Family

5 Lessons from the Square Watermelon

You may have seen the press last week on the new square watermelon that is making it's debut in Japan. It's a fascinating story about ingenuity and in this case, how "thinking inside the box" can help you see things in a different way and enable you to explore some new solutions to life's problems. I found a great summary of the story on a web blog -

Anger!

We’ve all felt it at various times and from both sides of the equation – giver and receiver alike!

According to the American Psychological Association, “anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion”.

It’s when we don’t control our anger and when it quite possibly turns destructive, that we experience problems in all aspects of our life. The worst part, is often the increasing feeling of “being out of control” as our anger gets the best of us. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems—problems at work, in your personal relationships, and in the overall quality of your life. And it can make you feel as though you're at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful emotion.

A quick reflection on the whole idea of "normal".

I'm working with a client whose organization provides housing services for thousands of homeless people in the City of San Francisco. As we met today for the first time to discuss some team development work for her director staff, I had a chance to walk with her through her "hood" as she called it. It struck me how we are surrounded by so many people that lead very different lives than us and who we don't often even take notice of most of the time. While the homeless people we saw were in many respects different than my client, she didn't see them as "not normal". They were just the people her organization helps on a daily basis.

“We have enough people who tell it like it is- now we could use a few who can tell it like it can be.” –Robert Orben

As a woman and a mom, I have traveled a long road of self-discovery. I have listened to theories ranging from- you are a mom that is the only thing you should be concerned about; to the most important thing for you to do is take care of your husband and his needs so he can continue to ?....... In theory, this may have worked for some women a century ago, but today things have advanced to a place where at the click of a button, we have access to the whole world and the possibilities that exist for anyone who’s interested.

“We have enough people who tell it like it is- now we could use a few who can tell it like it can be.” –Robert Orben

As a woman and a mom, I have traveled a long road of self-discovery. I have listened to theories ranging from- you are a mom that is the only thing you should be concerned about; to the most important thing for you to do is take care of your husband and his needs so he can continue to ?....... In theory, this may have worked for some women a century ago, but today things have advanced to a place where at the click of a button, we have access to the whole world and the possibilities that exist for anyone who’s interested.

Quiz: Caretaking? or Taking Care?

All of us have been in a position to provide help to a loved one, close friend or coworker during our lives. Helping others is most often rewarding and satisfying. In his book Social Intelligence, best selling author Daniel Goleman, says that we are “wired to connect” and that new studies in the field of neuroscience are proving that our health is positively affected by close relationships and helping others.

The Power of Mindsight

How can we free ourselves from prisons of the past?

-- By Daniel Goleman

When you were young, which of these did you feel more often?

a) No matter what I do, my parents love me;

b) I can’t seem to please my parents, no matter what I do;

c) My parents don’t really notice me.

They’re everywhere, these Top 10 lists, filling our desire for bite-sized, digestible morsels of learning or humor. They give us tips on housework or investment practices, satire on current events or political issues, and ideas for consideration on personal growth.

With this Top 10, however, you are the writer. Use these Top 10 lists (and any others you may create) to remind yourself of what’s good and shining about you and your life. Use them to become more aware of what you know and what you can do to affect your world. Use them to reconnect with your dreams, to remember what you want deep inside. Enjoy!

Got Gratitude?

I just got back from Sedona Arizona where I presented at the first annual Positive Psychology Forum. It was an enlightening and powerful event. Positive psychology is an emerging science that is basically the study of what is going “right” and why “it’s good to feel good”. Sounds refreshing doesn’t it? Certainly more fun than studying Freud!

Train Your Brain to Be Happier

Tal Ben-Shahar is an author and lecturer at Harvard University. He currently teaches the largest course at Harvard on "Positive Psychology" and is author of the book “Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment”.

Dr. Ben-Shahar suggests that "the question should not be whether you are happy but what you can do to become happier". While this may sound quite straight forward, the idea of positive psychology is a relatively new concept in psychology circles. A recent post on Sharp Brains (www.sharpbrains.com) does a great job of explaining some of the key concepts of how Dr. Ben-Shahar believes you can become happier.