Influential people like Sonja Lyubomirsky, Tal Ben-Shahar, and Barbara Fredrickson advocate meditation as a positive intervention. This enthusiasm is probably driven by research suggesting that meditation can have a profound impact on health and well-being. For example meditation has been linked to higher levels of...
I'm currently on retreat with the rest of the faculty from the RMIT Master of Wellness course on which I teach Positive Psychology and Happiness. Being away for a few days with people I don't know that well is atypical for me and in some...
7 powerful and practical tips for kicking goals this year! As noted in our eNewsletter this morning, here at The Happiness Institute we want to make sure 2010 is a year full of happiness and success for all of our thousands of loyal and passionate readers....
Strategies, like implementation intentions, that are meant to enhance our goal pursuit are only really effective when we already have strong goal intentions. Here's an example of strengthening an exercise intention. I've written at length about the use of implementation intentions to achieve our goals. Implementation...
The New York Times blog called "Well" recently asked: "Will Olympic Athletes Dope if They Know It Might Kill Them?" The answer is surprisingly clear: Many would if they could. In bi-annual surveys conducted from 1982 to 1995, researcher Bob Goldman asked elite athletes whether they...
I must admit I watched, over the past few weeks, the build up of hype and excitement about the launch of Apple's latest product, the iPad, with a sense of curious bemusement. On the one hand, I quite like gadgets and techno toys although I've never...
Firstly, for all the parents out there, this article is on a topic about which I frequently speak...
To make sense of a complicated world and our place in it, humans need to construct meaning. We need to know what is expected of us, how to behave and how to function among other people. Otherwise, our sense of self is at risk. But our...
Check out these two new articles from The Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post The Wall Street Journal encouraged readers to "Think Happy Thoughts at Work" Like many workers, Ivelisse Rivera, a physician at Community Health Center, Middletown, Conn., feels stressed-out by mounting workloads. And she...
So you have some extra cash in your pocket. Do you spend it on the latest gizmo or on going to a restaurant with friends? How does your choice affect your happiness? Money as an Inexact Surrogate Given that January is synonymous with high street sales, I...