Salim Juma Salim

Too often we make our happiness dependent on goals, or reaching specific milestones. We tell ourselves we’ll be happy once we have that dream house, a great job, loose weight, find a partner etc But we can’t wait to be happy. Because if we don’t allow ourselves to be happy now, the danger is we might never be. We’ll just keep pushing the goal posts along. And meanwhile, the time will pass without us ever appreciating it. You might find that dream house, but then it needs to be renovated and decorated. So now you’re going to need a better job with a higher salary, to enable you to decorate your dream home in order to be completely happy …(I think you get the idea.) The time is now. Give yourself permission to be happy today. Find pleasure in the simple and beautiful things every day. Celebrate the little victories all along the way. Enjoy the journey – make it a happy one. In the words of Aristotle: “Happiness depends on ourselves."

I didn’t understand how other people could be mean, rude, or offensive toward strangers or friends. I took it personally when people affronted me or were curt with me, believing they were truly out to get me for something I’d done. Before all this, i began to cry a lot and retreat into myself rather than being social and opening up, which only furthered the problem. I felt alone, miserable, and, try as I might, I could not regain that feeling of the world being beautiful. I felt like something had crawled into my brain and flipped all the positive switches off and the negative ones on. I felt hopeless, like it was more of a disease than a feeling. When I became depressed, though, my temper shortened and I felt far more irritable. I had little patience for anything, and I lived in a constant state of anxiety about social interactions. Whenever I engaged in conversation with someone else, I assumed they found me boring, annoying, or self-obsessed, and it sent me even further into my sadn...