Winter is a difficult time for many people. Seasonal changes can have a huge impact on our mental health and wellness in the colder months. It’s important to take extra steps to look after our health and well-being. Making good decisions about winter self-care can really help us to enjoy a more comfortable season. Winter […]
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, […]
Self-care practices can be especially effective when we consider the season and embrace the natural vibes for that time of year. Autumn is a “cozy” time of year, and although stepping out of our comfort zone is healthy from time to time, fall self-care practices emphasize tapping into the comforts of familiarity. Fall Self-Care is […]
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 […]
We are all prone to be limited by blind spots in our thinking. We experience our routine, over and over. We’re presented with similar decisions, conversations, interactions. The way we think becomes a habit. Our ability to innovate, “think out of the box”, and pose new solutions to persistent problems becomes severely impaired. It’s a […]
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 […]
It’s challenging to meet all our daily challenges and unexpected emergencies, let alone devote energy and time to achieving our long-term goals. We seem to run out of day before completing anything non-essential. We push less urgent things to tomorrow, next week, next month. Sometimes we get to them, but rarely do we give them […]
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 […]
Does it seem harder than ever to make decisions? Not just the complicated stuff. Easy stuff, too. What to cook for dinner. What to do first in the morning. Whether or not to go to the gym. There’s a reason for this. It’s called decision fatigue. What Is Decision Fatigue? As the name implies, decision […]
Many of us want unconditional love. We equate unconditional love with being loved for who we are, with no strings attached. We also want to believe that we are capable of selfless and unconditional love of another person. But it’s not as easy as it sounds to love without conditions. And, at times, it’s not […]
When people act together to achieve a goal, their effort may be considered a conspiracy. However, the term “conspiracy theory” takes the notion of conspiracy to a different level. With a nefarious twist. Conspiracy theories involve the belief that individuals are working together in secret. There’s a sinister aspect to most, and a sense that […]
Life, for most of us, involves highs and lows. While the peaks are exhilarating and wonderful, the troughs can be excruciating. When we experience trauma, or even just go through a difficult time, it’s important to prioritize both our physical and mental health. Many of us are reluctant to talk about mental well-being. But to […]
Happiness and learning are inextricably linked. In fact, learning something new and different as often as possible has been proven to enable a positive attitude and happiness. This finding continues to show up in new studies, and it seems to be universally accepted by happiness experts. Read on to understand more reasons why it’s important […]
As humans, we experience a host of emotions throughout our lives. Unfortunately, one that many of us will need to cope with at some point is grief. We may experience grief when we lose a loved one or have another tragic development in our lives: a health issue, betrayal, or the end of a relationship. […]
It’s been a while since we’ve had a straight up, “Don’t forget you are amazing!” post, strictly intended to motivate. I think of posts like that as morning motivation because I sometimes need one of these to start the day off right. So, strap yourself in, because here it comes! Morning Motivation Your Resting Mind-Set […]
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 […]
We convince ourselves that we’re not capable, don’t deserve to be rewarded for our good work, or that we’re inadequate in some other way. We tell ourselves that we are bad people, poor parents, inadequate friends. That we’re not truly successful at anything. We’re hard on ourselves when we make mistakes, diminish the credit we […]
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 […]
Depression can overcome us unexpectedly and without explanation. Other times, we feel it coming for hours, days or weeks. We brace ourselves for the tangible sensation of the heavy curtain descending, blocking out the light. It feels as though we are fumbling in a dark room, looking for the light switch. We find it, only to […]
Finding our purpose in life is powerful. Knowing what we are “born to do” can make all the difference. Once we do, if we define something significant, measurable and tangible as our touchstone, this can provide a strong foundation on which to base virtually each decision and every choice we make. For example, when we […]
Many of us share a strange combination of feelings right now. These feelings have ebbed and flowed for many of us for much of the last two years. We’re nearly obsessed with hearing the latest news, desperate to learn some new ‘known’ in the vast sea of uncertainty that surrounds us. At the same time, […]
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 […]
Welcome to How to Find Happiness in 10 Weeks or Less, Week 7: What You Need to Know about Healthy Relationships. “Our relationship with ourselves sets the tone for every other relationship in our lives.” – Robert Holden This quote says it all! What a perfect way for us to start off this post, which […]
What does intimacy mean to you? Though other thoughts often come to mind when we hear the word ‘intimacy’ what an intimate relationship is really all about is being able to be authentic with another person. To share our true selves without restraint. Intimacy takes more than a willing partner. Sometimes that can actually be […]
A while ago, I was talking to a friend who recently had a baby. While she was pregnant, we shared many conversations. It was a welcome opportunity to reflect on fond memories. I recalled many lovely experiences from when I was expecting and shortly after I had my children. Among other things we shared, I […]
