Act Happy Week, Day 2: Practice Gratitude

The focus of Act Happy Week is to educate the public about purposeful actions you can take to create chemical shifts in your body that drive Positive Emotions. Here is today’s exercise: Day 2: Practice Gratitude To build strength in your Positive Emotion “muscles” you must exercise them regularly. Just as you must run to … Read more

Why Is It So Important To Start With Gratitude?

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? We’ve puzzled this question for hundreds of years, and many are still divided on the best answer. But when speaking of the Positive Emotions family, Happiness vs. Gratitude, there is no debate about which comes first: Gratitude. Gratitude To build a House of Happiness, you must first … Read more

Happiness Comes From Love and Gratitude

Every day, people buy too much stuff, eat too much food, and waste away their hours chasing after happiness…to no avail. They may find excitement or satiation, but TRUE HAPPINESS still eludes them. Fortunately, happiness is really inexpensive and pretty simple to find, but that doesn’t mean that it comes easily.  If you’re bold, and … Read more

Ten Practices for Gratitude

Gratitude (grat-i-tood), noun: the quality of being warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankfulness. Gratitude is the most powerful of all the positive emotions, forming a solid foundation for experiencing more happiness, optimism, hope, and joy. Practiced regularly, gratitude shapes your worldview toward noticing abundance versus scarcity, since it focuses on what you Have versus … Read more

Tiny Stories of Gratitude for the Holidays

A client of mine sent this story as part of his holiday message, and I loved it so much I asked for his permission to share it with all of you. My guest columnist, Rob, is an executive who lives in Chicagoland. He shares six tiny stories of miracles and gratitude.

Gratitude Reprised

As the American Thanksgiving holiday approaches, our thoughts turn to Giving Thanks and the emotion of Gratitude.  This emotion is so foundational to the experience of all the Positive Emotions that I believe it is impossible to oversell its importance or speak of it too often. Gratitude is defined as, the quality of being warmly … Read more

Gratitude: You already know how to do this!

As you do your final preparation for Thanksgiving, remember that this is, in the end, a holiday about giving thanks and offering gratitude. Some people find it awkward to express their gratitude.  That discomfort comes from living in a world that has programmed us into thinking it’s all about me, me, me and stuff, stuff, … Read more

Act Happy Week 2023, Day 4: Self-Talk

The focus of Act Happy Week is to educate the public about purposeful actions you can take to create chemical shifts in your body and new neural pathways in your brain to support more frequent experiences of what we call Positive Emotions. When you “Act Happy” you train your mind/body/heart to find Happiness, Calm, and … Read more

ThanksGETTING – How do you receive a Gift?

As the saying goes, It is better to give than to receive. But if you pour water into a leaky glass, it won’t slake your thirst. So, let’s look at the receiving end of the process.  Do you have a friend who is impossible to praise? If you say, “I appreciate the work you did,” might they say, … Read more

ThanksGIVING – How do you offer it?

As the American Thanksgiving holiday approaches, our thoughts turn to Giving Thanks and the emotion of Gratitude. This emotion is so foundational to the experience of all the Positive Emotions that I believe it is impossible to oversell its importance or speak of it too often.  Gratitude is defined as, the quality of being warmly or deeply appreciative … Read more