You Can be Happy.Jyothi Fong

　　Earlier this year, I was enrolled in a program developed by Google called Search Inside Yourself (SIY) that teaches skills around mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and resilience. We practiced many things- one being the simplicity of active listening to what our partner had to say, without interruption and judgement. The practice was about acknowledging our partner, and then regurgitating what we heard them say. Some cried because it's so rare simply to experience another person so fully and completely present.

　　That's because today, we're mostly trying to get out of the moment. Instead of simply enjoying our meal, we take a photo of it. Or if we ever have a quiet evening at home, our minds race through lists of things that need doing. We feel an urgent need to stay on top of that information, reading every email and seeing real-time updates from our friends' lives on social media.

　　Choose wisely the things that you need to focus on, and build discipline around working on the things that are important in your life such as happiness. Prioritise what is most important to you and ignore things you cannot control. Stop your mind from endless negative thoughts when you notice they creep in and replace your mind with encouraging thoughts. Turn off your phone when it's sleeping time. Unfriend toxic people who bring unnecessary drama to your life. Embrace life at your own pace, rather than following the world's events second by second. Block out the endless inputs of the world and embrace quieting the mind to find stillness.