Stress: not as bad as you think? Stanford psychologist Dr Kelly McGonigal has written a very interesting book called “The Upside of Stress. Why stress is good for you (and how to get good at it)” (2015, Penguin Random House, London). You may, like me, be...
Happy?: confessions of a Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) Question: Is being happy the same as doing happy? I would argue that it is not. Doing happy is what I do at the office. As a CHO I focus on other people’s happiness at work and how to improve it to...
Dignity in mental health 1992 saw the first ever World Mental Health Day, organised by the World Federation for Mental Health (http://www.wfmh.org/) as a celebration of mental health education, awareness and promotion. October 10th will be the day that the event will...
Being a part of the Positive Psychology movement and teaching the course, I am notoriously teased and questioned about Positive Psychology. “Should we call you the happy doc?”…“are we all going to sit around and hold hands, and sing?” While I am grateful that I am a...
“The discomfort in our lives is an invitation to change.”- Joe Hoare You know the feeling It starts as an uncomfortable tightness in your belly during one more inconsequential work meeting during which your mind wanders to what you can possibly make for dinner using...
Charles Duhigg, in his book The Power of Habit talks about what he calls “The Habit Loop” and explains that every habit is a three step process. The first step is a trigger. A habit starts with a signal; something that triggers your brain to go into automatic mode....
I never got to read. Of course I read academic papers and the readings that are required for my degree. I went over the news and whatever analysis of it I could squeeze into my day. I skimmed through Facebook pages and other modes of virtual connection that left me...
Habits are rituals and behaviors that we perform automatically, allowing us to carry out essential activities such as brushing our teeth, taking a shower, getting dressed for work, and following the same routes every day without thinking about them. Our unconscious habits free up resources for our brains to carry out other more complex tasks like solving problems or deciding what to make for dinner.
“I am lost in this moment. I am feeling pure joy. I am at peace”
This sounds like a mantra or meditation. But, I am actually talking about my experience of participating in a laughter competition. What? There is a competition for laughter? Yes, there is.
During the first ever American Laughing Championship in 2013, I embraced the experience
“Happiness doesn’t come from tomorrow, it comes from today. Your life is what’s happening right now.” – Stephen M. Pollan
Living in the present is Mindfulness. More precisely, it is living in the moment while non-judgmentally observing the events around you unfold. Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of