How to be happy based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Have you ever experienced being in a bad mood but you don't even know what irked you off in the first place? Maybe, it's your body's way of telling you that it's uncomfortable with something and you don't even realize it. Below are some ways you can make sure that you are always at ease and stress free. I'm not an expert on anything, what I'm about to say are just the obvious things that we often forget or choose not to do.

If in case you haven't experienced the above scenario, these tips will still help you create your perfect comfort zone so that even when something stresses you, you still have a place you can go to release all the negativity from your mind and body.

1. Physiological

I cannot say that we are not going to survive if we cannot meet all our physiological needs. There are people who are in the streets but not all of them stay homeless forever. Sometimes, people survive with the help of others and with their faith. Sometimes, people can beat the odds simply because of their belief in God. I'm just going to explain how worldly things can also make us joyful in a good way.

• First is food. One way for women to prevent mood swings is by changing their diet but that doesn't mean that eating healthy can only benefit girls. If you're always tired, always slouching and always grumpy, one of the things you may want to look at is the food that you're eating. People  like me are often hesitant to eat healthy because we believe that our budget cannot afford the said lifestyle but it's actually way easier than I thought it would be. First thing that you can do is to slowly empty out your fridge. Consume all the bad food in it. That way you won't be able to be enticed into eating junk foods again. Next, try filling it with healthy food BUT.. if you're not used to eating vegetables or if you can't afford to buy fresh fruits then you can just start small and try to avoid anything with preservatives or at least MSG. I personally started my lifestyle by not eating pork and by thinking that it's gross. I did that because of my religious belief at that time. Once I've taught myself and my tongue that pork tastes awful, I was then able to commit. Since I was able to commit to one thing, I found it easier to try more changes in my diet. You can try removing one small thing in your diet first before introducing yourself to healthy food. You can try avoiding sodas first. Just do whatever floats your boat. Not only will it benefit your body, it will also give you a sense of pride for being disciplined. Also, you don't have to worry about your budget like I did because once you start buying fruits and veggies, you'll definitely discover new places where you buy them cheaper. The hardest part is just the start.
• Second is your home.You don't have to be rich to have a comfortable. Sometimes, you just have to know what you need the most. First, let there be light. Your home will look clearer if all rooms are well-lit. If you're just about to buy or build your house, make sure that Mr.Sun will be able to take a peek at every room of it. It will not only help your eyes, it will also make your room seem more fresh and one with nature. If the sunlight that is supposed to hit your apartment is being blocked by the adjacent building then you can just add more light bulbs and if that is the case, you may want to make sure that your air conditioning or ventilation is good because TBH, for me, that's the only thing that will prevent me from moving out. I hate gloomy places. Besides, who doesn't like Vitamin D? You don't have to be constantly out to be soaked in the said vitamin, being in  a well sunlit room is also helpful. You don't necessarily need a big home. Other things you may want are a comfy bed and sofa, an organized wardrobe, a bathroom that is wide enough to fit your body, towel and toiletries and an adequate place to exercise from time to time if you're lazy.

2.  Safety and security

The first thing that will make you feel secure is is a stable job. If you're not happy with what you're doing, just try to save some money while trying to figure out what it is that you really want. It's not only about being financially stable but it's also about finding what it is that you are most passionate about. Even if you are doing it for your family, don't loose yourself on a toxic job. Be a role model and show your family how to achieve a dream.

3. Love and Belonging

No matter how angry you are with a friend or a family, if you can't forgive them now then pray for your heart to be healed so you can forgive them in the future. Never ever isolate yourself from the world. Sometimes, it feels like it is our only option or it is the easiest thing to do. Try to trust somebody and always let out what you feel.

4 & 5. Self-esteem and self-actualization

If you have food on your table, a roof above your head, clothes to wear and once you've found your passion and the people that are always there to support you then these two will just come easily. As I've said a while ago, the only hard part is the start. You may stumble in the middle but just be brave and start over.

