Jacqueline Samuel is a cuddler. By this I don’t mean that she is a touchy feely kind of person (although she most certainly is that.) I mean she is a professional cuddler. For $60, you can go to her house, slip into bed with her, and . . . snuggle. As you might imagine, [...]
Have you ever made one of the following decisions? Smoked a cigarette. Drank too much. Ate too much. Ate things that were bad for you. Neglected working out. Had unsafe sex. Drove a car without a seatbelt. Drove a car after drinking. Drove a car faster than the speed limit. Used an illegal drug. If [...]
One aspect of the emergence of positive psychology and the trendiness of happiness has been to see businesses incorporating happiness into their business models. Zappos’ business is based on “Delivering Happiness,” Huggies has it’s “be happy” campaign and Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” video commercials have been hugely successful. At least in the case of Coca-Cola, their [...]
Photo Credit: Tambako the Jaguar via Compfightcc Long-time loyal readers of this blog will be aware that I take a month off of eating meat every year. I do this for three reasons: 1) I think it’s healthier not to eat meat. 2) I think it’s better for the planet. And 3) I think it’s [...]
Photo Credit: Chad McDonald via Compfight The headquarters of my company (Starwood Hotels and Resorts) recently relocated to a beautiful part of Stamford, Connecticut. Our new offices happen to be located adjacent to a cemetery, where I sometimes go running on my lunch break. I’m not sure what the etiquette is of running through a [...]
If you clicked this link because you thought I would teach how to have a “PERMANENT” vacation, then you misunderstood. But what I’m offering you is even better. PERMA is the acronym described by Martin Seligman, one of the top researchers in positive psychology, for the ingredients of a flourishing life: Positive emotions—experiencing happiness, joy, [...]
Photo Credit: Mark Probst via Compfight Mindfulness and self-control are like two sides of the same coin. This is counterintuitive, because mindfulness is often described as “non-attachment” which sounds like it is more about letting go of control–letting things be as they are without judgment. The problem is that this state of non-judgmental awareness does [...]
This article was featured on Positive Psychology News Daily. Consider these scenarios from Barry Schwartz’s book, Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing: 1. A judge is forced to sentence a first-time offender to five years in prison, even though her judgment tells her that the punishment is not justified by the crime. [...]
Photo Credit: a n i. Y. via Compfight April is “Stress Awareness Month” as sponsored by the “Health Resource Network” and April 16th specifically (the day after Tax Day) is “National Stress Awareness Day” in the United States. When I first heard about these “holidays,” I thought it was pretty ridiculous. I think it’s safe [...]
Photo Credit: Viewminder via Compfight Tomorrow is “World Happiness Day,” an official holiday recognized by the United Nations to honor “a fundamental human goal,” the pursuit of happiness. Thanks to the burgeoning field of positive psychology, there has been a deluge of new books and information on the secrets to human happiness: Authentic Happiness, The [...]
