A former student of mine posted the following quote on Facebook: “Happiness comes a lot easier when you stop complaining about your problems and you start being grateful for all the problems you don’t have.” We all know someone who, when things don’t go their way, they take it personally and start complaining—as if they’re…
The above is a quote from the late Ernie Harwell who was the Detroit Tigers’ play by play radio broadcaster for 42 years. While broadcasting for the Tigers, he became the most popular sports figure in the state of Michigan and his popularity came from living out the above quote—putting the interest of others before…
Setbacks–those unfortunate events that impede our progress toward achieving our goals or realizing our dreams–can be frustrating, as well as stressful and painful. As unwelcome as they are, setbacks always have a silver lining because they force us to look at the world through a new set of eyes. As a result, a setback could…
Albert Einstein once said, “I must be willing to give up what I am to become what I will be.” This is the hard part of following our dreams that is seldom talked about. Moving forward through life requires that we let go of the comfortable and familiar that we may have worked extremely hard…
It’s a fact of life; if you follow the crowd, you’ll never be highly successful. On the other hand, the minute you step away from the crowd, you invite criticism—people judge you and make disparaging remarks about your ideas and dreams which can be hurtful. So, how do you deal with such criticism? The answer…
A friend of mine once told me, “If you don’t like the play, step off the stage and rewrite the script.” This wisdom is particularly useful for dealing with bad days. Instead of whining or playing the victim, step back, take a deep breath, and say to yourself, “I’m going to rewrite the rest of…
In an article which appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Melinda Beck referred to a growing body of research which shows that feeling grateful for the good things that happen to us can greatly improve our psychological, emotional and physical health. According to Ms. Beck, “Adults who frequently feel grateful have more energy, more optimism,…
Many people have a hard time accepting compliments. When you tell one of these people that they look great, they brush off your compliment with something like, “Yeah, right!” Or, “I think you need a new pair of glasses.” Similarly, if you compliment them on something they’ve done, they come back with, “Any idiot could…
Jo Craven McGinty wrote a very fascinating article titled, The Math Behind Successful Marriages, which in The Wall Street Journal. In this article, she discusses the research of psychologist John Gottman, who counselled troubled couples, and Mathematician James Murray, who specialized in modeling biological processes. Both were professors at the University of Washington at the time.…
For a long time, I’ve been talking with someone who is not particularly happy with how he’s doing financially. It turns out that he’s one of those people who is extremely knowledgeable about sports—especially football. On several occasions I have suggested that he start a newsletter or a blog to share his vast knowledge with…