If you’re wondering if a vision board or a spell painting can influence the direction of your life — and you weren’t convinced by reading The Secret — then here’s another blogger’s tale of feeling good energy coming from a vision board. And by the way, if you need a spell painting to help visualize your life goals, John’s available…
My blog post earlier this week on saving for retirement prompted passionate discussion when I posted the link on Facebook, so here’s a follow up to keep the conversation going. On this blog about retirement (see below), the author not only discusses the sources of funding you might have for retirement but also talks about what your expenses are likely…
John and I went to see Toy Story 3 this weekend, which has prompted several long conversations about the transition from childhood to adulthood. The premise of the movie is that Andy is heading off to college and has gotten too old for his toys. It tells the story from the toys’ perspective, of course, but it’s hard not to…
Say what you will about pop phenom Lady Gaga, the woman can write a catchy tune. More than a week ago, I heard one of her songs at a neighborhood sushi restaurant and I’m still finding myself singing Bad Romance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I] An excellent (if very long) article in the Washington Post recently was headlined: The Marriage Myth: Why do so…
My coworker, Ted, recently posted a link on Facebook. It was a New York Times article about social interactions in real life and online. That Ted and I work in the same building but converse more electronically than face to face is probably relevant here somehow. Charles Blow wrote in his op-ed for the Times: A report issued Wednesday by…
Some people idealize high school and college as the happiest times of their lives. I am not one of those people. You couldn’t pay me to be a teenager again, and my 20s weren’t much better. Naturally I found this recent HealthDay story interesting, reporting on a new Stony Brook University study that shows people over 50 are generally happier:…
Editor’s note: This post gets a lot of traffic from people searching phrases like “mothers day wishes for someone who lost their mom.” I love that so many of you are looking to offer your love and support, and would personally suggest following your heart with something simple like “Thinking of you and your mom today,” or “Are you doing…
I subscribe to the Quote of the Day e-mail from All About Gratitude. Most of them are pretty good, but this one recently really struck me: “The diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials.” ~ Chinese Proverb I love a blog about gratitude reminding me that life’s trials aren’t to be avoided but a path…
We spend a lot of time wishing each other happiness at this time of year — happy holidays, happy new year, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah. So this recent NY Times article about who’s most happy and least happy seems especially well timed. a study by two economics professors, newly published in Science magazine. The academics — Andrew J. Oswald, of…
Zen Habits, one of my favorite e-mail newsletters, offered guidance this week on making New Year’s resolutions using the Six Changes Method. Here’s how it works: Pick 6 habits for 2010. Pick 1 of the 6 habits to start with. Commit as publicly as possible to creating this new habit in 2 months. Break the habit into 8 baby steps,…
Monday morning I caught the end of a piece about New Year’s resolutions on The Takeaway, a syndicated radio show produced at our NPR affiliate, WNYC. We’re joined by our family contributor Ylonda Caviness, longtime family and parenting journalist and mother of three, along with Andrea Price, mother of two; both discuss meaningful New Year’s resolutions (or “goals,” as Price…
Have you ever stood with your glass of champagne in hand and declared that this year is the one when you’ll run a marathon, lose 50 pounds or get a great new job? Then all you have to show for your half-hearted commitment is a champagne hangover? This week I’m blogging about making — and keeping — resolutions. Saturday I…
Have you ever stood with your glass of champagne in hand and declared that this year is the one when you’ll run a marathon, lose 50 pounds or get a great new job? Then all you have to show for your half-hearted commitment is a champagne hangover? This week I’m blogging about making — and keeping — resolutions. Yesterday I…
A great article in BusinessWeek … make that Bloomberg BusinessWeek .. addresses the cause and effect of happiness and work. Authors Marshall and Kelly Goldsmith reviewed a survey on short-term satisfaction and long-term benefit at work and at home. A few observations they made really got me thinking: There is an incredibly high correlation between people’s happiness and meaning at…
