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Day 16: Why I Don’t Own a Bikini
By: Ariana Elise
Tags: Body Image, Beauty, Body, Standards, Positivity

I was eleven years old the first time I felt insecure about my body.

Eleven. I had barely begun puberty, and it already occurred to me to wonder whether I’d appear “sexy” to the boys at school.

The last thing on an eleven-year-old’s mind should be their level of sex appeal.

In today’s era of TikTok and Tinder, it has only gotten worse. Here’s the standard and expectation for young girls today: bikini photos, booty shorts, mini skirts, and skimpy crop tops.

And if you aren’t dressing that way by the time you hit, I don’t know, fourteen, there appears to be something wrong with you.

You must be really insecure about your body. Or haven’t been “empowered” yet. Or maybe you’re just a prude.

To this day, I do not own a bikini. You won’t find any scantily-clad photos on my Instagram feed. (And you certainly won’t find me supplementing my income with an OnlyFans account.)

We live in a society where the sentiment is often:

If you got it, flaunt it. You won’t be young forever. Enjoy it while it lasts!

But what about those of us who prefer to keep our figure private?

Is it really out of insecurity?

Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject.

I know that my body is a gift.

This is not to sound conceited or obnoxious. I believe that all women’s bodies are works of art. Women are God’s most beautiful creation.

I mean, seriously people, nobody gets addicted to looking at rainbows and waterfalls on the internet.

There is one thing that will always capture a man’s eye: the feminine figure. It is a sight to behold. It is not a tool, or a utility, or an object. It is not a commodity.

A woman’s body is a gift of infinite value.

I would much rather share the gift of my body with a man who is worthy of it, than with every man who scrolls past my bikini photo on Instagram or walks past me on the street.

This isn’t insecurity. This is the confidence that I am worth waiting to see.

And so are you.
Zero to Dream Job in 90 Days!
By: Kathy Blackwell
Tags: Hopes And Dreams, Nonprofit, Writers On Writing, Inspiration, Positivity

Zero to Dream Job in 90 Days!

Day #1 A Beginning

By Kathy Blackwell

A woman with so many ideas, her best friend suggests writing a book called “The Idea Machine.” Thats me! I have written almost every day since third grade; poems, stories, diary entry’s, messages in bottles, letters, articles and other assorted writings. I am a published writer, and some of these writings have led to some incredible events in my life. A trip to Ethiopia to meet a nomadic elder who survived a famine, featured in People Magazine. Working at Habitat for Humanity’s International Magazine, meeting President Jimmy Carter and answering letters for him in the Habitat Correspondence Office. Having an excerpt of my letter to President George H W Bush, read by him in The State of the Union Address, on my birthday! These experiences, made in between working as a teacher to fulfill that dream and my love of children, have kept my writing dream alive, while I made enough money to raise my own children. Now retired, I have been looking to write full time and have been working toward this end for close to two years. However, I have been picky this time and am sticking to my goal of not just any kind of writing, but writing for the greater good. Writing about people and organizations changing the world and making a difference in people’s lives. This blog is about this journey, this process of my daily search for the job my soul is meant to do. I know I’m not the only one. Every day I read social media posts that exclaim “ find what you love and you will shine” and “ ask the universe for what you desire and the rest will come”. So writing this blog about my process, I commit to land my dream job in 90 days. Come along with me for the ride to fulfill this lifelong passion. Maybe you are trying to find your dream job too. Let’s do it together! We never know what might happen if we keep hope alive and put the energy out there for the universe to grab onto. So, here goes!

89 days to go!
Positive Reflection
By: Abdullah Bin Afzal
Tags: Positivity, Amal Fellowship, Positive Reflection

Positive Reflection

‘There are certain decisions, you take in your life without the utmost consent of your inner self. Later you realize that those were the most valuable decisions’.

I have got a similar story during the last weeks of February, I was having a quite packed schedule with university classes in the morning and NAVTTC course classes in the evening. At the same time, while roaming on some senior's profile, I came across the platform of AMAL, and after visiting the website and learning about the mission and vision of this fellowship, I just instantly applied for it unseeingly. After applying, I was not that positive and passionate before the interview, as I was at that time more inclined towards my existing course.

But, Yes! today I can say proudly that was worth a decision❤. For sure, I can regard these two and a half months with AMAL as one of the best times of my career. Initiating from a bit tweaky start and turning that into the most positive and exciting times, either its ever-lively fellows and facilitators(PM, PA) or interactive break-out room discussions during online sessions or the insightful online courses and project works or working in a circle or the one on one and mock interview, I really enjoyed and learned from each and every experience.

