I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase: “Laughter is the best medicine.” According to an article on Daily Health Post, there are at least eight health benefits associated with that are backed by scientific research. The article points out that laughter relieves stress, lowers blood pressure, burns calories, reduces pain, lowers blood sugar, improves our…
The other night, I was watching a major league baseball player being interviewed on television after he had pitched a particularly good game. Early in his career, he had not pitched well and now he is pitching very well. When the interviewer asked him what it was that caused the change in his performance, he…
One of my daughters recently emailed a quote to me that read, “Happy people are those who continuously evaluate and improve themselves. Unhappy people are those who continuously evaluate others.” What this means is that happy people are focused on personal growth–trying and learning new things, going to new places and making new friends. For…
Last week’s Reminder on how feuds should have a time limit produced some very interesting comments. The gist of that Reminder was that if feuds had time limits, there would be no long term grudges. As it turns out, there are a number of very wise people who have imposed a time limit regarding any…
This past Saturday, I was trimming shrubs around the pool. I was a little stressed because I wanted to finish the job that afternoon. As I walked around the corner of the pool to get a trimmer, I lost my balance. I had to make a quick decision – do I try to regain my…
Over the last several years, I have 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’s extremely knowledgeable about sports—especially football. On several occasions I have suggested that he start a newsletter to share his vast knowledge with other interested…
I’ve always been fascinated with the phrase “pride goes before a fall” and I’ve always wondered why. A recent article by Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press provides us with some terrific insight. As it turns out, when many people experience success, it leads to overconfidence and excessive pride or arrogance–I’m the expert and I…
Recently, my wife observed two Great Blue Herons. One was standing in the middle of a swift flowing stream while the other stood safely on the bank. You can guess which one was catching fish–not the one standing on the bank. The same is true for people. If you expect to become successful, you have…
The summer vacation time is fast approaching. Vacations are good things: they help us get back to feeling our best, make us more creative and productive and, for a number of reasons, make us healthier. The problem is that all too many people look at vacations as luxuries rather than necessities. I just came off…
There aren’t many medicines that even come close to delivering the benefits that laughter delivers. To start with, laughter makes us feel good, makes our burdens seem lighter and makes the difficult times seem less difficult.