A friend recently recommended The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World to me. The book is a memoir of a famous meeting between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I had already been thinking about writing this post about the difference between joy and happiness when…
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I Do Not Like That Man. I Must Get to Know Him Better.
Amid all the hate speech on and offline, I thought this quote from Abraham Lincoln provides some sound advice. He is noted for saying, “I do not like that man. I must get to know him better.” Isn’t it easy to see something we disagree with online and immediately dismiss…
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I’d like to be happy. How about you?
For much of my life I have battled depression. Some of the depression is due to a loss or a challenge. Much of my book and coaching centers around changing thoughts and behaviors to minimize the impact of “for cause” depression, sadness, anger, and anxiety. I have found the best…
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Unconsciously Living
I was having a LinkedIn conversation with a co-worker the other day and I don’t remember how it came up, but I shared how about once a week either my husband or I say, “WTF??!! We live in Mexico!! When did THAT happen??” She shared that she says the same,…
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Self-Compassion vs. Self-Esteem
As surely many of us are, I have been working on self-worth and self-love for many years. I would argue that most of us do not see and embrace our worth at the level we deserve. Even those who appear to be self-centered and self-focused, usually have an empty core…
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What is getting in the way of seeing things clearly?
I love this cartoon and how it perfectly illustrates how our perception colors, or in this case, blocks how we see the world. If we perceive something, we are “seeing” it using our five senses. Perceiving can also mean to understand a concept in our mind. Perceiving is the act…
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Flowers for the Living
This Anne Frank quote came across my awareness the other day and stopped me in my tracks. “Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude.” wow. Here are some themes that came up for me. Be in the Moment One of the reasons…
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The Rule, Not the Exception
One of the running jokes we have in Spanish class is, “and of course, there are exceptions.” Every time I am instructed on a new verb tense, past preterit for example, I am shown all the normal conjugations for use with I, you, them, and us. After a few written…
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The Top Way to Be More Productive at Work
What do you think the top way to be more productive at work is? Time management? Delegation? Clear goals and strategies? Singular focus? Prioritization? Managing interruptions? The winner is: Be happy. The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkley (GGSC) posits that we are not only more productive, but…
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The Way Out is Through
This article captures much of what concerns me about the mainstream spiritual movement. Be positive, raise your vibration, and attract what you want. The message repeated again and again is to focus on the good and more good will come to you. The unspoken message is that if bad things…