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…
I recently read The Power of Having Fun, the brand-new book by Dave Crenshaw. I am a big believer in taking time off to make time for yourself and for your family. I've had the good fortune of having taken that time over most of the past 20 years. I…
Earlier this year, I attended a meeting with nearly 100 people to discuss the future direction of a religious institution where I am a member. It was expected that attendees would have varying, and possibly contentious, opinions. The meeting’s facilitator began by spelling out some valuable ground rules for everyone…
If you haven’t seen the HBO documentary, Becoming Warren Buffett, I highly recommend it. The “Oracle of Omaha,” legendary for his investing prowess, is an amazing person from whom, and from whose example, much learning is available. A couple of my favorite takeaways from the film: If you were given…
I heard an interview with star poker player Annie Duke. She said something quite profound about happiness. When something happens to you, ask yourself, “If this happened to me a year ago, how would I feel about it today?” Then, come “back to the future” and act accordingly. I love…
One thing that bothers most people, is the experience of not remembering why you just walked from one place to another—for example, walking from one room to another in your house, or from one part of your workplace to another. As we get older, we begin to worry if that…
Someone sent me an article about a company that purposely made some decisions they knew would make them less profitable. The goal was to impact the environment in a more sustainable way, and the author wrote about the various ways to define success. The person who sent me the article…