Act Happy Week, Day 5: Say Thank You

Today is the final day of Act Happy week: a week-long series on using your body to invoke Happiness. Today: Say Thank You — expressing Gratitude changes your body chemistry AND changes the environment around you (a 60-second lesson — read more at the blog)

Act Happy Week, Day 4: Fake It to Feel It

Today is the fourth day of Act Happy week: in a week-long series on using your body to invoke Happiness. Today: Fake It Till You Make It — change your body to change your emotional space (a 60-second lesson — read more at the blog)

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

You always have the Power to Change YOU

Do you have things or situations in your life that cause you to go, “ugh!”? I call them Tolerations — things you “put up with” in your life. Because they are often small and invisible, they create stress without your awareness; they drain your energy. Happiness Principle #6 reads: Tolerate Nothing. Continually identify and eliminate … Read more

Apply the Learning of the Masters to your Goals

When I entered the rotunda of the Galleria dell’Accademie in Firenze (Florence) for my first live look at this Italian icon, it literally took my breath away. 17 feet tall, sleek and powerful, Michelangelo’s David is truly a marvel — accurate down to the veins on the back of his hands and the chipped toenails … Read more

14 Life Lessons from a Trip to Italy

Immersion in a foreign culture refreshes the way I view the world. First, the “different-ness” of life in another country or region opens up new awareness; then, my newly expanded lens causes me to review habits and beliefs that were previously “invisible” to me. Through the lens of learning, I share with you my most powerful life lessons from my family’s recent trip to Italy: