Wouldn't you like to know what makes people happy? Well Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura certainly do! The two psychology professors from Claremont Graduate University even started a new doctoral program dedicated to this research. Yesterday's Los Angeles Times article "The lowdown on upbeat," by Stuart Silverstein, discusses man's age-old question...what makes people happy?
The rising popularity of positive psychology studies human happiness and its correlation to quality of life. The studies will be conducted by monitoring hundreds of people over a week and paging them at random times in the day to see how they are feeling and what they are doing at that moment. The emergence of positive psychology is groundbreaking because never before has psychology bothered with topics concerning philosophy, theology, and art.
Click here to read the article!
Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2007
Saturday, August 04, 2007
13 “FAB” Tips To Go From Whiner To A Winner
1. Center Yourself.
Take in a deep breath. Let it out. Now, breathe in brilliance. Exhale out the burden. Do this three times so you feel more centered.
As Mayor, take a moment and claim your office, and ask that your solutions be for the highest good for all.
Set your intention to discover successful scenarios.
Take a moment to think of something fabulous you'd like to do, be, or have.
Let's say you want to double your income. Picture yourself enjoying the fun and freedom all that dough will give you.
What goes on in your brain when you see yourself in those pictures? Do you hear all the reasons it won't happen? "It's impossible." "I can't make more money." "I got fired from my last job." "I'm not smart enough." Okey-dokey. Thank your Criticism Committee for showing up.
As Mayor, you are the one in charge of what you tell yourself. You can switch your self-talk.
Think of a way to make $1. Great. Now, think of an idea for making $100. Super. Now, think of an idea that will make $1,000. Excellent. Now, have a million-dollar idea. $1,000.000. Well done! (Every hairbrained concept counts!) Did you notice how you had different pictures for each?
Now, instruct your Mental Board to brainstorm solutions—how to manifest the picture of what you want. The best way to come up with a few really good ideas is to start with lots of ideas. They don't have to be good. They don't have to work. They don't even need to make a lot of sense. Just create a downpour of possibilities.
Jot down your Solution Solutions as they come to you (no editing or peeking from the Criticism Committee, please).
Once you have ten ideas (silly, stupid, and impossible ones count) reevaluate your list. Is there an approach you hadn't thought of? Is there a next step you can explore? Bravo! If not, that's fine too. You can keep playing the game to find the solution, instead of looking at the problem.
Stay focused on what you want more of and how you can create it.
Thank yourself for making a choice to discover the power of positive focus.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Wedding Gown Therapy
It had been a bad hair month, “said Beth Grading. “I had been passed over for a promotion, my best friend got a great job in San Francisco and I had a string of ‘no where dates’. “I felt so goofy that my bad mood lifted. I loved pacing up and down the stairs. “Studies show that visual cues can affect your emotions. If you add laughter to the mix you have a powerful combination..” Says Eli Davidson, M.A. author of Funky to Fabulous: Creating the Life You Want, Not the One You Are Stuck With (Oak Grove Press).Trot to your local thrift store or consignment store and buy wedding gown (or if that gives you the heebie geebies buy a second hand ball gown). If you have a task you dread (like cleaning your oven or preparing your taxes) put on your handy wedding gown. Your mood can’t help but lift.
It’s hard to take yourself as seriously when you are walking around with a six foot train of silk trailing behind you. Changing your clothes into celebration wear automatically boosts your mood.
It is a Pattern Interrupt Technique founded in the principles of Neuro Linguistic Programming. You can disrupt a bad mood by giving yourself a cheerful cue by putting on some celebration wear.
Change Your Outfit-Change Your Outlook
A wedding gown may not be the perfect thing to slip into at the office. By slipping into a different pair of shoes, or changing into a vibrant sweater, you are short circuiting a negative pattern. “By taking dominion over your behavior even in a simple act like putting on some lipstick, you are giving yourself a new cue.” suggests Eli Davidson. “If I am having a dizzing day , I will go home at lunch and change my clothes. I come back to the office refreshed and redirected. .” Says Barbara Holden of Austin, Texas.
