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, what I listened to, what I read, what I watched, and more. Reading I love reading and I love learning. I read quite a…
There is a very nice family I've known them for nearly 25 years. Several of them are real estate brokers and they have a monthly newsletter. I’ve been on their mailing list for many years and often find helpful tips. A recent newsletter contained a list of ways to practice…
Gratitude is something I’ve written about many times. It's always extra pertinent around Thanksgiving. As part of our company’s wellness program, we had a series of webinars on emotional resilience. Jen Arnold (of Redesigning Wellness, Inc.) who led the sessions, sent a series of follow-up e-mails. As she explained, gratitude…
This year, my wife and I celebrated our 30th anniversary. Around the same time, I read a blog post called “8 Traits of a Happy Marriage, According to a Couples Therapist.” I agree with all eight of the defining characteristics of long-lasting, happy marriages. I am particularly drawn to these…
I’ve written before about things I learned from Daniel Kahneman’s wonderfully interesting book, "Thinking, Fast and Slow". In a section on availability bias, Kahneman shared useful information for couples. Availability bias is the way we judge situations by relying on immediate examples that come mind. For example, as Kahneman points…
I’ve written a lot about the way willpower impacts our ability to make changes that stick. The bottom line: we have a limited stock of willpower. It’s been studied. It’s a fact. Because of this, the key to making changes that stick is to go slow; to break down your…
I was at a conference where I had the good fortune to hear Catherine Sanderson speak on The Science of Happiness. Sanderson is a professor at Amherst College where she studies and teaches the subject of happiness. Her speech was fantastic. Here are some of my takeaways: Why do we…
A reader wrote to me the following note about an old post of mine, Gratitude and Perspective… I completely agree with this post! Whenever I have stress, I try to ask myself: “Are my kids healthy? Are my wife and I healthy?” When the answers to those questions are “yes,” which is…
Two articles I recently read reinforced my feeling that most people have too much “stuff”. Beth Teitell writes in the Boston Globe, “Clutter…can assume many forms. It can present as a once-used bread machine or Lego hair that’s come unsnapped from its person. It can look like Tupperware without its assigned…
In a Harvard Business Review article, the former U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, was quoted as saying, "Loneliness and weak social connections are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity. But we haven't…
My friend Michael, who sends out weekly motivational messages, sent one recently with a list of “What I’ve Learned” by Andy Rooney, the late 60 Minutes personality. Rooney passed away in 2011 at the age of 92. For many years, I enjoyed watching his 60 Minutes segments. I found him…
I've written many times: helping others is one of the greatest happiness strategies. A recent way I have been helping others is by donating my voice to people who live with voicelessness. My involvement with this activity started when I read an article about VocaliD, a for-profit company. It seems…