The Connection Between Building Confidence and Happiness Although there are a TON of naturally arrogant people in this world, there are few – if any – naturally confident individuals. Those that are better at putting on a brave face and barking out orders to others are often plagued with more self-doubt than their subordinates. Confidence doesn’t come naturally, but it is something … Continue reading “The Connection Between Building Confidence and Happiness”
Live with Intent: Living Every Minute of Your Life Increases Happiness In his book, Meditations, Roman Emporer Marcus Aurelius says, “Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live. While it is in your power. – Be good.” Nobody likes to think about death. Everything in our society seems to be designed to avoid the … Continue reading “Live with Intent: Living Every Minute of Your Life Increases Happiness”
Gracious People Are Happier People – and Ungracious People are Jerks In our society’s quest to throw out everything genteel and civilized in favor of individualism and “whatever you feel,” we’ve lost the collective expectation of graciousness toward our fellow man. What do I mean by gracious? I mean acting in a way that makes the other fellow feel comfortable, welcome, appreciated, and wanted in your … Continue reading “Gracious People Are Happier People – and Ungracious People are Jerks”
Are You Too Busy Eating Bananas to Fish? – Opportunity Cost and Happiness In economics, there is a principle called “Opportunity Cost.” Basically, Opportunity Cost refers to what you lose from one pursuit while working or focusing on something else. This is closely tied to our previous talk on knowing what the tradeoffs are for each decision you make. What are you losing by choosing the bicycle over … Continue reading “Are You Too Busy Eating Bananas to Fish? – Opportunity Cost and Happiness”
Happiness in Changing Habits (Power of Habit) Do you think there a connection between habits and happiness? In his bestseller, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business, author Charles Duhigg makes the assertion that habits are not broken. Instead, he notes that habits must be replaced. For those of you that follow ancient teachers like … Continue reading “Happiness in Changing Habits (Power of Habit)”
Living in the Past Doesn’t Deliver Happiness (Paris Driving and Senator Tim Scott) In a recent interview on Fox News, Tim Scott (a Senator from South Carolina) gave an interesting – and enlightening – analogy regarding perspective. The conversation with host, Trey Gowdy, revolved around the pain of historic race relations in the US. More specifically, what weight should be given to the pain of historic events vs. … Continue reading “Living in the Past Doesn’t Deliver Happiness (Paris Driving and Senator Tim Scott)”
Pimples and Slivers: The Ancient Teachers Agree – Happiness Can’t Come from Judgementalism Have you noticed a severe uptick in judgementalism since the beginning of the COVID pandemic? It seems that the muzzle of courteous conduct has been taken off in favor of everyone proclaiming their own goodness and decrying the decisions of others. As if, somehow, a single individual’s choice about a topic can somehow be the … Continue reading “Pimples and Slivers: The Ancient Teachers Agree – Happiness Can’t Come from Judgementalism”
The Caracara and Carrot Muffins – Happiness in Discovery So, I wasn’t looking to learn anything this morning. Learning is WAAAYYYY too much work. But I did – and I’m happier for it. I am about to tell you a true story. This morning, I got into my truck, and dutifully lined up in the drive-through at MacDonald’s to get my breakfast and coffee. … Continue reading “The Caracara and Carrot Muffins – Happiness in Discovery”
The Soundtrack of Your Life – The Impact of Music on Your Happiness Have you ever watched a movie without the sound – only reading the closed captioning? It’s a totally different experience. Without the soundtrack to tell you when something ominous is about to take place, the uplifting anthem to support a victorious moment, or the bouncing road trip tune of the buddy comedy, the movie has … Continue reading “The Soundtrack of Your Life – The Impact of Music on Your Happiness”
Whack-A-Mole — The Tools for Happiness People around the globe are trying to deal with their emotions. It’s part of the human condition. Sadness. Fear. Shame. Hurt. Betrayal. or just inexplicably…down… For the purposes of our current discussion, the particular negative emotion you are feeling doesn’t matter. What matters is that you understand that the next step is your decision, the … Continue reading “Whack-A-Mole — The Tools for Happiness”