some points for happy life

EIGHT CLUES TO  HAPPINESSBy- KHUSHWANT SINGH Having lived a  reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should strive  for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I  put forward for the readers' appraisal. 1. First and foremost is  GOOD  HEALTH. If you do not enjoy  good health you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will  deduct from your happiness.   2.  Second, A HEALTHY BANK  BALANCE. It need not run into  crores but should be enough to provide for creature comforts and  something to spare for recreation, like eating out, going to the  pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the hills or by the sea.  Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on credit or  borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own  eyes.   3. Third, A HOME OF YOUR  OWN. Rented premises can  never give you the snug feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that  a home provides: if it has a garden space, all the better. Plant your  own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, cultivate a sense of  kinship with them.   4. Fourth, AN UNDERSTANDING  COMPANION, be it your spouse or  a friend. If there are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of  your peace of mind. It is better to be divorced than to bicker all  the time.    5. Fifth, LACK OF ENVY towards  those who have done better than you in life; risen higher, made more  money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid comparing  yourself with others.   6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER  PEOPLE to descend on you for  gup-shup. By the time you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and  poisoned by their gossip-mongering.    7. Seventh,  CULTIVATE  SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a  sense of fulfilment, such as gardening, reading, writing, painting,  playing or listening to music. Going to clubs or parties to get free  drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal waste of  time.   8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15  minutes to  INTROSPECTION. In the morning, 10  minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in listing  things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still  the mind again, and ten to go over what you had undertaken to  do.   RICHNESS is not Earning More, Spending More Or Saving More, but..."RICHNESS IS WHEN YOU  NEED NO MORE."