By Matshona Dhliwayo | Freelance Contributor, Canada –
1. Be Positive: The mind, heart, soul, and body all work at best levels when you are positive. To be happier and healthier, one must stay optimistic.
2. Exercise: Health is wealth, so one who is unhealthy is poor. If you have all the money in the world but no good health, you are among the poorest in the world. To enjoy your happiest life, you must be whole, and for that, you must be healthy.
3. Don’t try to please everyone: If you are good, people will criticize you; and if you are bad, people will criticize you too. Thus, don’t waste your life trying to please everyone. Only please those who matter, and you will be happier in life.
4. Find a job using the skills you enjoy. You work a lot, so you might as well do work you like. The more you love your work, the more you will enjoy your life.
5. Surround yourself with happy people. If a bird wants to fly higher, it will seek the company of eagles instead of turkeys. Likewise, if you want to be happier, surround yourself with people who are as happy as, if not happier than, you.
6. Turn lemons into lemonade. Life will bring challenges, especially in your quest for success. So, learn to turn challenges into opportunities and problems into solutions. Turn risks into rewards. Use the arrows enemies throw at you for firewood.
7. Be grateful: If you have much, be generous; if you have little, be grateful.
One who is ungrateful for little deserves nothing. One who is grateful for little deserves much. One who is grateful for much deserves all.
8. Forgive yourself, then forgive others. Acquaintances will wrong you. Friends will upset you. Family will offend you. Everyone can err against you. Don’t hold onto grudges; it’s too much weight for anyone who wants to receive blessings. Let go of the past, embrace the present, and prepare for the future.
9. Give Back: If you earn little, give little. If you earn a lot, give a lot. But even if you earn nothing, try to give something. It is not what you hold onto that makes you great, but what you give.
10. Enjoy life’s journey: Cherish every minute. Treasure every hour. Make each day count. In life, it is not the destination that counts, but the journey. Don’t waste days, for they become weeks. Don’t waste weeks, for they become months. Don’t waste months, for they become years. And, don’t waste years, for they become a lifetime.
This article, previously published on Heartmenders Magazine website, has been updated and republished with an enhanced new title.
Matshona Dhliwayo is a Canadian entrepreneur and author. His books are: The Art of Winning, The Little Book of Inspiration, 100 Lessons Every Great Man Wants You to Know, Dinner with King Solomon, and Lalibela’s Wise Man. He writes for The African Leadership Magazine, The CEO Magazine, Health Magazine, The African Union, and other top magazines. He sent this article to Heartmenders Magazine for publication.
This article was first published in 2017 in Heartmenders Magazine’s blog. They updated and republished the article with a new title in May 2026.
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