That new signal overrides the existing one and reminds you that you are the one that determines your mood. You can then more easily direct yourself in a more positive direction.
Color Me Happy
Keep an item close that is the color of happiness? Color is a powerful unconscious motivator. It is one of our fastest signaling systems. Green on the grass is great. Green growing on your hamburger is gross. Think of your favorite color and your mood will improve. “I love having tea in my orange and turquoise mug that my niece Elena made.” said consultant Since there is a powerful link between color behavior and mood keeping a “happy color” close you can help short circuit your stressors.
Get Goofy
100 laughs are equal to 10 minutes of aerobics. Have some silly wear handy for when you are taking yourself too seriously. “I put a ping pong table in my design studio. Ping pong makes me giggle. Laughing makes me more creative.” Olia Toporovsky of New York City. Consider keeping a goofy pair of glasses (my current favorite) for the drive to and from work.
It’s hard to take yourself as seriously when you are walking around with a six foot train of silk trailing behind you. Changing your clothes into celebration wear automatically boosts your mood.
It is a Pattern Interrupt Technique founded in the principles of Neuro Linguistic Programming. You can disrupt a bad mood by giving yourself a cheerful cue by putting on some celebration wear.
Change Your Outfit-Change Your Outlook
A wedding gown may not be the perfect thing to slip into at the office. By slipping into a different pair of shoes, or changing into a vibrant sweater, you are short circuiting a negative pattern. “By taking dominion over your behavior even in a simple act like putting on some lipstick, you are giving yourself a new cue.” suggests Eli Davidson. “If I am having a dizzing day , I will go home at lunch and change my clothes. I come back to the office refreshed and redirected. .” Says Barbara Holden of Austin, Texas.
That new signal overrides the existing one and reminds you that you are the one that determines your mood. You can then more easily direct yourself in a more positive direction.
Color Me Happy
Keep an item close that is the color of happiness? Color is a powerful unconscious motivator. It is one of our fastest signaling systems. Green on the grass is great. Green growing on your hamburger is gross. Think of your favorite color and your mood will improve. “I love having tea in my orange and turquoise mug that my niece Elena made.” said consultant Since there is a powerful link between color behavior and mood keeping a “happy color” close you can help short circuit your stressors.
Get Goofy
100 laughs are equal to 10 minutes of aerobics. Have some silly wear handy for when you are taking yourself too seriously. “I put a ping pong table in my design studio. Ping pong makes me giggle. Laughing makes me more creative.” Olia Toporovsky of New York City. Consider keeping a goofy pair of glasses (my current favorite) for the drive to and from work.
Giving: Rx for Better Health
“You have got to be out of your mind” was a sentence Isabella was getting used to hearing. Friend after friend rolled her eyes as she told them of her plans. Isabella was 80 years old, for God’s sake, and no amount of eye rolling was going to dissuade her. Even if her friends were moving into assisted living facilities, she was building a new home in Montecito and giving it to her favorite charity. No strings attached.
Although her friends told her that the move and overseeing the construction would be the death of her, Isabella out lived the friends that poo pooed her philanthropic adventure. She lived a happy, healthy life in her Monetico home for 10 years. Her vision, spirit and wish to remain an anonymous live on since her home is now used as a retreat center.
Volunteering is good for you. Science is beginning to discover that are concrete physical, and emotional benefits to giving to others. Perhaps, you have a vague notion that volunteering is “good for the soul” but have little, if any, concrete evidence that philanthropy could be good for your health. In More Give to Live, Douglas Lawson cites research that shows how helping others leads to enhanced health and emotional well-being. Numerous studies report that those involved in ongoing volunteer programs have an enhanced immune system, improved cardiovascular circulation as well as better sleep patterns. Emotionally those involved in philanthropic work sense of control over one’s life and circumstances, increased ability to cope with crisis as well as stronger feelings of personal satisfaction, compassion and empathy.
The Helper’s High.
You may have just had a brush with ‘Helper’s High’ yourself.
How do you feel when you finish a long run or a tough workout? Until the pain sinks in you probably feel fantastic. Strenuous exercise releases endorphins. That release creates an elated feeling known as the runners high. Have you ever left a day of working with your favorite good cause with more energy than you began with? That could be due to a similar endorphin response.