💓💓

During the whole inexpressible experience, there was one moment specifically which increased my positivity and passion for fellowship many folds. It was during the last few minutes of the Live session-9 when Ma’am Fizza(PA) announced my project work “Engaging the Day-Labourers” as ‘the Most thoughtful project award’ for PW-3.

For a couple of minutes, I can’t believe my ears, but then those dozens of messages of felicitation both on WhatsApp and even on zoom chat make me realize to cherish that moment. This great feeling of honour was replenished when the award was posted on the batch Facebook page. Those appreciation remarks pumped me with such energy which can’t be explained in words.

THANK YOU PEOPLE AGAIN❣

Although I always longed for and love winning competitions throughout my career, similarly I also desired since the PW-1 for this award but to be honest at that time I wasn’t expecting it. That unexpected honour pushed me to work harder even on the challenging days of Ramadan when I was having an internship too. I always sensed more positivity and encouragement while I attempted the project works or online courses afterward. It left a deep impact on my attitude; resultantly, I tried to deliver the best possible either it was during online sessions or circle meetings, or mega-project. Lastly, I want to thank the fellows and the facilitators for spreading positive vibes throughout the fellowship. Keep shining and smiling!

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open”-(John Barrymore)
STRONG WOMAN
Tags: Optimism, Women Empowerment, Strong Women, Positivity, Mental Strength

Who are ‘Strong’ women?

Can physically, mentally, emotionally & financially independent woman be quoted as ‘Strong’ women?

Can a women who is courageous but financially unstable be called strong?

So does it all zero down to one’s mind?

Yes it all zeroes down to our mind. A woman who is courageous, who is able to take care of herself and pick herself up when she falls(which means she can handle her financial, emotional, mental and physical well-being), who knows how to make herself happy and who believes in herself is considered a strong woman.

In this day and age, there are innumerable strong women. Yet there are some women who still put their happiness in the hands of their partner or keep longing for someone to make them happy. Many women confuse companionship with happiness.

Do you need company/partner to be happy? No, you can be enjoy your own company and be very happy. You just have to find out activities/hobbies that will make you happy.

Some women get scared of future, think they might require physical help from a man to lead their lives. Some of us may be physically strong. Some are us may not. But that doesn’t necessarily imply that a male partner is the only way to go. I have known many men who lack physical strength. These women who are not physically strong can compensate it with their strength. A woman who is physically weak can work on her strengths to make more money and that could solve her problem by hiring male workers when she needs a physical work to be accomplished.

Some people think that a women surviving on her own is close to impossible even in this century. Well, they are wrong. There are quite a lot of immensely strong women who are surviving on their own. We haven’t heard much about them since these woman are not very popular. There are so many popular personalities who are strong. I want to write about them and the special qualities that they possess in this series called ‘Strong Woman’
Positive Reflection
By: Zainab Naeem
Tags: Positive Reflection, Positive Psychology, Positive Attitude, Positivity, Positive Thinking

Positivity is a very important and vital element of life. Everybody loves beauty, color, prosperity, and success. These all things are connected with each other. If we have positivity in ourself then beauty, color, and prosperity will be automatically around us, as a result, we get success after success.

Positive thinking is better than pessimists. A positive thinker is free from stress. Positivity helps to always look toward the light even you are in darkness. A positive thinker is good in mental health, physical health, and social life. It is your state of mind if you think positive then goodness comes to you and if you think negative then badness comes to you.

“ Be happy not because everything is good, but because you can see the good in everything”

I have a great time with Amal Academy, at the start I felt a lot of difficulties. I just kept following the four Amal Academy principles; Amal, Khudi, Kam Kam Kam, and Ek Aur Ek Giyarah.

The instance that had an impact on me was the online sessions. During my sessions, the positive attitude, potential, energy, a willingness to learn more and more, and to grow more and more were the elements that helped me to change my point of view.

Before it, I just look toward my weakness and emptiness. It directly relates to negativity and fix mindset. It was also disturbing my mental and physical health.

But during online sessions, I felt that there is nothing that is impossible. I felt strongly I can change my weakness into strength. I just kept pushing myself to come outside of my comfort zone. For this purpose, I was able to take power from my online sessions.

After every passing day, I felt internally happy. I started smiling at everything and create a positive and beautiful environment for people around me. I started to pay more attention, love, and care to my family and circle members.

Before it, I took new things as a problem with fix mindset but now I take new things as learning opportunities with growth mindset.

Now, I have started to deal with everything even a small thing in a very systematic way. I have started to say to myself I am enough. I am enough to face any challenge, I am enough to grow, I am enough to stand up after every fall, and I am enough to overcome any emotional breakdown.
Positive Reflection
By: Muhammad Shahmeer
Tags: Positive Psychology, Positive Attitude, Attitude, Positivity, Positive Thinking

“No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you’ll find the positive side of things.” — Demi Lovato

Positivity is something that often does not come for everybody, because people tend to negative thoughts more than positive thoughts so to elaborate, one could say that positivity is a choice that you make and believe me when i say that it is the decision you can never regret and it would beer fruit like nothing else.

