ways to become happier.
Before I start, you might wonder, is there any benefit to be happy? Does happiness really matter?
The answer is Yes!
Scientific evidence suggests that being happy may have major benefits for our health. It helps in motivating us to engage in a healthy lifestyle, combat stress, boost our immune system, protect our heart and reduce pain. What’s more, it may even increase our life expectancy!
So now, I am going to share with you 3 easy ways to create happiness.
First, is to Connect with others. According to a 75 years study done by Harvard, having good connection or relationships keeps us happier and healthier. Close relationships, rather than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives, the study revealed.
Action point:
If you want to have stronger, positive and meaningful relationships, try to replace screen time with more face time; in other words, spend more quality time with your loved ones or reconnect with family members or friends that you haven’t spoken for years.
Or, joining toastmasters is also a good place for you to make new friends! J A good social network provides you with friends to share with, learn from and have fun with. The bond and connections shared with good friends is the most authentic source of happiness available to any of us.
Second way is to have positive thoughts or being optimistic.
If you find yourself constantly worrying about the negative outcome happening, stop! Ask yourself, is this something I can do anything about? If you can, do it, If not, let it go! Worrying is a waste of time and energy, because worrying is stressing over something that you can’t change.
Instead, focus your energy on improving the chances of success, either by learning from people who have succeeded or learn from previous mistakes and try harder in the next attempt!
Action point:
As Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; while an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
If our expectations are positive, we are more likely to take a chance or give things a go. Why not apply for that new job, why not take up a new challenge to improve yourself, or why not ask her out on a date? Why not indeed! If you don’t try, the answer will always be a No!
Third way, is to be present and count your blessing. Ask ourselves, what am I grateful for today? This question will have different answers for different people, and the answers could change every day. We could be grateful for that delicious dinner we enjoyed, for having good friends and family, or even for a heart-breaking experience, because what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!
Just because there are things that we still want, that doesn’t mean there are nothing to enjoy or be grateful for along the process of working towards achieving our goals.
Conclusion:
In summary, instead of waiting for happy moment or getting external things like getting a better job, falling in love or having a new gadgets to feel happy, we can strive to create happiness for ourselves everyday by,
- Making Meaningful Connections
- Being Optimistic
- Counting Our Blessing
Thank you and back to you, Toastmasters of the Day!
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