In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, David Brooks wrote about Pope Francis’ New Year’s Eve commentary that the people who have the most influence on society are “normal folks,” and their everyday gestures of kindness make them “artisans of the common good”. The pope used driving, of…
Because gratitude, happiness, and positive leadership are favorite subjects of my blog posts, I was given the opportunity to read a pre-publication edition of The Kindness Cure, by Tara Cousineau, PhD, which will be published on February 2. "Be Nice" is the second of my Six Simple Rules and when I…
This is a guest post by Dr. Diahanne Rhiney. I want to discuss a topic that is not often spoken about because it is often so subtle and occurs in a deep and complex part of the mind, our subconscious. We’ve probably all done it at some point: you say…
I was reading a book of the best sports writing of W. C. Hines, famous for his work from the 1940s through the 1970s. In a profile of former heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson, he asked Patterson about the month he had spent in seclusion at home after losing a…
As I have done for each of the past few years, here are the many ways I enjoyed the experiences of my year: places I visited, music and podcasts I listened to, books I read, what I watched on TV, and more. Reading I love reading and I love learning.…
This is a guest post by Courtney Carver. I had the opportunity to read a pre-publication edition of Courtney’s new book Soulful Simplicity, which will be published December 26th by Tarcher/Perigee, a division of Penguin Random House, and I asked if she would like to write a piece about one…
I, and others on this blog, have written that helping others is a happiness secret. After many people helped others impacted by this year’s hurricane season, a New York Times article pointed out why this is the case. According to Dr. Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist and founder of the Center…
I’ve written many times about the importance of investing in experiences instead of things—about the way spending your time and money on experiences rather than accumulating “stuff” will lead to greater happiness. A new study has reinforced that notion, showing that using money to buy yourself more time results in…
I have been a long-time student of the power of our thoughts. That's part of why I enjoyed Waking Up by Sam Harris, a book that focuses a great deal on the power of our thoughts. Before cell phones, when we saw someone walking down the street talking to himself,…
I’ve written many times about what I call Proactive Positivity, actions you can take to help yourself to be happier, such as: expressing gratitude, smiling, helping others, exercising, spending time with people you like, looking for silver linings, being present, seeing the glass as half full, celebrating your progress, laughing,…
I’ve written a fair amount about why experiences are better than things. Two of my posts are here and here. I read a really good article about the same subject on Motherly. In the piece, Elizabeth Tenety gives a helpful list of experiences one can give as gifts, in this…
I was reading The Undoing Project, the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Michael Lewis. It’s about two psychologists / behavioral economists, Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman. I’ve written here before about their work after I read Kahneman’s amazing book, Thinking Fast and Slow. This excerpt from the…