Life gives us options to be happy or sad, I am not saying that life is not hard, it is hard and even sometimes so much that the person living it would just want all of that to go away. But, that is not how it works, we have to choose between which side we want to be when this chaos ends? Positivity and happiness or negativity and hatred? I say we choose Positivity and happiness because there is nothing like it.

I would like to share my story of this journey I started almost 3 months ago with Amal Academy, I am going to be honest I was a really pessimist person. Always thinking that I am not worthy. Always thinking that everything is going to turn into worst. Always believing that other person criticizing me just hates me. If I am being honest I am still a bit negative, but the most commendable and noticeable thing is that I have changed a lot since then and that is because of Amal Fellowship.

“When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple.” — Paulo Coelho

There is this one incident made the most impact and that is when we gave mock interviews, My interviewer was a program manager at Amal academy he was graduated from LUMS. He had done many jobs of Analyzing teams. I was confused and I gave as bad interview as I could give, I was terrified and worried about how It would look in front of my fellows. But when the results came, Although my marks were not good, but nothing happened. I was surprised that how a person’s overthinking and make him/her so negative that he’d forget to be happy and to accept the life as it is. That is when I realized and why was I worried so much? I spent the night thinking that what were the positive things that happened? I came up with 20 things worth being grateful. My interviewer told me many things I could improve and his humble attitude had a great impact, there were many other things. I was shocked that how a single negative thought can cloud your judgment and make you anxious over nothing. That day I decided to first think of the things that happened and will have a good positive impact and then to react. I won from my negative self. I am a winner and I am happy for that.

“Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.” — Brian Tracy

— — — — — — I make a choice everyday to be happy . Do you? — — — — — —
I hate Tuesdays.
By: D Battease
Tags: Life Skills, Motivation, Empowerment, Positivity, Life

I hate Tuesdays. They are by far the longest most tedious day of every week. I complain about having to sit through a 2 hour staff meeting every Tuesday morning, but today I realized that I am lucky that I have the opportunity to sit through these meetings; because that means I am part of a team. This leads me to my point of the importance of having a purpose.

Everyone needs a reason to get up in the morning. Whether that reason be work, children, pets…etc. Think about a time that you didn’t have a reason to get up in the morning? How did it feel? Why do you think that it felt that way? How did you feel when that time of your life was over and you had a reason to get up again?

In most cases opportunity does not present itself. You need to work for the things that you want and go out and get it. Most successful people have not had things handed to them on a silver platter, they have gone out and earned them. This is called motivation. Unfortunately, not everyone has found their motivation. These are the people who don’t go out and get what they want, the people who wait for something to turn up in front of them and unfortunately these are the people who end up in the same spot for the rest of their life. These are the people who get “Stuck”. These are the people who need the most help.

I have never had things handed to me, I have always worked hard and moved my way up in every job that I have ever had. Why? Because, I was motivated to have a better life than I had. At this point in my life, I have stability and a job that I can deal with going to everyday.

No matter how discouraging your life may be, Find your motivation. If there is an obstacle standing in your way, find a way to move that obstacle. Everyone has something that they care about, use that and turn it into a motivator to do better. Without motivation, you aren’t going to move forward in any area of your life.

Find your purpose, find your motivation and move forward. The only person who can change your life, is you. Don’t let life pass by and wish you had done more. There is no time better than the present. Take the bull by the horns and go out there and get it done.
Positivity Blog Challenge: Day 3
By: Jasmine Ruckey
Tags: Blogger, Everyday Life, Writing Challenge, Kindness, Positivity

When was Your Last Random Act of Kindness? What was it?

Kindness is definitely something we need more of in the world, especially in a time like this. And I’m not talking about something nice you were guilt-tripped into doing. I’m referring to that genuine type of kindness that actually requires you to take time out of your day, or take an extra step, to help someone out, without expecting anything in return.

So, I want to know about your last random act of kindness!

My last random act of kindness was a couple weeks ago. I had gone to the grocery store for my bi-weekly shopping trip. This particular day was a gross mixture of gloomy and windy. It was just one of those days that would have been better spent curled up on the couch, not standing in line outside a grocery store.

But anyways, as I waited for my turn to enter the store, I noticed an elderly woman slowly making her way from the parking lot to the store entrance. I watched as she shuffled across the lot, pushing along a shopping cart that was basically the same size as her. As she approached the doors, they allowed her right in without having to wait in line, and rightly so. And off she went. It was only about another five minutes (if that) that I was then able to enter the store myself.

