Not too long ago, I posted the following tweet: “Winter is officially past (according to the calendar, anyway) and spring is here. I can’t wait for nature to start blooming!” After I posted that tweet, I began to think a lot about how the flowers, blooms, and buds of spring are a tangible symbol of […]
Category: Twelve Weeks to Living a Happier Life
Let the Sunshine In
Summer is a time of warm temperatures, sunny skies, green leaves, neighborhood cookouts, family vacations, ice cream cones, and more. You’d think that summer and all it entails would boost the happiness that most of us feel. But instead, I’ve noticed that a lot of people drift through these warm weeks in the same hum-drum […]
It’s Better to Give Than to Receive…Really!
Have you noticed that more and more, we are living in a “me”-centered culture? From movies, reality TV shows, magazine articles, and even our neighbors and coworkers, we often receive the message that “it’s all about me.” It’s about how much I can earn. It’s about how I feel. It’s about getting what I want. […]
Spend More Time with Positive People
I’ve spoken before about how having a negative friend can really bring you down. Having the right people in your life can truly make a difference in your overall happiness, and so I wanted to dig a little deeper into this topic with my post today. I didn’t fully realize it at the time, but […]
Get in Touch with Your Inner Superman or Wonder Woman: Use Your Strengths!
What I’m about to share with you took me well over half of my life to figure out: When you possess a strength, it’s in your best interest to use it as much as possible! Were you a little surprised when you read that last sentence? Did you expect something more complex and profound? I’ll […]
Positivity Glasses: Your Most Important Accessory
Guess what? I made some mistakes this week. I made some decisions that weren’t the smartest, did some things I probably shouldn’t have, and forgot to do other tasks I probably ought to have taken care of. And I’m sure that you have made mistakes this week too. A decade ago, before my breakdown, those […]
Say No to (Needless) Stress
“Stress is a killer.” Yes, we all say it, but how many of us really believe it? If you’re like most Americans, you probably just accept stress as an inevitable part of life. Stress, the thinking goes, is the price we pay for our jobs, houses, cars, and relatively comfortable lives. To some extent, that’s […]
The Negative Friend Dilemma: Surround Yourself with Happy People
This week I want to look at a type of situation in which your reaction can make or break your happiness: a friendship with a negative person. Whether you’re a man or a woman, young or old, outgoing or reserved, I’m willing to bet that there’s at least one person in your circle of acquaintances […]
Beat Up or Build Up: Choose to Be Easier on Yourself
In an earlier blog post, I talked about how we all have the power to choose happiness for ourselves and I gave a few short examples of what that might look like in your life. I don’t want to stop there, though. Being able to make choices that increase your happiness is such an important […]
Feed Your Mind…Well!
I remember it well: the first time someone told me that I should listen to motivational material (by Tony Robbins, as it happens), my reaction was, “Yeah, right! No way is some hokey set of tapes going to relieve my stress or make me feel any better about my life.” At the time I was […]