The above is a quote from a sermon I heard recently. When you think about it, it’s actually pretty scary–our thoughts determine what we become. This means that we need to choose our thoughts very carefully or we run the risk of becoming something we don’t want to be. As we choose our thoughts, it’s…
I recently came across an article written by Alex Dixon titled, “Kindness Makes You Happy… And Happiness Makes You Kind.” The article cited two research studies which suggest that once you start doing kind things for other people, you probably won’t want to stop. The reason is that performing acts of kindness makes us happy…
A friend of mine posted on her Facebook a recent article from World Observer Online titled “15 Things You Should Give Up to be Happy.” The last in the list of these 15 items caught my attention. It said we should give up living our life according to other people’s expectations. According to the article,…
Pursuing happiness is one of the major drivers of our behavior. However, an article written by Adam Grant, a Management professor at the University of Pennsylvania, which was recent posted on Linkedin.com suggests that our “…quest for happiness might be a recipe for misery.” The reason for this is: “Happiness is an individual state, so…
An article about Martha Stewart’s new book, Living the Good Life appeared in a recent issue of USA Today. Among other things, the article presented Martha’s “10 Golden Rules” for aging. Several of these caught my eye because they are the key to living a good and happy life at any age. They are: find…
These words are from a commencement speech that was recently delivered at the University of Michigan by Richard Costolo, the co-founder and current CEO of Twitter. The resilience that comes from doing what you love puts you in a position where you are able deal with the setbacks and obstacles that life throws at you…
An article by Scott Stossel in a recent issue of The Atlantic reports on one of the longest-running longitudinal studies on human development. The study began in 1938 and followed the lives of 268 Harvard undergraduates (these were all men because Harvard wasn’t coed at the time) for 75 years. One of the most interesting…
The above is a quote from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. While he endured his share of failures, he knew these failures would eventually lead to success so he continued to press on with enthusiasm. When I hear a quote like this, I’m reminded of Thomas Edison’s experience associated with inventing the first commercially…
Al Neuharth, the founder of USA Today, died this past week at the age of 89. When he published the first issue of USA Today on September 15, 1982 he received a lot of criticism from the media industry–they referred to the venture as “Neuharth’s Folly.” After all, everyone knew there was no market for a new daily…
Visiting with a sick friend can feel awkward and even stressful. We want to say the right things, but we’re sometimes not sure of what those right things are. I came across an article in a recent issue of The Wall Street Journal which contains some sound advice on how to avoid insensitive or hurtful…