I went through the aisles and grabbed whatever was on my list. After checking out and exiting the store, I saw the same elderly woman pushing her, now full, cart back to her car. I passed her as I made my way to my car and began unloading the bags. As I finished sorting the grocery bags and closed my car door, I looked up to see the woman starting to pass by me. I couldn’t help but notice that she was clearly struggling to push the cart. I started making my way to the cart return and came along side her. Initially hesitating, I then asked if she needed a little help. To that she responded, “Yes, I think I’ll take that.”

I didn’t think to return my own cart first so I ended up awkwardly dragging my smaller cart along with her full size cart over to her car. But I still managed to get her where she needed to go and that’s all that matters!

She didn’t have much of a smile. I honestly don’t remember if she even said thank you. I just remember her look of relief when I offered to help, and her telling me that she meant to bring her mask but forgot it on the kitchen table. Either way, I was just happy that I was able to be there to help her out.

It’s a wonderful thing, the ability to help someone out. I know it can be really easy to miss those opportunities. It is for me anyway. I probably miss them more than I realize. I’ll admit that I’m constantly trapped in my own bubble of my own problems and things I have to do. I’m that person that needs the reminder that there’s a lot more people on this earth than just me. So when I am paying attention and see somewhere I’m able to help, I try not to let those opportunities pass me by.

What about you? When was the last time you saw a need and were able to help?

Thanks for reading, guys.

I’ll see you all tomorrow with day 4!
The Truth About Radiating Positivity
Tags: Emotions, Radiation, Happiness, Allquietonthewesternfront, Positivity

It is okay to cry when you are sad sometimes but while you are doing so, there are so many things to think about. You can think about how you can improve in the future and make better use of that, instead of grieving over something that had happened in the past and could never be adjusted.

For example, when I unexpectedly low scores on my exams, I always find myself on my bed or at my table with my head on my arm, soaking my arm sleeves with tears. When I am doing that, it feels like I have fallen on my knees. It hurts to think about how much effort you put into what you have done, and haven’t achieved the most out of it. I think about all the study guides I have made for the exam, all the hours I spent studying for it instead of being outside hanging with my friends or watching a movie with my family, and the criticism for being unintelligent by my family members.

There is always a point where I stop crying. My put my head back up, I wash my face, I sit back down on my chair with my books, and I take a few minutes to get back on track, and try to motivate myself to move forward and how I can improve in the future. After spending enough time crying and watching the clock tick by, I say “Okay, I got this,” and try to finish my homework as soon as possible. This is when I get back on my knees.
The Gift of Community
By: Emily Elizabeth
Tags: Inthistogether, Blessings, Share, Rocks, Positivity

Story Inspired by Caleb Springfield

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Minnesota nice”? If so, how would you define “Minnesota nice”? This saying was illustrated through an action that happened in the town of Rogers, MN that lightened up a woman’s day during this pandemic.

In the town of Rogers, MN, like most cities and states, businesses are only offering curbside pick up or drive thru options. Additionally, being in lockdown is causing people to experience many emotions. For example, one day a resident of Rogers, MN was having a day full of frustration where everything seemed to be going wrong and found herself going through the Caribou drive thru. After waiting several minutes to get to the window, she saw a tanish rock with the words, “I have big plans for you! xoxo -God,” on it. Needless to say, she drove away with a smile on her face.

But the compassionate notes did not stop there. Next she went to the gas station and noticed something on the ground by the pump. She knelt down to see what it was and it was another tanish rock. This time the rock said, “You are beautiful! Xoxo -God.” This time she not only drove away with a smile on her face but with lifted spirits. A few days ago that same resident saw another rock. This time it was painted blue and said the words, “We’re all in this together” on it.
Feel Good Instagram Accounts To Follow During The Coronavirus Pandemic
By: Bold Brunette
Tags: Instagram, Support, Optimism, Social Media, Positivity

I’ve discovered some really great Instagram accounts during the lockdown. With spending so much time on social media, which I’m also trying to do less of, I want to see posts that keep things unique, different and inspirational.

If you’re looking for something a little refreshing to follow, take a look at a few of the accounts below.

My Self-Love Supply

My Self-Love Supply is a great account that shares various tips and uplifting quotes. It’s illustrated in a cute, colourful way that always puts a smile on my face.

Instagram @myselflovesupply

The Blurt Foundation

The Blurt Foundation helps to raise awareness and better understanding towards depression. Their posts are supportive to individuals that live with depression, and helps put things into perspective for those that don’t understand depression.

Instagram @theblurtfoundation

The Happy Sloth Club

The Happy Sloth Club loves sharing the positivity and encouragement. The posts are aimed at individuals who may be going through a tough time and need a bit of love and support. The posts are lighthearted and uplifting.

