Self-love 101: How to do it and why it matters
The concept of self-love sometimes gets a bad rap. It’s a little misunderstood. There’s a cartoon I like by Sam Hepburn that shows a contemplative character gazing adoringly into a mirror, saying “For a long time I felt really bad about myself. Then I discovered narcissism.” That’s the way self-love is often perceived; it’s frivolous […]
Our thoughts are not neutral and insignificant, they matter
In talking to people about their one-word intentions for the new year, one of the responses that struck me most was “discipline.” Discipline gets a bad rap. It sounds naggy and annoying, but it doesn’t have to a be a strain or killjoy. Employed properly, discipline can help maximize happiness and success. I love it […]
Sometimes it’s good to be out of your mind
The Dalai Lama says a disciplined mind leads to happiness. He also says the opposite is true: “An undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” We know this. We know how our minds wander and ruminate and hunker down on negativity. This comes naturally. It doesn’t take any effort to be critical and judgmental, to overlay the […]
Try these 3 steps for a lighter headspace
We tend to think of health and wellness in terms of diet, exercise and other physical concepts like how much we sleep. But one of the greatest indicators of wellbeing is deeper: It’s how we think. The way we think determines what we perceive and experience; it determines our quality of life. We do all […]
How negative is the voice in your head?
We talk to ourselves all day long in our heads, and often, the tone and topics skew negative. I first noticed this because of the way conversations tend to go. When someone asks: “How are you?” and the response is “good,” the conversation dead-ends. If things are going reasonably well, they’re almost unremarkable. There’s not […]
How to address our biggest barrier to feeling great
The way we think is often our greatest barrier to living well and feeling great. I seemingly need to learn this lesson over and over again, so I’ll keep coming back to it here, too. It’s just so important and unbelievably easy to forget. When we get bogged down in negativity, we sabotage ourselves immeasurably […]
Listen to some thoughts. Ignore others. Here’s a general rule.
Our brains go, go, go, go, go. That’s good, in a way. We have a lot to do. Adulting is full of tasks and maintenance and thoughts that need thinking. We have to figure out insurance, taxes, mortgages, putting together Ikea furniture. But we don’t just think about logistical matters and the optimal completion of […]
3 tips to add some sweetness to your day
It’s the little things we do and think in the course of a day that add up to determine how things go. So today, I’d like to offer a few simple tips that, at least for me, can have a surprisingly large effect. Here we go: 1. Add a bright thought. It’s pretty common to […]