In life, things often don’t go the way we expect. And when that happens, it is easier to play the blame game, that is, by blaming someone else for what happened, rather than take responsibility for it. It takes less energy to point fingers at someone instead of admitting the truth to ourselves. Consider this: Do you enjoy playing the…
It’s fun to share a good laugh, but did you know it can actually improve your health? With these laughing exercises we can take advantage of the powerful benefits of laughter. We’ve heard it more than a hundred times that laughter is the best medicine. It brings people together even as it brings about healthy physical and emotional changes. Laughter…
We are always looking for ways to increase our happiness. In his excellent book Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being Martin Seligman, Founding Father of Positive Psychology, offers an easy practice called the Gratitude Visit exercise to increase well-being and lower depression. The Gratitude Visit, as a practice, seems rather simplistic but is based on decades of…
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” Henri Frederic Amiel “What is gratitude? How do you practice gratitude?,” These seem like d’uh questions, but it made me stop and think. Gratitude means different things to different people and then, there are those that brush…
One of my favorite newsletters is from Brian Johnson of Optimize. In two of his recent newsletters, he talked about soul ulcers–referring to envy being the ulcer of the soul. The phrase “soul ulcers” stuck in my mind—along with the “+1” message that comes with his email, and I’d like to share it with you today. Tell me if this…