Instagram @thehappyslothclub

DaniPirro — Positively Present

Dani DiPirro is an artist, and her creativity shows in the posts. The content she shares puts things into perspective for the way one may be feeling, or rather puts their mind at ease for feeling that way. It’s a vibrant, colourful and heartful way of sharing positive posts.

Instagram @positivelypresent

Self-Care Is For Everyone

It’s an account that truly emphasizes the importance of self-care and self-love. It promotes mental health and mental health awareness.

Instagram @selfcareisforeveryone

Your Daily Inspiration

A great account just spreading love and positivity.

Instagram @sunnybloominspiration

There are so many more amazing accounts to follow on Instagram if you’re looking for something more positive to follow. It’s definitely worth browsing through accounts to find new accounts that may uplift your day and put a smile on your face too.
Secret Power of Affirmations
By: Bahar Özkan
Tags: Affirmations, Happiness, Personal Growth, Inspiration, Positivity

There are thousands of different ideas and emotions crossing our minds every day. From thinking about last night’s discussion with your mom to your fear of failure in the scholarship exam, from your future concerns to your upcoming mortgage payment… Unfortunately, inherently, we are inclined more on the negative ones instead of good ones.

Well, life is full of ups and downs.

How you accept situations is totally up to you.

And the reality is that it’s possible to shift these negativities into positive thoughts with the help of the miraculous power of the affirmation.

What is Affirmation?

Affirmations are simple, short, and powerful expressions that can have the power of changing thoughts into reality. We use them to accelerate our subconscious mind, to encourage ourselves to believe certain actions in our lives and around the world. Affirmations are also used to help us create the reality we want — in terms of attracting beauty, love, wealth, and happiness within life.

Affirmations are positive statements, indicating the present time that exposes the power of your subconscious mind to lead the desired end by affecting our behavior, thinking patterns, habits, and environment. They can assist in adjusting personal beliefs or can be used to create changes in your life.

Benefit of Affirmations

Affirmations are very powerful for creating new habits, making positive changes, and achieving goals. You might want to lose weight, become more focused, start your own business, heal your relationship with your partner, become financially independent… Affirmations can help you to reach your goal with the power of positive energy spreading the idea out loud to the universe. Affirmations also provide to:

Keep you motivated

Keep the mind focused on the end goal

Be able to emphasize, tolerant, and open-minded.

A better understanding of the inner and external worlds.

Change the way you think and reflect, which contributes you to have a wider perspective, to meet new people who can help you on your way to success.

How to Adopt Affirmations in Daily Life?

Consistency and determination are the keys.

Say them twice a day.

Do it in front of the mirror, look into your eyes.

Speak out loud and repeat each one slowly by embracing the meaning.

Have your first session in the morning so that you can start the day with positivity and courage.

Repeat them during your 5-minute breaks, at the shower, and while you are cooking.

Have your second session before going to sleep in that it ensures you to have positive thoughts in your subconscious mind.

Specify clear subjects such as wealth and love in the beginning in order to prevent diverse themes disturb your focus.

Commit doing them for 30 days so that it turns to a behavior later on.

Affirmation examples to inspire you:
Appreciate what you have.
Tags: Good Vibes, Positivity

Hello Everyone, Good Morning

Life is all about the tough and easy time or good and bad time. It's human nature that when we live in good times, we enjoy, celebrate, and feel delighted in every single moment. During these magic moments, Time flies and we all always try to make it memorable so we capture all memories to our minds, to our cameras, record videos, etc and frankly saying that this is all we should do because the wonderful times have the powers to give us strength when we find ourselves being weak. The power of the good times memory always brings smiles to our sad faces whenever we use to remember them. we always like to talk about those moments as if they are cheering us on. People say that the best thing about time is that “Time Changes” and nobody can feel happy by knowing this thing if he/she is enjoying their best moments now ;). In my entire journey of life so far, I have never met any person who used to say that I am fed up now for being so much happy for the last few years or months or whatever. Nobody can’t be like, Never…

Apart from this, Let's see the second side of the Time. The peoples who are facing a lot of challenges, problems in their lives, Here I want to mention the same thing again which they all must remember “Time changes”. Yeah, The best thing about time. I know that knowing only this fact does not mean that things become easy but you will feel positivity or eternal stamina to face the challenges and will surely stand strong to face whatever situations come against you. We all need the surroundings of our loved ones to celebrate happiness or when we need sympathy, support, help. Always do remember that God always gives you that which you can sustain only. He knows your strength when it comes to the tough time. He knows that you can endure and can come out of this by becoming a better version of yourself. Trust me, You can't be a single person happier or the single person who got unfortunate much than others. There are, I mean there must be the peoples who are enjoying their life more than you do in your good times and must be the peoples who are surviving the lives somehow. Here I can highlight my Title which I wanted to say that appreciate what you have, as it was never the most of any time and not going to be the lowest ever.