A charity in New York City recently conducted a survey of 3,300 volunteers. Many experienced feelings of euphoria while being involved in their service project. The volunteers compared the experience to the runner's high - when a person runs and exerts, but instead of feeling more stressed, one feels more relaxed and joyous.
Giving makes you feel better. It may be a key factor in living longer as well. Dr. Stephanie Brown and her colleagues at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan conducted an important study recently. Dr. Brown discovered and her team tracked 423 older couples over a 5 year period. The people who reported giving no support to others were more than twice as likely to die during the five years of the study as those who helped others. The simple act of giving to neighbors, a spouse, relative or friends gave people a 50% better chance of living longer. Her study gives clear evidence that giving is good for your health.
Although her friends told her that the move and overseeing the construction would be the death of her, Isabella out lived the friends that poo pooed her philanthropic adventure. She lived a happy, healthy life in her Monetico home for 10 years. Her vision, spirit and wish to remain an anonymous live on since her home is now used as a retreat center.
Volunteering is good for you. Science is beginning to discover that are concrete physical, and emotional benefits to giving to others. Perhaps, you have a vague notion that volunteering is “good for the soul” but have little, if any, concrete evidence that philanthropy could be good for your health. In More Give to Live, Douglas Lawson cites research that shows how helping others leads to enhanced health and emotional well-being. Numerous studies report that those involved in ongoing volunteer programs have an enhanced immune system, improved cardiovascular circulation as well as better sleep patterns. Emotionally those involved in philanthropic work sense of control over one’s life and circumstances, increased ability to cope with crisis as well as stronger feelings of personal satisfaction, compassion and empathy.
The Helper’s High.
You may have just had a brush with ‘Helper’s High’ yourself.
How do you feel when you finish a long run or a tough workout? Until the pain sinks in you probably feel fantastic. Strenuous exercise releases endorphins. That release creates an elated feeling known as the runners high. Have you ever left a day of working with your favorite good cause with more energy than you began with? That could be due to a similar endorphin response.
A charity in New York City recently conducted a survey of 3,300 volunteers. Many experienced feelings of euphoria while being involved in their service project. The volunteers compared the experience to the runner's high - when a person runs and exerts, but instead of feeling more stressed, one feels more relaxed and joyous.
Giving makes you feel better. It may be a key factor in living longer as well. Dr. Stephanie Brown and her colleagues at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan conducted an important study recently. Dr. Brown discovered and her team tracked 423 older couples over a 5 year period. The people who reported giving no support to others were more than twice as likely to die during the five years of the study as those who helped others. The simple act of giving to neighbors, a spouse, relative or friends gave people a 50% better chance of living longer. Her study gives clear evidence that giving is good for your health.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Rearview Mirror Thinking
If you know how to drive a car, you have the skills to turn around your day. And hey, once you have turned around your day, you are on the way to turning around your life and steering yourself toward more success.
Stress is feeling out of control. Think of barreling down the highway with no hands on the steering wheel. Feeling panicked? You bet. Grab the wheel and you calm down, right? You are the one in the driver’s seat. Funky to Fabulous gives you quick ways to grab the steering wheel of your life and create more of what you want—pronto.
Watch your hands on the steering wheel next time you are doing your daily drive and notice how you make the teeniest of changes to keep moving straight. Small adjustments are what keep you going in the direction you want to go. Choosing to pick up the phone to call a girlfriend instead of picking up the closest donut may not seem like a big deal. Try it. Do it often. Eat fewer donuts. Your zippers start zipping more easily. If you don’t think that success can be easy, fast, and fun, guess again.
Start with deciding where the heck you want to go. You add to the crazy-making quotient if you are vague about what you want. If I offered you a ride and you got in the car and asked me,“Where are you going?” and I said, “Well, I don’t really know,” you would probably leap right out again. You need to know if I am cruising over to the mall or heading to Canada.
