The Happiness Manual

Self Improvement by Laurence D. Mason

Archive for the 'Off Beat' Category

Why I Live My Life One Hour Ahead

As much as I like to live in the moment, there are always times when I wish I had just half an hour or an hour more. I’m sure lots of people will empathise with this concept.   Everyone looks forward to the clocks going back one hour in the winter because of the extra [...]

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Staying up Late vs Getting Up Early

Frequently there are aspects of my life, events within it, and pressing issues, that can be resolved easily with a burst of speed. That is, after all, how the cheetah catches the antelope. Spaced learning, musical pieces and projects always benefit from consistent, and regular input in terms of time and effort. It is without [...]

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How Can I Get More People Involved in Self Improvement?

Set the scene: you are in year 9 (or 9th grade as our friends over the pond say). If you are being taught about your duty as a citizen, and the morals of greater or lesser evils, you can be forgiven for being less than interested. Year nine, I mean. You’ve barely started puberty, and [...]

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How to Fake Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm can only come from within. To those who don’t have it, mysterious and alien seems the concept. To those who manifest and harness it, life isn’t worth living unless it permeates through your existence.   How can you manifest enthusiasm? Enthusiasm comes from happiness, which feeds off itself. To be enthusiastic about a hobby, [...]

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6 Ways to Avoid Ruining a Gap Year

Your gap year is a precious time – largely free of academic and social commitments. To this end you must make the most of it. The following advice is what I wish I had known before starting out, and what I had to learn the hard way. Not everything will go as you would like [...]

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8 Reasons For a Gap Year – Why You’ll Regret Not Having One

For students planning for entry into higher education, there’s the dilemma of whether or not to take a year out. Do you go straight to uni to find graduate level employment sooner? Or do you get a job or work experience now? Maybe you could undertake a grand adventure backpacking around rural South America, volunteering [...]

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