Good Day :)
The Good Egg: The Next Chapter
By: The Good Egg
Tags: Life Goals, Wellness, Happiness, Health, Positivity

Click here to sign up for this daily newsletter!

Happy Tuesday!

Unlike most Tuesdays, today is not Tasty Tuesday. Today is a final farewell to my wonderful Good Egg readers.

I’ve been thinking for weeks, “how do I end what has been an amazing 262 edition journey over the past year??”

But as I thought about the possible “endings,” I found a quote that was all too fitting for this occasion:

Of course, it’s easy to look at today as the “end” of The Good Egg. But I have one hope for each of you (and for myself).

I hope the past year has merely been one leg in each of our “life journeys.” I hope today marks the beginning of a new chapter… a chapter where we can each apply what we’ve learned to enrich our lives.

It may be sleeping a bit extra, finding five minutes to be mindful, going for a walk, or eating just a bit healthier. Whatever it is, I hope we can all find those little 1% habits (improvements) that make all the difference over time!

And of course, The Good Egg isn’t entirely over! Sure, you won’t see emails every day (I may send a few over the next year as I stumble upon great content), but instead I’ll be focusing my energy on building something for all of you.

The idea, of course, came directly from my experience over the past year and my struggles to apply some of the learnings I shared. In short, I struggled to find high quality, free meditations that suited my changing needs each day. So… my goal is to spend my next few months attempting to solve the problem (for myself and for each of you).

So, on this final Good Egg, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be building and sharing:

“The Good Egg Happiness Hub”

In this Happiness Hub, I’ll be curating Meditations and Health & Wellness Strategies that are:

💵 Totally FREE

💯 High Quality

📚 Organized by length and purpose

Hopefully, this can make all our happiness journeys just a tad easier and allow us to continue The Good Egg tradition, even after the daily emails are over.

Finally — THANK YOU all for making this last year so wonderful. Without you, none of The Good Egg could have been possible.

Love,

The Good Egg 🐣
This ones for me
By: Reynaldo Martinez
Tags: Mindfulness, Positivity, Positive Thinking

Hello everyone! My name is Reynaldo Martinez, Jr. I am a husband and father to a beautiful little girl and after much consideration and years of being a relatively reserved person, I’ve decided to take a step into some uncharted waters, beyond my comfort zone and start a blog.

I decided to start blogging because expressing myself in the moment can sometimes be difficult. A lot of times I am torn between speaking up and minding my own business and often times I come across thoughts that I believe are worth sharing but too many times I choose to keep those thoughts to myself. For the most part, I am able to justify this without too much cognitive dissonance as I am already not the type openly express myself. Rather, I tend to be an observer and keep my insights to myself and consider it a form of wisdom. Or so I like to believe. But what good is wisdom and insight if it is not shared?

For me, the decision to share and express was a result of my daughter, Elouisa.

I think of Elouisa and how she will choose to communicate once she is able to. Will she be more reserved like her father and share her thoughts only when she feels truly compelled or will she be more outspoken like her mother. Fearless and courageous. I pray that she can take the best of both of us but I also think it is necessary to lead by example in this situation. For now, that example takes the form of this blog.

I like that I can take my time and be selective to share what I feel is important. If nothing else, to actually write down the many thoughts and ideas I often have. I recognize that not many people (if any) will see these anyway but I am excited to finally be able to express myself and share them in an environment that is appropriate, with my best efforts to not make this a rant.

That said, this ones for me.
Programming your Mindset
By: Aman Merchant
Tags: Flow, Words, Mindset, Positivity, Wisdom

Ask yourself — how do you start your day?

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

The power of words. The vocabulary that dominates the mainstream. And that the over-social-media exposed creatures we are, allow it to then dominate us. Entering our subconscious. The self-talk. The stories we then tell ourselves. And others. And very soon, that becomes the (distorted) reality for those willing or forced to listen to us.

2020 (or rather COVID) has changed how we use language, from how we used it months or years ago.

Zoom is no longer an iPhone camera feature.

Masks are no longer for Halloween & birthday parties.

Bubbles (in school) are not about kids blowing soapy water to create rings in the air.

Lockdown is no longer for those serving sentences in jail.

Flatten the curve is not just about our belly.

And my favorite… PPE is no longer just a degree from Oxford (I have to ask my Alma mater to rename my degree course now!)

In the past, we used to stay from negative people — now we avoid (COVID) positive individuals.

So with these words (and many more) now a part of our everyday lexicon in COVID times, how we can get more intentional about creating the thoughts in our mind, that allow us to feel our best and perform our best? That allows us to get into flow, that state of optimal performance.

