#KTHNXBYE

Most of the people who know me and are still reading this blog are going to end this article with an incredulous expression. And I am 80% sure they would be of the opinion that I am not an authority on the subject since I seem to be living my life in contrast of what I am stating here.

Well, whatever, nevermind, says the dead blonde guy

So be it.

Okay for starters, I am here to write about how to live a happy (not necessarily euphoric but hey, anything is better than depression, right?), satisfied life, mainly because a friend asked me to.

DON'T DO MORE FOR PEOPLE THAN THEY DO FOR YOU:

One of the major problems people face is that they put too much effort to please others that in doing so they forget about what makes them happy. For me, writing and well, gossiping makes me happy. See, I am truthful about what I want. I am not saying that stop doing anything for other people but to be honest, how many things you would do that are going to be reciprocated? Less than 10% on average. And that my dear friend is going to make you miserable. Being Gandhi and charitable with your affection is not the way to live.

As my friend said once upon a time,“Achi bnna chordo.”

Gauge the people around you for their capacity for love and give them their share accordingly. If you give a bit too much to one/two of them, you would run out of some for yourself. Save yourself before others.

DON’T READ TOO MUCH INTO WORDS:

People have a habit of talking too much, too fast; myself included. I say things I don’t mean all the time. And if tomorrow someone comes up to me and says that you said that you “wanted” to go to beach on Sunday and I was there waiting for you and you didn't show up, would I take the heat? No way in hell.

Same goes for people we interact with. If they say something with conviction at this moment, they might not mean it the next. So stop making your plans based on what people say. And stop believing every word people utter. People lie but most importantly, people are careless with their words and the effect they have on others. So the next time when you feel that this conversation that I am having means more than it actually does, cross check. Don’t make a fool out of yourself.

SELF RESPECT ALWAYS COMES FIRST:

So what if you have a commitment, be it with your job or with a person, nothing is more important than you. REPEAT: YOU!!

Bending your rules, your morals and sometimes your joy for anybody is never justified. It absolutely doesn’t mean that you should be rigid and well, an orthodox. But when you clearly know that you are on the right side of the argument and still you have apologized to deaf-ears, never go back to apologize again. I cannot emphasize enough on this. The reason is simple, you have to live with yourself forever. Not with the person you are apologizing to. In the end you have to face yourself. And let me tell you, when you bend yourself for others, your self-respect is lost and your being is not a pretty sight. You feel ashamed of yourself.

I know most of us have been in this situation and some of us haven’t felt the shame as yet, but believe me, it will come. And it will drown you until you find the will to resurface.

Prevention is better than the cure.

DO EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF:

You have got to stop doing things just because “everyone else was doing it”. I know it seems like the kind of the thing Kate Stratford would say in 10 Thing I Hate About You. But chick flicks are sometimes very deep in human understanding.

If you have to do something, find a reason within your heart to do it. No matter who says that it is going to be fun and it is something you should do. Do not do it unless your heart is contented with it. Stop listening to others and being a push over, take control of your life. It’s not that difficult.

Because when you actually end up doing the task on someone else’s insistence and end up having a lousy time just like you anticipated, no one is going to own up to it and your time won’t come back.

FIND A HOBBY TO MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY:

You have a problem with being alone? Join a club.

Ignorance issues? Best solution is to buy a camera and nobody will ignore you. Everybody loves a photographer. But this solution is highly not-recommended for people who like to get their pictures taken.

If you like to read, read the kind of books that have a happy ending. Switch to romance novels. Or better yet, kid fiction.

Keep yourself occupied all the time. Because an empty mind is the best playground for Devil to play in. Don’t let your leisure stand in the way of your pleasure.

My therapy is WordSearches. Best app ever!! Takes my mind off about anything.

I hope my rambling and soon-to-be-labeled-negative advice was helpful.

And to my friend whom I mentioned earlier, “Stay happy, kakay. Gandi shakal sohni nai lagdi tenu”