Over the years, I have tried to manage my work and time effectively to stay organized. Much of my work involves reviewing Laughter Yoga photos and videos, which has resulted in a vast collection of images that need regular sorting.

A journalist friend once gave me a CD containing 350 photographs and asked me to select the best ones. I began carefully deleting the unwanted images. While it felt satisfying to remove what was unnecessary, I soon realized that after 30 minutes, I had only deleted about 50 photos. The process felt endless and was becoming stressful.

Then a simple idea struck me—why not reverse the process? Instead of focusing on what to delete, I would quickly select what I wanted to keep. I went through the remaining 300 photos in just 15 minutes, saving only the best ones. It was efficient, energizing, and far more productive.

This experience made me reflect on life. We often spend too much time trying to eliminate negativity—problems, weaknesses, and faults. While it may feel productive, it drains our time and energy, leaving little space to appreciate the positive aspects of life.

Positive psychology, as emphasized by Martin Seligman in Authentic Happiness, teaches us that instead of focusing on fixing what is wrong, we should invest more time in strengthening what is right.

I experienced this personally in the early days of Laughter Clubs. I often criticized laughter exercises and teaching styles, which led to resistance and unhappiness among leaders. Eventually, I realized that this approach was ineffective—just like deleting photos one by one.

So I changed my perspective. I began to focus on what was good in each session and appreciated it openly. The transformation was immediate. People felt valued, and the entire atmosphere became more joyful—including myself.

This became my guiding principle in life. Whenever I notice a negative emotion like jealousy, I consciously replace it with appreciation. The moment appreciation grows, jealousy fades away.

Focusing on the negative consumes time and energy without meaningful results. Cultivating the positive, on the other hand, is empowering, time-saving, and uplifting.

An ancient Indian wisdom beautifully summarizes this truth:
“You cannot remove darkness; you can only bring light.”