20 Steps to Happiness

Some people close to me are experiencing some bad times, that made me think what it is that makes us happy.
Happiness means different things for different people and for you find your own happiness, I hope these following guidelines is some help on the way.

1.) Don’t confuse what you desires for what you want!
Desire is nothing we can control and don’t have anything to do with our real capacities. When we intervene and apply our own wishes to conceive a goal is when we want something for real. The only way to make our dreams come true is to fight for them!

2.) Talk to at least 7 persons every day!
It really helps, you feel happier with talking to people, whether it is you family, your friends or just strangers on the street. To feel that you belong to a group is essential to confirm our identity and strengthens us emotionally.

3.) Take control of your life!
Due to several of studies you feel more happy if you are successful. Take control of you life and conceive what you want, make small goals and celebrate when succeeding them.

4.) Be careful of living in the future!
Almost 40% of us spend our life thinking on what to next, working more to day to have more time tomorrow or borrowing money to buy a lot of things that you never have time to use. Our postponing fail our capacity to be happy..

5.) Find time to reflect!
We are living in a society with a lot of stress, and there is not time for the most important. Epicuro says the way to happiness is having enough money to cover the most basics needs, liberty, friends and the capacity to reflect.

6.) Do new things!
Don’t let routine take over you life. There are still a lot of people to get to know, books to read and places to see. Only the things we don’t know can satisfy us by surprise.

7.) Eat happy!
Some food help our brain to spread endorphins, the hormones that makes us happier. Chocolate, nuts and fish are examples of food to help your mood and of course eating healthy makes you body feel better and so one you brain. Try not to eat to much of salt, sugar and caffeine

8.) Don’t be fooled!
The society and publicity makes our build up a prototype how to get happy, but it is not real. Find your own way to happiness!

9.) Tomorrow you will feel better!
It is proven that when we get older we can better handle our feelings and feel more positive feelings.

10) If you want to be rich, be happy!
Being rich does not make you happy but if you are happy it is more easy to get rich. Yes it’s true, a survey made of almost 300 thousand people show that happy persons fulfill their goals easier.

11) Have fun like a child!
Do you remember how much you liked playing as a child? Your enthusiasm and your capacity to surprise yourself? This child are still inside of you, find her/him! I use to try keeping my inner child alive, jumping in the rain puddles, using the swings on the playground or just turning yourself around till you fall.. laughing. It is really fun!

12) Don't be afraid!
The psychiatrist Kubler-Ross that work with the terminal sick has discovered that what we most regret dying: is not have dared to do more things or to reconcile with someone.

13) Stop criticize yourself!
Bad self esteem can make you think negative thoughts. Try to change you attitude, look for help if you can not do it on your own and start living to your real potential.

14) More is not better!
The way to happiness is not through acquisition. I use to think that to get more things, just makes you more miserable. This because you worry about losing them or you buy and buy things, but can never fill that woid. “The things you own will start owning you”

15) Your make your future!
Studies say that only 25% of our capacity to optimism originate from our genes. Taking life with optimism, depends on what you choose!

16) Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!
It is an error to focus all your energy in one person, activity or project. Distribute your ways to happiness to be able to respond to downtimes better.

17) Take pleasure of sex!
Scientist say that having sex at least 3 times a week protects our inmunesystem, makes our younger and longer our life.

18) Practice your brain!
Start excercising your brain. A trained brain leads to a better memory and focus, helps your creativity and to think faster.

19) Adapt to the changes!
Life always changes and our capacity to adapt to them determents our satisfaction and happiness.

20) Move yourself and go outside!
Finally, don’t forget the all known facts that excercise and fresh air makes you feel better. The fysical excerise makes you stronger so you can handle obstacles easier and it also releases ”happy hormones” in you body. Choose an excerise that you like doing, don’t just asign yourself to a gym that you never go to. I combine fysical excercise with emotional exalteration and expression, I just love it. Dancing is my passion, what is yours?

”25 Cosas que puedes hacer para ser feliz” Magazine ”Clara” No 175 April 2007

We all learn about life during the years, I am now turning 24 tomorrow and right now I find a lot happiness from just taking in the moments in life. Trying not to stress, slowly breathing in the fresh air on your way to work.. Taking a break to watch the view the montains, the sky, the ocean or what ever it may be. And as stated above it is important to take care of the people around you and remember that it is the small things in live that makes it worth living.

Tonight Im celebrating my birthday that is tomorrow. I tell you all about it some other day.

Love to all and a lot of happiness!!

New clothes and bares, a Fashion show

and an ear infection..

Last week I went out shopping, I really had the yearning to go out shopping again. You really feel glamorous going around trying on some expensive clothes and then go and buy some similar in H&M or Zara..

Last weekend on Friday I went out with some Erasmus students, first to the birthday party of Marion from France and then we checked out the parties of Deusto, but the concerts wasn’t really our type of music.. (Metal) So we went on to a discothèque in Desuto that I never been to before and it was ok, even though I was really tired from the long week, with school and work.

On Saturday I went out for awhile with Kata and Paula, we took a drink in a bar with oriental design and then went to a bar with reggae and hip-hop music accompanied with live drums. I really liked it, I had just given up hope for a place to go out with that type of music, so I was really surprised. I will definitely go out in that area again..

During this week I haven’t been feeling that well, I have been really tired and having pain in one of my ears. Yesterday I went to the doctor and she gave me some eardrops and some other medicine to stop the irritation, so I hope I will be well again soon.

