“Life is like a box of chocolates, you will never know what you’re gonna get.”

21 years have passed since the first time most of us heard these famous lines. “Forrest Gump” is one of the most quoted movies of all time. The mixture of comedy, romance, and drama that revolves around the inspiring story of a man named Forrest Gump, is not that easy to forget. His wonderful story reminds us that we should strive to be all we want to be – just don’t give up.

Like a box of chocolates, life is full of surprises.

Sometimes, what you pick from the box is the treat you have been wishing for – like a fudgy brownie or a chocolate ball with a sweet, gooey filling in the centre. Feels like heaven.

Other times though, we get something that does not suit us. But whatever it is that we pick out of the box of life, good or bad, know that it still has something nice to offer, say a lesson, a new insight, or an opportunity.

Growth and change is what life is all about.

We cannot change the fact that life is full of uncertainties. Sometimes, the change is easy to deal with, sometimes, it’s not. Think about how much you’ve grown. How many things have changed? You may have gone through a major change in your career or relationship, or a bunch of small things. Instead of fretting about it, we have to embrace the growth and accept the change. The real challenge in life is not guessing and hoping you get the best candy from the box, but enjoying each and every treat that comes out of it. Because even though one flavour does not fit your taste as much as the others, it comes with some sweetness too.

Good times add colour to our world, while the bad times make us stronger and open our eyes to new opportunities.

Life may be full of surprises. But there’s nothing an optimistic mind cannot survive. At this time when we all stop to spend time with family and friends here are three simple things you can do to transform not-so-good times into a positive experience.

Smile. There is no difficult situation we cannot survive with a smile. Many things in this world are beyond our control. And there is not much that we can do about it. What we can change, however, is our perspective on things. By keeping a positive attitude towards the surprises of life – good or bad – we end up experiencing more positive than negative things.

Be grateful for what you have. Too often, we tend to focus on what we do not have. Take a few minutes and write down 10 things you are grateful for this day. It doesn’t have to be big things. Most of the time, happiness is all about the little positive experiences that give us joy, such as receiving a chocolate gift from a special someone, enjoying the best brownies from Dello Mano, and watching your favourite afternoon TV show.

Reach out to someone. It’s true, being the one who receives a gift really feels wonderful. But there is more happiness and joy in giving. Not only will you make a person happy (which in turn gives you that ‘magical feeling’), you also strengthen your relationship with them. Sending them inspiring text messages or emails, taking a quick call to ask how they are doing, or as we would do sending them some delicious chocolate gifts like a box of fudgy brownies – these are just a few of the simple yet wonderful ways to show our love ones how much we appreciate them.