A surefire way to turbocharge your successful outcomes is to keep your focus on where you are going, not where you have been. Think of driving to the grocery store looking in your rear-view mirror. Did you get very far? Me neither. The same is true in your life. Rearview mirror thinking messes with your head and your body. And I have the science to back me up on that one, baby. If you spend your day contemplating all the crud that didn’t work in the past, you will end up in a ditch.
Read more about "Funky to Fabulous" at http://www.funkytofabulous.com/home.html
Stress is feeling out of control. Think of barreling down the highway with no hands on the steering wheel. Feeling panicked? You bet. Grab the wheel and you calm down, right? You are the one in the driver’s seat. Funky to Fabulous gives you quick ways to grab the steering wheel of your life and create more of what you want—pronto.
Watch your hands on the steering wheel next time you are doing your daily drive and notice how you make the teeniest of changes to keep moving straight. Small adjustments are what keep you going in the direction you want to go. Choosing to pick up the phone to call a girlfriend instead of picking up the closest donut may not seem like a big deal. Try it. Do it often. Eat fewer donuts. Your zippers start zipping more easily. If you don’t think that success can be easy, fast, and fun, guess again.
Start with deciding where the heck you want to go. You add to the crazy-making quotient if you are vague about what you want. If I offered you a ride and you got in the car and asked me,“Where are you going?” and I said, “Well, I don’t really know,” you would probably leap right out again. You need to know if I am cruising over to the mall or heading to Canada.
A surefire way to turbocharge your successful outcomes is to keep your focus on where you are going, not where you have been. Think of driving to the grocery store looking in your rear-view mirror. Did you get very far? Me neither. The same is true in your life. Rearview mirror thinking messes with your head and your body. And I have the science to back me up on that one, baby. If you spend your day contemplating all the crud that didn’t work in the past, you will end up in a ditch.
Read more about "Funky to Fabulous" at http://www.funkytofabulous.com/home.html
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Britney Spears Cry For Help....Advice from Success Coach to Grammy Winners
Britney Spears has been crying for help for years. A quickie marriage. Then a marriage that should have been over in 55 hours if she had any sense.
As a Success Coach to Emmy that helps women go from Funky to Fabulous, here are some tips for Britney. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17507657/
1. Take time.
Don't rush rehab. Sure you lost your baby fat fast, but true healing takes time. The journey inward is a natural process and it can't be rushed. Regardless, of what her record company and handlers say. Her closest confidants have said that she has been on such a whirlwind that she has been flying instead of living her life.
2. Take Care.
You chose a party animal for a husband. It's time to take care of you and your kids. That means doing something each day that nurtures you and your kids. Hint: that doesn't mean shopping with Paris Hilton http://tinyurl.com/ywsdew.
3. Take a Step
After you start a new life, take your new life slowly. You used incredible discipline and determination to get where you are. Use that muscle of strength and discipline to take small steps to have a healthier life.
4. Forgive.
Yep. Forgive yourself. You would have done better if you had the tools. Forgiving yourself- let the past go. That is the only way to lay down your burden. It's hard to start over when you are carrying the past on your shoulders.
5. Give.
One of the most healing things is to give to another. Get high helping your kids.
As a Success Coach to Emmy that helps women go from Funky to Fabulous, here are some tips for Britney. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17507657/
1. Take time.
Don't rush rehab. Sure you lost your baby fat fast, but true healing takes time. The journey inward is a natural process and it can't be rushed. Regardless, of what her record company and handlers say. Her closest confidants have said that she has been on such a whirlwind that she has been flying instead of living her life.
2. Take Care.
You chose a party animal for a husband. It's time to take care of you and your kids. That means doing something each day that nurtures you and your kids. Hint: that doesn't mean shopping with Paris Hilton http://tinyurl.com/ywsdew.
3. Take a Step
After you start a new life, take your new life slowly. You used incredible discipline and determination to get where you are. Use that muscle of strength and discipline to take small steps to have a healthier life.
4. Forgive.
Yep. Forgive yourself. You would have done better if you had the tools. Forgiving yourself- let the past go. That is the only way to lay down your burden. It's hard to start over when you are carrying the past on your shoulders.
5. Give.
One of the most healing things is to give to another. Get high helping your kids.
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