I loved reading this brief article last year, which told about research showing staying optimistic and maintaining a positive outlook can directly extend the length of your life. The 30-year study followed 1,200 elderly people who were born in 1920 or 1921. The researchers analyzed their health, ability to function,…
A Wall Street Journal article last year talked about why hobbies are so important in retirement. I have many interests and believe I will not have a problem staying busy when I retire one day, but I was interested in seeing what they had to say, because hobbies are important…
Joshua Becker is one of my favorite bloggers. He’s been writing for years about minimalism here. His writing style is extremely appealing (and he once gave me excellent writing advice I’ve been following ever since he edited a piece I wrote for his blog). My favorite 2022 blog post of…
As I’ve written about, and spoken about, countless times, smiling is the simplest happiness tool. This article in Axios talks about smiling as “one of your most powerful tools — to improve health, bolster relationships and just feel better…” According to the article, research shows “Americans tend to smile more…
I’ve written before about Arthur Brooks – articles of his I’ve read, the time I saw him as an event speaker, and episodes of his “How to Build a Happy Life” podcast. I very much enjoyed this podcast episode of his, featuring Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist and a Professor of…
We live in a world where companies encourage us to spend, even when we don't need to, for example, to keep up with the latest trends. The practice of spending more upon getting an income boost, is known as "lifestyle inflation." Instead of keeping up with the latest trends, a…
I’ve long been a big believer of the power of our thoughts. I wrote this post on the subject almost 10 years ago. Earlier this year, I listened to an excellent episode of the Hidden Brain podcast. Some of my favorite parts from the episode: When the world hands us…
A slightly early happy and healthy New Year! As I have done for quite a few years, here are some of the experiences I enjoyed this past year: what I listened to, what I read, what I watched, and more. Reading The best books I read this year: Fiction: The…
My brother-in-law is one of the all-time great people. For almost as long as people have been doing it, he has sent around emails with jokes, stories, wisdom, and more to a long list of people. I don’t read all of them, and it’s easy enough to delete ones I…
I’ve written before about Peter Singer (no relation) and his important book about giving, The Life You Can Save. I’m on Peter’s newsletter list. Since the start of the pandemic, he has written a series called “mythbusters,” each of which addresses difficult questions and common misconceptions around giving. Here are…
Earlier this year, I wrote a post about venting rarely being good for us. A key line from that post, which I learned from Arthur Brooks, is anger has a honeyed tip and a poisoned root – meaning, sometimes it feels good to vent (the honeyed tip), but it almost…
I’m a big fan of books in a category that might be best called Social Psychology. I am a fan of all three of Adam Grant’s books. His most recent book, last year’s Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know, is full of valuable takeaways. I learned…