Thanks for reading!

Here's a photo of the author with her son just because. :)

Day in the life of a young mom with a toddler

I usually wake up around 6AM when I hear that my husband's already up. When you're a parent even the smallest of movements will wake you. Even more so when you're sharing your bed with your child. I normally don't get up for another minute or so. I like to lay in my bed and just close my eyes for a little while longer. It's really hard to stay awake early in the morning when you know that you don't have to go anywhere. I just like to accompany my husband during breakfast so we can have a little more bonding time because our evenings together are shared with our son.

Our chores are always divided. If he is going to cook then I'm going to be the one to wash the dishes we used the night before and vice versa. My husband also likes to take a hot shower in the morning and drink hot coffee. He always asks me if I want a cup of coffee too and I always say yes just to accompany him because I'm not really that into caffeinated drinks. We prepare my husband's packed lunch and also mine and my son's lunch in the morning. If our laundry basket's full, I will start washing our clothes in the morning. Time is never enough so I usually stop and just continue once my husband gets home from work.

My husband leaves the house at 7AM and my son wakes up at 9AM. Whatever time I have left for myself, I consume by tidying things a little, checking my social media accounts and watching YouTube videos. I don't like to tire myself out earlier in the day because if I do then I won't have the energy to be patient with my very active toddler.

We try to do everything only when my husband's at home because once my son awakens, I won't really be able to do anything other than play with him and do the things he'll request of me. My son and I don't really have a definite routine because it always depends on his mood. He doesn't normally say that he's hungry so I always ask him if he wants to eat already. It's the same with taking a bath. What I like to do is I show him toys that he can play with in the bathroom. If he's in the mood to play with them, he will tell me "Mommy, let's take a bath" and if he's not, I will just wait for my husband to get home and let his daddy be the one to persuade him.

My son and I always take a bath together because he doesn't like me getting out of his sight even for just a minute and he wants me to look after him whenever he's taking a nap so there really isn't a chance for me to take a shower alone. It may sound like he's clingy but I am letting him be like that because I know that once he starts going to school, he may not want to be with me all the time anymore and he may just want to play with other kids so I'm just cherishing all the time that we have together right now.

He is very excited to play with others though. He's very happy whenever we visit his cousins from both sides of our family but he doesn't really want to be away from us and he always tells me that he prefers to live with us than to be away from us and live with his cousins. Though I do believe and hope that things will change once he goes to school because I really want him to be socially active and independent.

One thing that I always try to do everyday is to hug my son and talk to him for five minutes or so just to let him know that we do love him and just to find out what's he's thinking about at the moment. I also always try to blog in the morning too.

When it comes to my child's diet, we always have to have fruits and I also like to give him cereals with no milk as snacks. He still like to drink milk before taking a nap in the afternoon and going to sleep at night. He eats rice with veggies. He eats all kinds of veggies but his favorites are potatoes, bottle gourds, sponge gourds and squashes. For fruits, he likes watermelons, bananas, apples, grapes, cantaloupes and papayas. As I've said before he doesn't like meat but he does eat hotdogs.

My son and I spend our day together by watching nursery rhymes in YouTube, play with his Lego collection, watch Dora the Explorer in our TV and play with his toy guns and pretend that we're in a real life CounterStrike game. He has a lot of toys but he does have his favorites. Our day doesn't sound exciting because it really isn't. LOL! Hopefully, things will be more interesting once we move which is already a concrete plan by the way. When we're really bored which happens a lot then we like to go to the mall in the evening, play in the arcade, eat pizza or donuts and buy groceries if we need to.

I usually use the toilet in the morning and in the evening. If I have to go in the middle of the day, I always ask my son if he would like to accompany me and if he wouldn't then I will just wait for him to take a nap and go real quick.

While he's taking his nap, I either sleep too, do a little cleaning again or just relax and watch more YouTube videos.