Language is a key to our everyday genius that everyone has the opportunity to access. Aim to be purposeful about the words we deploy to program our mental selves. Our mindsets.

I use a number of phrases and questions as part of my daily morning meditation practice and then later in the day as needed, to do this meta-programming. So the filters my mind uses, are not colored by others’ thinking.

This happened for me, not to me

How can I be the answer to someone’s prayer today?

Whatever happens, does so for the best, even though I can’t make sense of it now

There is ‘amazing’ on the other side (of worry/confusion/etc.) — keep climbing

Progress, not perfection

Where can I find delight today?

Everything is figureoutable

I am excited to do this

I may not be the smartest in the room, but I sure will be the hardest worker there

Deliberate practice over time always trumps genius

What one small step today can bring me miles closer to my dream goals?

What can I do today to bring joy?

So ask yourself — how do you start your day?

By being intentionally ‘programmed’, purposeful, and ready for the day ahead, or being the ping pong ball of someone else’s social media feeds, news headlines, and TV programs?

Both will get you exactly where you want to be….
In the Memory of Amal
By: Asad Saleem
Tags: Reflections, Amal Academy, Memories, Positivity

“Life brings tears, smiles, and memories. The tears dry, the smiles fade, but the memories last forever.”

Every moment of life is beautiful, we all go through happiness and sadness, hardships, merriment, tears, contentment and learn a lot from them. When time passes, we are left with that memory either good one or a bad one you enjoy whenever you think of them. We worry so much about the past that we don’t even focus on what’s in front of us. Just focus on good memories and try to make some new ones as well.

Do you have an amazing memory? Well for my journey with Amal academy, I have made a lot of memories and this is the best experience of my online sessions. Choosing one of them is really a hard time but the mega project is the activity that had a great impression on me. I did many projects in my student journey but the project during Amal academy was the fascinating and full of learning opportunities.

This is an entrepreneurship idea in which we are doing the following things:

· Buying · Selling · Delivering · Marketing · Content writing · Digital works

All these works were new for me and I got a chance to learn many things with my group. I never observed market with the aye to learn. During this project, I jumped into the market and learned the basic strategies of marketing.

My colleagues were mainly from Lahore, I was the only in Gujranwala. Besides Lahore, I planned to run this idea in Gujranwala as well. This way I got in touch with the retailers and customers. My main duty was to engage customers which helped me improve a lot about the communication, persuasive skills and much more. For initial steps I got in touch with my near circle and tried to communicate and convince them about our idea and asked them to do the same within their near circle to elaborate our project. There are very few people who know about the organics. So, firstly we thought to provide awareness to people about it for a social cause. People were found very interested about this as this was a new thing for them. Specially, in Gujranwala many people were never able to know about organics. They showed their energy in learning much about this and it impacted such a tremendous effect that many people determined to buy these things. This taught many things to me as well that I will be exploring new things to learn something new and letting the people learn from you. IN-SHA-ALLAH!
Random Acts Of Kindness!
By: Shrish Ukhalkar
Tags: Positivity, Gratitude, Positive Thinking, Kindness

Random Acts Of Kindness!

Since the outbreak of Covid, most of us had been confined to the four walls of our homes. Slowly, as time passed, we were able to freely step out of our houses and spend time out in the open. As most of you readers would've also done, I too, began my morning walks, exercise etc. Located at about 500 meters from my home is a park. It is not spread much area-wise but has a nice setting of 8 - 10 benches where you can wipe your sweat after having a nice jog. Yes, it has a running track along it's circumference!

My daily visits to the garden are usually around 7.30 to 8 am in the morning. My mother also accompanies me to that place. At start, we both walk at the same place but eventually I end up walking at a pace much faster than her (that I am more young than she is :p). After completing 5 - 6 rounds we rest on the bench, do some yoga/pranayam and head back to home.

Some days back, it was just me to the park. Mom had skipped coming due to some reason. I went a bit early that day at 7 in the morning. Apart from me there were four elderly women (in their mid - eighties). And to honestly tell you, I felt very near to them (I have a knack for kids and elder people). As I was walking past them, I heard them recite devotional songs and some God chants. Hearing it felt so good at heart.

I did my usual rounds and then sat at the bench. The group of the elderly women was leaving. I smiled at one of the them as she walked past me. Ten minutes later, I too was done with my yoga and was heading back home. But just then, through the corner of my right eye, I saw that old lady (whom I had smiled at) coming back at the park.

"Kay zhala Aaji" (What happened grandama), I asked her curiously.

"Are beta mazhi *Japamala* rahili bench var" (Dear son, i forgot my chanting necklace on the bench ) came back her reply.

"Tumhi thamba, me gheun yeto" (You please wait, I'll get it to you), I told her.

