Why do we love holidays? The travel industry continues to blossom as people have more disposable income with which to travel and the time to do so bringing with it the expected analysis from the field of psychology. Why do we love (or long) to travel and what are the...
What applying positive psychology taught me about grief I will begin this blog with a caveat, there is some emotional content to follow that might make for tough reading relating to cancer and death. Now that we have that out of the way I want to share with you how...
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 want, I need, I must have, If only I could get…do any of these sound familiar? All of these phrases come in about a ten minute time span of shoe shopping with my teen daughter. It is not a crime to enjoy ‘things” and to indulge ourselves in things that we enjoy, but there is often a disconnect between the value we place on the wants and needs over what truly fuels our life-zest fire. As a noun, value can be defined as a placed importance, usefulness, an
Clarity is … changing. When I was a kid, I was fast. Not because of training. Not because I focused on it. I was told I was going out for the town track meets, so I did. When I was ten (10), I raced a bunch of kids and won a gold medal. It was cool. Then, I was told that I won female athlete of the year (10). I had NO idea why. I showed up, I ran as fast as I could. I hated being behind people. That was my only motivation. I didn’t like the feeling of being behind someone else. I had to be in front.
I have always had an interest in living a good life – perhaps a natural attraction towards positive psychology. An experience early on in life eventually taught me the value of seeing the self as far deeper than the finely curated fragments of body and mind that we spend a lifetime trying to conquer. It showed me, albeit exclusively, the faint and subtle yearnings of the soul that often went unheard in the noise and clamour of daily life.
“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
Deny it, complain about it, wish it weren’t so, but the fact is, sometimes life is hard. Even the Buddha told us “life is suffering.” OK, so maybe he wasn’t exactly referring to the hopeless feeling you get being stuck in a dead-end job, or the nausea that rolls over you the moment you realize your partner isn’t who you thought they were, but the wise prince had a point- Life. Is. Hard.
Deciding “A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life” ~ Coco Chanel For years, I’ve wanted to know what it was like for women who had to cut all their hair off because of cancer related treatments. I’ve seen the wigs, the scarves, the confident bald heads...