This Tuesday I was invited at my work to go and see a fashion show here in Getxho a exclusive suburban to Bilbao, where the designer I work for would show some of her clothes among some other designers from Basque country. I went with Kata and it took place in the Marin club that was quite exclusive and the clothes were really beautiful. Fun doing something different!

Love/Jen

Birthday, cocktails and the park

Crossing the moving bridge "Puente Colgante" from Las Arenas to Portugalete. Beautifull!!

www.puente-colgante.com THE GREATEST BISCAY TRANSPORTER BRIDGE

Today is my Mothers Birthday. Happy birthday mom!!! Hope you have had a really good day eating some really good food and enjoying the day!

I am so busy during the week with my internship and my studies as you all know, and on top of that I am trying to apply for summer jobs right now, which takes a lot of time, so I haven’t got time to write sooner but here comes a little update..

Bread and water & "Tortilla de Patatas", that I've started to cook every sunday

Last weekend Katriñe and I went out in Portugalete a suburb to Bilbao. It was the first time for me there and I liked it. There were a lot f bares and we found a place that I haven’t found in Bilbao, a discothèque with a terraces with chairs, good music and a bit posh, just my stile!!

My University-EHU/UPV

This weekend I went with Katriñe and Mael to drink some Cocktails at Kikara, but this time I didn’t like it that much. They don’t have so many cocktails to choose and they are not that good either. And first we weren’t allowed to sit inside but only in the bar and finally the music wasn’t that good this time, first very loud and then very slow.. so we got sleepy. Anyhow later they went home, probably because the music made them sleepy.. but I went on to meet my friend Ivan and his friends, and we went out in Mazarredo trying some new clubs..

The metro of Sarriko and a Bridge just oustside my apartment

On Sunday I was very tired and didn’t do much, but the weather right now is really good sunny and 23 degrees. So at least I went for a little stroll around the neighborhood and the park close to my home just beside the University. Se the pictures!

The park, the sun and people reading books!!

Last, last weekend..

Nehat was here the two weeks ago, I have been so busy to write about it. It was really nice but a bit short. Nehat came on Thursday night and went back on Monday afternoon. We spent a lot of time at home..

But managed to go shopping and having dinner at a nice restaurant. It was Carnival in Bilbao but unfortunately it rained, which made us not want to put on a costume and go out, but we saw a lot of funny costumes on the way home! Why don’t we have carnival in Sweden?? It would have been so fun.. but of course the weather is a bit different in Sweden in February than in Spain or Brazil.

And yes, I almost forgot Athletico Bilbao – Getafe was playing and we thought about going to the game, but we ended up watching it in a bar just outside the stadium drinking beers and later “ir de pinxhos”.

Love/Jen

Madrid, Coctailes, flamenco and Prado

"Going to the hairdresser, having coffee at Starbuck, tapas in the bars, cocktails at the hottest clubs, dancing at the posh discothèques or Flamenco at a typical Spanish Tablao. Meeting the father of Ingrid and her half siblings, drinking champagne. Eating brunch at an oriental restaurant with really tasty food and relaxing in their large couches. " my time in Madrid

Thursday – Arriving late at the house of Ingrid, we only had time to eat some pasta and watch a movie; Mar adentro, with the flat mate of Ingrid, Raul.

Friday – Seeing the centre of the city, going to the hairdresser, cutting my hair a bit and making it a bit lighter and the hairdresser dried the hair making it strait, perfect for the party nights that was coming a head. After shopping a bit we went home to rest, eat and make us ready for the night. When we went to a posh club called the Glassbar where we had some expensive cocktails. Then we went on to a beautiful discothèque Palacio decorated like a palace dancing til morning, it’s incredible how fast the night can past way..

Saturday – Sunday Ingrid’s French father, her half-brother and sister and their mother, all with curly hair, came to visit on their way from Portugal where they bought a small hotel. We first had some coffee at a bar then went home to Ingrid to relax a bit and then having some champagne and going out to eat together. After eating Ingrid and I took a taxi to a Tablao, a flamenco bar, where we danced flamenco/sevillana and drank the night away. It is incredible how fun it is dancing flamenco, I have to learn it!!!

Sunday – After having some croissants in bed, we went to eat brunch at a oriental restaurant, Areia Chillout, in the gay district Chueca. The meal was fantastic and you got a cocktail with it.. he he. There we met up with Ingrids friend from Germany, a really nice girl, that ate with us. The place was great with big cozy sofas with a lot of cushions and candles.
Afterwards we first tried to go to the museum Reina Sofía, but it was closed so we went to Prado, which is free on Sundays. There we saw the exposition of Tintoretto, religious old paintings, but good. And they also had some very famous paintings of Velasquez and Goya that I liked. Afterwards we had a coffee at Starbucks and some beers and tapas at a bar before going home, making it a early night.

Monday – While Ingrid was at the university in the morning I walked around in the city, looking around. And at the afternoon we met up, and went from bar to bar eating tapas and drinking some wine, before we ended up in a fancy restaurant a la feng shui/modern minimalist, called Pandelujo, to drink cocktails ones again. Coming home and getting to bed at 2 am wile the next morning a had to wake up at 5 am to take the taxi, the metro and then the bus to go to the airport, because it always takes a lot of time when you want to go somewhere in Madrid.

Seeing the big and exciting city of Madrid that is more Spanish with people very open but also a big city with all the things that comes with it, like everything for everyone but also contamination and traffic jams, I couldn’t but feel a little relived arriving back to the land of the green mountains..

Madrid from the air

Basque Country from the air