I went back to the bench and got the *Japmala* for her. As I handed it back to her she smiled at me and we had some random chat. She asked my whereabouts, what I did and else. Then we both left for our homes.

At that moment, I felt a surge of positive energy within me. I felt joyous and so grateful. Even now, as I am penning it down, it makes me happy! I guess after all, life is all about such small gestures and we must gather them as many as we can!

Shrish!
Life Enthusiasm
By: Needs More Lemon
Tags: Inspiration, Positivity, Life

I am a self-proclaimed Life Enthusiast, so I’ve been thinking about how to define that.

Presumably it means different things to different people. We all have our own lives and stories, after all. We have different values, and what is important to me might not make sense to you.

Other than the details, I think we (you, me, and fellow Life Enthusiasts) can uniformly agree that enthusiasm for life is something similar to passion. In fact, it is probably interchangeable with the term, “a passion for life”. A zest for life… I do love the word zest…

So what are you passionate about? What in this life gets you all enthused and zesty when you experience it?

Food is a big one for me. It’s such an easy playground to experiment with. Food comes in a multitude of colors, shapes, sizes, textures, and of course — flavors! Food can provide variety, but it can also provide familiarity (i.e. comfort). It is such a multi-tasker, don’t you think?

But life is so much more than food. I mean, at least a little bit.

Music can transport you to a new place, a happy memory, or a hopeful future. It can present you with sounds, ideas, and rhythms that are new to your brain — and that makes your brain happy!

Art in any form can move you into a creative state that allows you to experience life in a way that is beyond that day-to-day grind that you are so used to.

Identifying new birds, listening to a natural stream of water, smelling wild honeysuckle bushes, laughing with friends (or with yourself!)… there really is so much to be enthusiastic about.

Pay attention; these things are all around you. And I know you have things that enthuse you that I haven’t even thought of yet!

Life is a blast — let yourself have some fun with it.

Cheers to you and yours, xoxo

www.instagram.com/needslemon

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That is EXACTLY the truth. I wish more people got it.
By: A. Nonymous
Tags: Connect, Mental Health, Therapy, Relationships, Positivity

That is EXACTLY the truth. I wish more people got it.

My husband died from glioblastoma almost six years ago. The stupid positivity in that community is rampant. The fact is, NOBODY gets out of THAT alive, not even the ones who get, say, five years instead of two. I’ve heard of maybe three people who’ve made it over ten years. There are over 14,000 people in the facebook support group we were in.

Those of us who’ve been there long enough to lose our loved ones watch sadly as newbies struggle to accept the diagnosis with: “Fight, fight, fight! WE’RE gonna be the ones to BEAT this, because WE THINK POSITIVE!”

Without exception, we watch over the next year as reality bites.

Then there are the nuts insisting CBD oil is a miracle cure, and that scientists have the cure for cancer and are withholding it from us because the medical establishment is making money off chemo and radiation. Bludgeoning us with relentless positivity and attacking anyone who steps in with a dose of reality.

*headdesk*

Worst of all are the people who are statistical outliers, who’ve lived a little longer and are still doing well. Some of those people insist it’s because “I’m always positive!” As if the people who died did it to themselves, because they just couldn’t find a way to think right.

Gee, thanks.

The truth is, my husband was the most positive, happy, sunny guy you could ever meet. I used to call him “Polly-Bob.” (As opposed to Pollyanna.) Is he here? No.

Thanks for writing this. I’m glad it got featured.
Life Can Challenge Through Extraordinary Things
By: Jessica Milliner
Tags: Positivity, Entrepreneurship, Life Lessons, Life

Something in that positive mind can cherish the reaction for an extraordinary cause. Bringing the outcome into pure knowledge. Life will bring those positive moments in an extraordinary manner. It’s more like bringing a catalyst moment to spark it out of its direction. Feeling like an extraordinary moment that can rise up in a pleasant way.

Throughout an extraordinary moment, there’s creativity. Creativity can bring out an imaginary kind. That imaginary form can cherish that ordinary moment into something else. Bringing that extraordinary results into a mindful trust. Putting creativity at its total bust. Feeling like an extraordinary moment will rise upwards.

A common moment, shall take on leadership. That leadership moment can bring out an extraordinary way to step up. Making it more like serving that pure guidance. That pure guidance will empower some leadership.

Life can bring out an ordinary person to perform extraordinary things. Feeling like a person can bring out every opportunity to cherish that extraordinary life style. Acquiring that knowledge into some total senses. More like throwing that total experience beyond an extraordinary moment.

An extraordinary life can cherish out so many things. Making that ordinary moment into something else. There’s that total sense of humor that can balance a lot of things that’s related to an extraordinary lifestyle. Making a person feel like they’d can conquer some extraordinary things in pure spirit.