3 Surprising Signs of Happiness
There is no standard definition for happiness. We mostly have to judge it by its components. These are three surprising signs that you are fully alive and yourself, which is of course one way to describe happiness.
Can’t Reply; at the Movies
I’m starting a new regular on the blog called ON THIS DAY, and today is the day my son suggested a version of me I always want to be.
(For the Boys) Thank You for the Delight
Last year, I let go of a goal that no longer seemed important enough, or certain enough, for the strain it caused me to long for it.
The goal was far too specific, really, and relatively few who try will achieve it: I wanted to be a self-sufficient, day-job-free, well-paid and traditionally published author of novels. Unfortunately, after twelve years of trying, it wasn't happening, and the angst of wanting it so much and not knowing how to reach it was, in popular self-help terminology, not working for me.
How the Revolution is Going
Hi! I'm in a midlife crisis. Can you believe it?! I could have died before I was thirty! Instead, here I am with the rest of Gen X women sort of wondering why I'm not as successful, rich, famous, or together as I thought I would be by now and occasionally despairing about it. THIS IS GREAT!
This post is the result of a happiness bet I made with myself
For some time now, I have been practicing happiness. Did you know you can practice it? This winter, I even took this happiness course (from Yale!). Some things I've learned...
We're usually wrong about what will actually make us happy (e.g., money)
We're also really, really certain we're right (seriously, MONEY)
The Truth About Being Home: I Dreamed of This
I have a long and firmly established love for being home. It's a common theme in L.M. Montgomery books (Anne of Green Gables, et al). That may be part of it. Home is prominent in Montgomery's real-life journals, too. As an orphan, raised by unfriendly, uncompromising grandparents, finally becoming mistress of her own home was a crowning joy for Montgomery.
How to Save the World from your Unchanging Personality
My mother tells a story about a woman with a toddler. After any errant behavior, the young mother would take the child's hand and say to the affected audience: "We're working on this."
Welcome to all of us.
Be The Change
You know what I can't stop thinking about lately? How alike we all are. We all have fairly similar wishes about the day: I hope it's not a typical Monday. I hope I don't feel overwhelmed. I'd like to be inspired.
The Relief Behind Door Number Three
There are two really good options when you don't like something. And then, there is a third option, which has recently saved my life.
When I Grow Up I Want to be an Architect
More than once in my life, I have been known to say (or, more likely, to write in my journal), "I love my life, but I do not like my days." I'm going to shuffle out on one very large limb here and assume that perhaps someone else can relate.