Stop Stress Before It Stops You

I live in the United States, and everyone I speak with recently seems incredibly stressed. Mixing a contentious political environment with a high degree of uncertainty about our workplaces and economic and social environments has pushed many people to the far edge of anxiety. And this is a global issue. A little stress keeps you … Read more

Give Thanks, Get Results

Dear tribe members: If you celebrate the Great American Holiday of Thanksgiving, you will soon gather round a meal and give thanks for your blessings. Enjoy that moment. Know also that I appreciate you; Thanks for being part of this conversation. AND that’s not what this quick note is about. This is about the workplace, … Read more

Act Happy Week, Day 5: Hang Out With Happy People

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 5: Hang Out With Happy People I remember when my children were younger and we were trying to get past the childhood … Read more

Act Happy Week, Day 4: Act Like an Optimist

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 4: Act Like an Optimist Pessimists look to the future and expect things to go wrong, while Optimists look to the future … Read more

Act Happy Week, Day 3: Perform an Act of Kindness

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 3: Perform an Act of Kindness Have you ever dropped a dollar in a charity bucket and noticed how good you felt … Read more

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

The 13 Principles of Happiness, Redux

A few weeks ago I delivered one of my core talks, “Five Prescriptions for Living and Leading in a Turbulent World” to an enthusiastic audience. One of the participants approached me after the program to say, “Jim, I’ve been a subscriber for over a year, and I’ve never read anything about these 13 Principles of … Read more

How to Stop a Sneeze and Improve Your Life

Part One: Learn to Sneeze Several weeks ago the muscles in my lower back staged a revolt, making it impossible to sit, stand, walk, or lie down without enormous pain. Every time I’m just about over it, something simple trips the spasms again and I’m back to hobbling — one time it was putting on … 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

My Summer Reading

I don’t create a huge summer reading list any more.  but people still ask.  So as I’m making my selections, I’m sharing.  Here are some books I’m reading while on the beach this year: For personal transformation, Daring Greatly, by Brene Brown.  Everyone who has read this insists I will love it — about being vulnerable and showing … Read more