Scientists say we enter a state of “flow” when we are fully absorbed in something we’re doing. Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi , a positive psychologist first came up with the term flow in the 1970s. His definition: “the mental state where we are so immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the […]
What possesses a healthy person to anonymously donate a kidney to a stranger? They will not be paid or rewarded. There will be no publicity. No public or even private praise. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Yet people do things like this. All the time. It would be amazing if these acts of generosity happened more […]
The world needs more happy people. Hard to argue with that, isn’t it? Just listen to the news or look around in traffic or at the store to appreciate how true it is. It seems like it should be simple. But it’s easy to be confused when we think about happiness. So, let’s talk about […]
It troubles us when we think we have done someone harm. We feel the need to apologize for our actions or behavior. It preoccupies us and we may even obsess over it. What to say, how to say it, how to make up for our wrongdoing. As common as it is to feel this way, […]
Scientists have discovered a gene that makes some of us more likely to develop dementia. But there’s something in our control that can influence whether or not that gene expresses itself. Simply put, people who have the gene can help avoid dementia – just by embracing one simple concept and attitude: positive thinking and optimism. If […]
Self-compassion is the term used for being compassionate to ourselves. When we practice self-compassion, we extend the same tolerance and kindness to ourselves as we do to others. For example, we withhold judgment and criticism of ourselves when we make a mistake or notice something about ourselves we don’t like. We treat ourselves with the […]
On a beautiful Saturday morning a few weeks ago, I was wandering around a farmer’s market. I saw a booth about a Chinese Symphony. Since I had never heard of a Chinese Symphony, I had to go find out more. I met a man who told me all kinds of interesting things about the history […]
Not many years ago, the pace of change was somewhat fairly modest. We usually had time to acclimate to new ways of thinking and new ways to do things. But those days are gone. Something can now be invented, trend on Twitter and sweep the globe in minutes. Improvements to technology and apps, and even […]
Welcome to How to Find Happiness in 10 Weeks or Less, Week 4: What Is My Purpose? Answers to the Most Important Question Ever. Discovering what we were born to do is highly motivating and a key to improving our well-being. When we discover our life purpose, everything we do has more meaning, and even […]
Much has been written about the power of positive thinking. A well-known quote describes how the impact of positive thinking extends far beyond our thoughts. It goes something like this: “Watch your thoughts, for they become your words; watch your words, for they become your actions; you must watch your actions, for they become your […]
Positive affirmations are often the target of ridicule. Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers may remember a particular regular segment on Saturday Night Live that featured a character named Stuart. Stuart attempted to convince himself of his worthiness by chanting positive statements into the mirror. A whole collection of “catch phrases” came out of that series. One […]
Our brains are bombarded with information, constantly. Maybe it’s the latest updates on the supply chain. Or the economy. Perhaps it’s just a never-ending stream of work emails. Or too much input from family members and friends. Whatever it is, mixed in with all that information is a healthy dose of misinformation, too. Some of […]
We’re all naturally inclined to develop habits. And we can use this tendency to help us be kind to ourselves. Since we need to learn to be kind to ourselves to be genuinely kind to others, this is an important opportunity to take advantage of. So, let’s get right into it. Here’s how to use […]
For years, I thought happy people smiled often and were generally joyful. I also thought of them as being imbued with a sense of serenity and calm. Recently, I’ve come to realize that the graceful, steady state of being I’ve aspired to is not happiness at all. It is more aptly described by a different […]
When we forgive, we release emotions that cause stress and negativity. In fact, science has proven that when we release these negative emotions, our well-being immediately improves. The effect is long-lasting and others around us feel better, too. This makes forgiveness an amazingly powerful choice. But as we all know, forgiving people who have hurt […]
If we put other's needs before our own for too long, it can become challenging to remember what we enjoy doing. Here's how to snap out of this unhealthy pattern and remember how to be happy.
Multi-tasking was once treated like a "silver bullet" - the solution to all the overwhelming demands on us. Now, the science has proven, multi-tasking is bad for us, and results in poorer outcomes. It's time to give it up. If we can.
Many of us fear change and try to avoid it at all costs. New ideas make us nervous. We push back on suggestions to do things differently. Shifts to our routine make us uncomfortable. But it’s constant, there’s no getting away from it. It makes sense to try to make the best of it. To not […]
People are naturally driven to collect things. Some psychologists believe it’s our way of ‘imposing order on the world’. That it helps us cope with things that are outside of our control. I’ve never considered myself a collector. If anything, I’m more of a “thrower-outer”. Except I can’t seem to get enough cookbooks. My collection […]
When asked to name essential life skills, practical abilities probably come to mind. Changing a tire, cooking a meal, our ability to make good decisions or exhibit self-control are examples of skills that make life easier for human adults. One life skill that we probably do not consider right away is our ability to practice […]
Do You Believe In Destiny? Read this post to find out why it is simultaneously exciting and reassuring to know that the universe has something in mind for you, and how to go after it!
We often hear people say, “what goes around, comes around”, and many believe this is the essence of Karma. But karma involves much more than that. Reading a short article about the true meaning of karma was enough to make me want to keep researching it. What Karma Really Means Karma is a fundamental belief […]
We all know how challenging it can be to stay upbeat. But we humans face a challenge that’s much more difficult than that. As a species, we are not naturally positive. In fact, we are not naturally neutral in temperament, either. Our thoughts tend towards the negative in our natural state. That ingrained tendency is […]
Over the last decade or so, there has been a tremendous amount of research related to positive psychology. Much of it focuses on the subject of kindness. When I’m feeling down or need encouragement, reading up on positive psychology and especially kindness provides me a real lift. Somehow, learning more about a healthy practice that […]
Welcome to How to Find Happiness in 10 Weeks or Less, Week 10: How to Take Generosity and Gratitude to the Next Level. It’s our final week in this 10-week journey together, and what an adventure it has been! We’ve covered a rich collection of topics to help us understand our own definition of happiness […]
Welcome to How to Find Happiness in10 Weeks or Less, Week 9: How to Use Habits to Boost Happiness to New Heights. This week, we focus on the connections between habits and happiness. More specifically, we are going to explore how to use our natural tendency to develop habits to our best advantage by identifying […]
Welcome to How to Find Happiness in 10 Weeks or Less, Week 8: How to Use Money to Buy Happiness. We hope you are finding this series useful and interesting. Money and related issues are often at the root of our most difficult internal conflicts, and also out conflicts with loved ones. It’s important we […]
