I read a New York Times Magazine article by Jennifer Kahn called “The Happiness Code”. Kahn spent time at the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR) in Berkeley and reported on the experience. The idea of tying rationality to happiness habits appeals to me. Many of my habits come about because…
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, books I read, what I watched on TV, and more. Books I love reading and I love learning. I read quite a bit every…
I recently read Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture—and What We Can Do About It, by Kate Harding. Harding pulls no punches in her assault on rape culture. She gives examples that will surely disgust any thinking person. “If we all abhor rape,” she says, “how did…
This is a guest post by Frank Lavine. We’ve all been there – I know I have. The majority of my friends and family have, too. The “all-time low” that we can find ourselves dealing with is a stressful, challenging part of life. There is no shame in hitting a…
Seeking first to understand is a habit I try to follow. It's one I first learned while reading Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I often talk about seeking first to understand when I speak about "Be Nice", the second of my Six Simple Rules for a Better…
One of my friends participates in a program as a mentor to moms. She gave me one of the handouts from the training sessions she attended prior to beginning her volunteering. Its author is unknown and it's easy to find on the Internet. It's about listening, something most of us…
I recently watched All the Way, an HBO movie about the story of Lyndon Johnson and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you have access to HBO, you should be able to watch it on demand. In addition to learning about the history and events surrounding that critical legislation (which…
As has happened to me many times before, this week I found myself inspired by a eulogy. Every funeral I attend leaves me a better person because of something I learn about the deceased, and their life well lived. Jay was a friend of mine. We didn't have a deep relationship,…
For several years, I’ve been wanting to read “Thinking, Fast and Slow," by Daniel Kahneman. When the book came out, the reviews made me feel I would love it. I finally read and found it an incredibly interesting read. It wasn’t a fast read, which is part of why it…
This is a guest post by April Boey. Growing up in a results-focused society, I went to university with the single-minded goal of acing all my exams. My parents had done a good job of drilling the idea in me. I did well in school. However, after two years of…
Not long after I published Six Simple Rules for a Better Life, I read a book called Willpower, by Roy Baumeister & John Tierney, which had come out the same month. In my book’s introduction, I talk about how to make changes that stick. I knew my method worked, but…
In the spring of 2015, my daughter Julie had the good fortune of spending a college semester in Prague, in the Czech Republic. A year later, reflecting on the experience, she shared the following lessons from her experience. I'm sharing them here because her learning is applicable to many other…