Appreciation and novelty keys to long-lasting happiness
There’s a lot of talk about happiness — how to find it, feel it, hang on to it. We covet happiness as though it is an ultimate goal or objective rather than a state we can choose and influence throughout each of the moment of our lives. While each of us comes equipped with a [...]
Finding the good is the key to managing the bad
10:1 That’s the ratio required for positive statements to counter balance the negative when it comes to parenting and educating children, say teachers. Ten positives to offset the devastating impact of one negative or critical statement. Relationship expert John Gottman says that we need to have at least five positive statements to every one negative [...]
Be Brave: 3 Ways to Practice Courage
Deciding to have a child took about all the courage I could muster and even then I was afraid. Even then I didn’t think I had enough. Even then, I did it anyhow. It’s the same with writing this blog, being honest and vulnerable, it’s scary. It has required me to face some of my [...]
Four ways to create a feel-good environment
Want to feel more creative and inspired – raise the roof, literally. Research by the bigwigs from the University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing showed that ceiling height can affect the thought process. People were more detail oriented when working under an eight foot ceiling and more abstract when the ceiling was raised [...]
Time to connect with friends
I’ve mentioned it here before: social connection – as in hanging out with friends — isn’t only essential to our quality of life, but it’s critical to our health. Friendships and support boost our immune function, stave off depression, and ease a bunch of other nasty things that make us feel, well, icky. Still, we’ve [...]
Social networks not a substitute for real social networking
I have become a fan of Facebook. Much to my surprise I like the light and often thought-provoking, cyber banter. I learn new things and think about familiar things differently thanks to the different perspectives that show up there. I’ve reconnected with old friends and even developed some solid, real-life, even-met-in-person friendships on-line. But this [...]
Get Motivated: 3 ways to get done what you don’t want to do
It’s rainy, I’m sluggy and the last thing I feel like is rolling into the gym for a workout. The first thing I feel like is laying in bed and reading a mystery by Stephen Carter. Working out at the gym. Reading in bed. Not a fair comparison. But, after a few minutes of griping [...]
Six Ways to Strengthen Your Self Discipline
There will always be something that matters – something that must get done — that you don’t want to do. I hate folding clothes – but I also hate wearing wrinkled pants, therefore fold I must. Drawing from our reserves of self discipline to make responsible choices about folding or work or health or money [...]
Drawing on Self Discipline
Saturday, I was back in corner room, the one with the computer cursor blinking and the desk piled with three-week old newspapers and bill statements and books and my calendar book with dates already filled in for November. I was in the office, where I’ve been every weekend for nearly two months. Working on my [...]
Making even a short break powerful
It takes more than a change of location to access the benefits that come with a vacation like better sleep, (even when you return), a healthier heart, better immune function, lower stress, and more joy. To maximize those feel-good qualities, you’ve got to shift your focus from the stress-producing routine to something that lightens and [...]
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