Since the publication of Six Simple Rules for a Better Life three years ago, I have read more and more evidence of the soundness of my method for making changes that stick. (Breaking down big goals into small pieces, and then working on them one small piece at a time for…
This is a guest post by Carl Preston, the founder of a self-development site. I look back during my early twenties and I remember the how hectic, stressful, and exhausting my life was. At work, completely snowed under, working 70 hour weeks with little respite, and fun weekends that would…
I was speaking with a business associate I hadn't spoken with for about a year. The last time we spoke she was pregnant and now she is enjoying her baby son (her third child). She and her husband had waited a few years between their second and third children and…
Much has been written about the importance of drinking lots of water. I've heard 64 ounces a day and I've heard half your weight in ounces per day. I've also heard if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, the number of ounces can be fewer. I do not…
Someone I know recently said to me, after a particularly frustrating turn of events in her life, “Why do these things always happen to me?” I know the right thing to do would have been to nod my head and say something about how sorry I feel for her. But…
Living in a state of mindfulness is a worthy goal. Living mindlessly is not normally something to strive for. Yet, mindfulness and mindlessness both play a part in habit change. First, a definition I found for mindfulness in Psychology Today: a state of active, open attention on the present. When…
My wife and I were fortunate to take a wonderful trip to Europe to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We met in college and after we graduated we took a backpacking trip in Europe. We hadn’t been back since and the anniversary trip was a wonderful time, filled with many…
When I was in high school, I took a psychology class. It was one of the few high school classes I enjoyed. The teacher, Mr. Mascari, taught us a relaxation technique I went on to use for many years. I would close my eyes and imagine the sun shining on…
My friend Kevin was telling me of his weight loss struggles. He realized he kept procrastinating about working on the weight loss because there are about 10 habits he wanted to focus on to make it happen. He realized he was overwhelming himself by thinking about the 10 habits, and…
Over the last two weeks I shared some background, and then some highlights from a wonderful book, Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change by Leo Babauta. As Leo explains, quitting a bad habit is harder than starting a good one because you have the urge to continue the bad habit. Here…
I just finished reading a wonderful book, Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change by Leo Babauta. Last week I introduced the book and shared some background, and this week I’ll share some of the highlights from Leo’s book, which I highly recommend. Mindfulness. Leo learned to watch his mind. He…
I just finished reading a wonderful book, Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change, by Leo Babauta. Leo has written, in many ways, what I have envisioned as a possible follow-up to Six Simple Rules for a Better Life. I wanted Six Simple Rules for a Better Life not to be another one…