1. 10
Habits
By Confucius
The Simplicity Of Life

2. "Men's natures
are alike; it is
their habits that
separate them."

3. About 2500 years ago there lived a man called
Confucius. He was Chinese philosopher and thinker and
he has had a big influence on life and thought systems
in countries like China, Korea and Japan for a long, long
time. His teachings became the system of philosophy
called Confucianism. Today I'd like to share a few of
my favorite happiness tips from Confucius.

4. Habit # 1 : What goes around, comes around.
A very simple rule for how life often works. The Law of Reciprocity is strong in people. How you treat
others, they are likely to treat you. So be honest and think about what you do to others and what
they are doing to you. And think about how you can change and improve what you do to them.

5. "What you do not want done to
yourself, do not do to others."

6. Habit # 2 : You have to do to understand.
This is a key piece of advice. It's easy to confuse what you read in a book or see happen to someone
else as having an idea of how it is to do or experience such a thing for yourself. Sometimes it gives
you a good idea of what it is about. Other times it's quite different than you thought it would be. The
key to really understanding what something is about is to do it yourself.

7. I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.

8. Habit # 3 : Shoot for something
The most important thing is to start and to do. You may fail, you may stumble. And that's
OK. You may not wind up exactly where you wanted to go. And that's OK too. But if you
don't try then nothing will ever get started. You'll probably just spend days, months and
years sitting around waiting for something to happen.

9. "If you shoot for the stars and
hit the moon, it's OK. But you've
got to shoot for something. A lot
of people don't even shoot."

10. Habit # 4 : Focus on what you want.
Changing what you think about most of the time can change the world around you radically.
Things you never noticed before come into focus. If you replace negative thoughts with positive
thoughts then you will probably start to take more positive action in your world and so your world
tends to become a better world. And so a positive, upward spiral of thought and action can grow.

11. "The more man meditates upon
good thoughts, the better will be
his world and the world at large."

12. Habit # 5 : Let go of the past.
Now, just saying that you should drop negative stuff that happened to you in the past is easy. Doing it
isn't always that easy. These memories have a tendency to want to cling to you. Or jump out at you
once again even though you thought you had moved past them. But with time, they can become
less and less frequent visitors. Until one day, you may even have forgotten about them altogether.

13. "Things that are done, it is needless
to speak about...things that are
past, it is needless to blame."

14. Habit # 6 : You are here.
You are right here right now. Most of the moments you spend thinking and feeling about the past
or future is simply you being stuck in an unnecessary habit and it is a distraction from what is here
in front of you. So return to where you are right now by focusing on your breathing for a minute or
two. Or by focusing on what is in front of you and around you right now. Then be where you are.

15. "And remember, no matter
where you go, there you are."

16. Habit # 7 : Delay the impulse and avoid the consequences.
No matter if you train your mind, you are still human and in the heat of the moment it's easy to
take less helpful path. In those moments it's good to look into the future. It is easy to get lost in
the anger and act based upon that. But is it worth it? And what may happen if you do? When
anger rises, take 10 breaths and think about that.

17. "When anger rises, think
of the consequences."

18. Habit # 8 : Examine yourself
Our primary work lies within ourselves: to work on ourselves and improve will automatically take
care of the outside world if we use our abilities then. "When we see men of a contrary character, we
should turn inwards and examine ourselves." Success and happiness can only be found by working
on ourselves. It also entails the spiritual message to look inside and to discover ourselves fully.

19. "If you look into your own heart, and you
find nothing wrong there, what is there
to worry about? What is there to fear?"

20. Habit # 9 : Look at things as they are
Here we have to look at things as they are. Just like a newborn child would look at things. Then
we are able to really see again, without instant labeling of what we see and therefore only
really seeing our label. If we become able to do this – just for a second without judgment, we
can see that everything in nature is as it should be. And in this natural perfection lies beauty.

21. "Everything has beauty, but
not everyone sees it."

22. Habit # 10 : Recognize the simplicity of life.
The mind loves to think. Don't get lost in details and unimportant things. Realize what is most
important in your life and discard what you don't need. Then spend more time and energy
on the important things in your life. And stop thinking so much and instead take action to
gain a better understanding of life and of yourself.

23. "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

24. Many of them are universal and timeless in their beautiful and simple truth and they are as
valid today as on the day they left Confucius’ mouth. Now It is only what you do. It is only
the behaviors that you engage in. It is only the habits and actions you choose to undertake.
And out of your actions come all the elements of your life. Live your life simply my friends!!!

25. "He who learns but
does not think, is
lost. He who thinks
but does not learn is
in great danger."
Thank You Very Much
Sompong Yusoontorn