Tag Archives: happiness
When I moved to Chicago, I noticed that I gravitated to the color orange, using it for furnishings, throw pillows and linens throughout my apartment. Orange symbolizes energy, vitality, cheer, excitement, adventure, warmth, and good health. In retrospect, I find it interesting that these are the feelings needed to start over in a new town. Perhaps my subconscious was my interior decorator? Color theory, in general, fascinates me. Have you ever considered the subliminal effects of color on mood? What…..
Just in case you needed to hear this today, it’s okay to be selfish. Women, in particular, are conditioned to be givers, peacemakers, feather-smoothers, and people pleasers. Most, if not all of these expectations are based on the sentiment that it’s not good for women to be selfish, or that being selfish is bad. The messaging is so relentless and pervasive that it’s easy for the distinction between selfish and self care can be difficult to ascertain. Some random thoughts…..
“What do sad people have in common? It seems they have all built a shrine to the past and often go there and do a strange Wail and Worship. What is the beginning of Happiness? It is to stop being so religious like that.” — Hafiz Human behavior fascinates me. It’s probably what attracted me to advertising in the first place. Divining and then driving behavior is a never-ending, evolving symbiotic relationship. Whether advertising is arbiter or mirror of human behavior…..
I blame Charlton Heston. When I was a little kid, the yearly screening of The Ten Commandments was anticipated in our household for a number of reasons. The first of which was its role as a rite of passage to, if not adulthood, at least big kid status, proved through the ability to stay awake through the entire thing. Alas, for many years, my brothers and I would consistently conk out on the living room floor somewhere around Yul Brynner’s…..
One thing about resilience — and where I’m going with my next book is — owning your choices and actions allows you to change them. It’s a foundational ballast of resilience and happiness. Both occur at this intersection. You can’t bounce back without a firm floor. If you’re not honest about how you failed or you’re not honest about how you arrived at that loss, you’re not going to be able to create a firm foundation upon which to build……
In honor of Random Acts of Kindness Day, today I’ll share a few ways you can show kindness in your every day life. At their essence, manners are the recognition and respect of self in other. When we use good manners, we are actually acknowledging our own worthiness of being treated well and with respect. In so saying, I of course realize that not everyone practices good manners. There are many rude (and psychologically wounded) people walking the planet. Whenever…..
What kind of cook are you? The “measure-y, by the book” sort or the stir, sniff and sample sort? For what it’s worth, I think that not only does each approach have merit, but there are certain times when it pays to err on the side of the extreme of either. When I was a little girl, I used to perch on a stool in my grandma’s kitchen and watch as she cooked dinner for us. My knees drawn up…..
At the turn of the year, I ask you to take stock of everything that is going WELL in your life right now. If you’re having a difficult time thinking of anything, here’s one thing to consider: if you can read this, you have access to the internet and the ability to read. This isn’t my attempt to “doom shame” you, and it isn’t meant to minimize the extreme suffering experienced by millions of people this year. However, it is…..
It has been a terrible, deadly year. Every year brings its share of death, poverty and sadness, but 2021 has been a catastrophic time for almost all of us on this planet. Not only has the death and pain been so widespread, it didn’t have to be this way. It was made possible and exacerbated by the cowardice and greed of a handful of people who valued financial wealth above the lives of millions of their fellow human beings. I…..
Do you ever wonder why some people seem to bounce back after misfortune and crises while others don’t? There are a myriad of reasons, some of which are 100% beyond their control (genetic luck, geographic random location), but some things are not only controllable, but can be cultivated. Your happiness set point can be determined by many things, but these four things represent major areas: • Financial cushion • Health — mental, spiritual, physical • Community • Family These are…..