The opposite of happiness is fear. I know, I know, I too used to think unhappiness was its opposite, but I've thought deeply about why I'm unhappy and I had a breakthrough. I'd been fretting about so many things going wrong. I had a friendship-relationship that was incredibly complicated, in which many bad things had happened and I was afraid to try to salvage it for a variety ...

I've had lots of ups and downs (mostly downs!) recently and inspirewithhope.com has suffered from severe neglect as a result, but I'm sorting myself out and that means you get to benefit from my personal development too. I've been writing some intriguing new articles and re-visiting previous topics too and I'm now making a public commitment to return with new stuff at the start of next month, including more ...

I'm back! It's always difficult returning to a website after a break, probably more so after an unplanned one. Life has been introducing me to new iterations of complexity and I've only recently felt ready to start making sense of things. I didn't want to return without resuming my regular schedule (every other day), but I just can't write that frequently any more. I have too much going on in ...

I've worked for Next on Saturdays for almost four years. I plan to leave at the end of the year. Consequently, completing my MA and leaving Next will signify a big change in my life: The beginning of my entrepreneurship career in earnest! I had been worrying that not having a Saturday job might mean I start slacking off at the weekend. By which I mean that I'd be ...

Doctors used to recommended trips away for recuperation and it still works. Granted, I'm not ill, but I'm already feeling healthier purely from being in a different environment. You could be too, even if you're as broke as I am: It only costs £2 return. As I write this I'm sitting in a coffee bar in Brighton (7 Feb), drinking the most decadent coffee ever: Espresso with vanilla syrup ...

Sincere apologies, but due to a proliferation of stuff and things to do, there's no entry today. Instead, I recommend some timely advice I need to take: Trizoko: How to Reduce Your Workload in 1 Minute, which I'll implement to ensure Friday's entry appears, bright and early! :)

All Things Bright is dedicated to the topic of Personal entrepreneurship, so every entry here is in some way connected to that. What do I mean by personal entrepreneurship? Many things, including the personal and human sides of being an entrepreneur, my experiences with enterprise and social entrepreneurship (which involves seeking to improve the lives of those less fortunate than I am). Today I bring you five links focused ...

On 29th December 2006, I made some important goals for 2006. I've already modified and developed them, which is great because it's important to keep re-evaluating, so I'll be doing this once monthly. My big goal for 2007: Escape with Courage In 2006, I said it was Debt-free by December 2007 (excluding student loan). However, on reflection, this is a negative goal because it focuses on something I don't want, ...

Facing fears If you're struggling to face your fears then you clearly need more courage, just as I do. But how do you get to be courageous? Start doing things a courageous person would do. (For the moral philosophers amongst you, this is the kind of thing Rosalind Hursthouse suggests in On Virtue Ethics). On a related note, I explored fear-based decision-making earlier this year. So, if that's what you're worrying ...

On 28 Jan, I highlighted two challenges to achieving my goals: Time and fear. I tackle the first challenge here, with possible solutions. Making time Stop doing things that waste my time. Optimise and be more efficient with the things I do. I'm being strict about how much television I watch: One hour a week for Desperate Housewives (what can I say? It's my ...

Intentions for All Things Bright, 2007 Images to distinguish particularly noteworthy or unique content Join three blogging networks, especially Mind Petals - the community of young entrepreneurs (seems to be offline at the moment) Publish excerpts from my philosophy of religion essays, with some exegesis as to why what I'm doing is important and relevant to life more generally ...

I'm writing about education, yet again and with good reason. My essay deadlines are creeping closer and closer. This time procrastination will lead to failure (er, again). So, I'm tackling my tendency to procrastinate. You too can "Say No! to Procrastino." Studying & Entrepreneurship My two main areas of focus at the moment: Studying and Entrepreneurship. Each has its challenges, for example, I'm working on breaking down the massive goal of 'doing ...

I'm still not getting enough sleep. Interestingly, I was listening to another Pavlina podcast in which Erin, I think, asks questions like: Do you hate going to bed because you love doing what you do? Do you leap out of bed because you can't wait to start your day? For me, it's definitely yes to the former, but it's no to the latter because I'm just too shattered. I'm changing ...

Apparently, according to public opinion, today is the worst day of the year (reports vary as to the specific date, but the consensus is it's roughly now; plus, it's Monday today) - due to a mix of bad weather, the likelihood of having broken one's resolutions by now etc. But I'm actually pretty cheerful because I've been focusing on my goals. If you've not been as successful as you'd ...

Lots of people ask me how to be happy. Some directly, for example, many All Things Bright readers. Some indirectly, for example, my friends & co-workers ask me how it is I'm always happy. Incidentally, I'm not always happy; I am human after all. :) As far as I can recall, I first came to the belief that it's possible to make oneself happy when I read that in ...