Category: Happiness

Whether we are talking about athletes, artists, or academics, the story is the same. If you want to fulfill your potential then you must practice a specific skill for a long time with remarkable consistency.

Are you deluding yourself, limiting your happiness, and delaying effective action just by saying a simple three word phrase? You very well could be, as so many people are.

A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.

Business leaders have many tasks to accomplish and prioritizing stuff can be hard. Yesterday I wrote about the need to “do fewer things, more often” in which I described that frenzied world we live in and why the shiny objects and distractions stop us from living up to our true potential.

As powerful as being in a relationship can be, there are some things that even love can't change -- namely who your partner is at his or her core. Below, experts weigh in with nine things you can't change about your S.O., as hard as you may try.

Many people have written to me saying they love all the research on bettering themselves but need that first step on how to shoehorn it in to their day-to-day life.

You might think that your way of speaking is natural, but the words you use and how you use them can determine how your confidence is judged. While there is no such thing as right or wrong words—results vary depending on the context—some common words we use in conversation really just put us at a disadvantage because they are weak and make us seem less confident.

We've all been there, you're at a party, wedding, or formal dinner, and barely know a soul. From the editors at TownandCountryMag.com, 10 expert tips on the best ways to start a conversation.

Here are 25 tiny habits you could add into your life. They don’t seem like much, but if you practice them regularly, they can change your energy level, your fitness, your relationships, your work, your community, and your environment… in big ways.

In these times we live in, with so much happening, with the weight of a dualistic world on our shoulders, with the stress of a system that doesn’t really function for many of us who stepped out of the old, it’s almost impossible not to get caught up in a serious mood. But that “almost” makes a big difference.

As a psychologist and life coach who has spent thousands of hours working with clients over the past 28 years — including hundreds of hours with clients who meet this super-achiever character profile — here's what I've noticed about people who consistently succeed. Plus: How you can tweak your mindset to become a high achiever, too.

Here are some of the wisest and most inspiring quotes that will help motivate you to succeed.

One way of getting through the day and actually making it more productive is to think apparently crazy thoughts that just might make sense. Here are a few to get you started.

Many of us have a tendency to accept what we hear without thinking critically and forming our own opinions. Author Jeremy Kourdi says there are three questions you should ask every time you're presented with new information.

The least-fun part of effective learning is that it's hard. In fact, the "Make It Stick" authors contend that when learning if difficult, you're doing your best learning, in the same way that lifting a weight at the limit of your capacity makes you strongest.

Living a life you love is possible for everyone. My conversation with the happiest kayak girl in the world stirred up ideas of other happy people who practice happiness. People who have made happiness a habit and it beams from their pores. Because happiness is a choice and we can all cultivate it.

The Lady in Number 6 is one of the most inspirational stories ever told. 109 year old, Alice Herz Sommer, the world's oldest pianist and oldest holocaust survivor, shares her views on how to live a long happy life. She discusses the vital importance of music, laughter and having an optimistic outlook on life. This powerfully inspirational video tells her amazing story of survival and how she managed to use her time in a Nazi concentration camp to empower herself and others with music.

You only need to wander around Stockholm at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon to understand that the Nordic way of life runs at an entirely different pace to that of the UK. When every British high street is a throng of teenage girls and predatory chuggers, in Sweden the streets are serene and the doors of Acne, J Lindeberg and Cheap Monday are closing.

Psychology had already tapped into the power of rewards and punishments to shape behavior, and conditioning as a whole was coming into sharp focus, but Seligman and his colleagues wondered if learning in this way could be sped up through preparation.

We all mess up from time to time, and when it affects someone else, it’s good to apologize. But people have different ways of apologizing. When saying you’re sorry to someone, it might help to stick to their “apology language.”

Motivation is a funny thing. There are, like, a thousand things we have to do, but only a handful of them we do without question.

If you’re not careful, your thoughts will prevent you from achieving your goals. Here are a few ways to focus your thoughts away from the negative and toward the positive.

Anytime I come across someone with a fascinating story, I make a point to take a little time to investigate, whether out of curiosity or for sheer entertainment.And they always seem to have something surprising to teach that I can usually adapt to my own pursuits.

The next time you're feeling low, try eating one of the following foods, which are scientifically proven to help turn that frown upside down.

Here are sixty-seven short pieces of advice I either follow, or probably should. Take from it whatever rings true to you, and don’t take the whole thing too seriously. Have a good week.

When you’re working toward a goal, you are essentially saying, ‘I’m not good enough yet, but I will be when I reach my goal’.

Use the following tips to strike up a conversation at your next networking event, dinner party or while you're standing in line for coffee.

Bukowski was in no way a “self-help” guru but you can’t deny that he’s a bad ass who lived his life exactly the way he wanted and didn’t give a s*&t what anyone else thought. And I don’t know about you, but I think there’s a lot to learn from someone like that.

People don't have the time or the attention span to read any more words than necessary. You want your readers to hear you out, understand your message, and perhaps be entertained, right? Here's a list of words to eliminate to help you write more succinctly.

To achieve your greatest goals, sometimes all you have to do is ask.

I figured that the more I traveled, the more likely I was to run into someone who could save me.

Are you going to read this later? It’s ok, I have nothing against distractions or procrastination. Neither do our brains.

These are the strategies, exercises and simple step-by-step methods that have helped me to stop putting so many things off. The habits that have been a real life-changer for me.

Lee had over 275 film credits and was known predominantly for his villainous roles, namely his performances as iconic fiends like Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. With so much experience in the world of acting, the Hollywood icon had some important things to say about the business.

Don’t try to hide from your fears; they’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you know that something is worth it.

Having a hobby is not just a way to pass the time; it can also improve the quality of your life.

Someone recently asked me, “Do you talk to yourself?” to which I responded, “Yes, absolutely.” In fact, we all do. Now, I’m not talking about taking a vacation to the funny farm, but rather our internal dialogue and the outward comments we make about ourselves. This is our self-talk. Let’s take a closer look!

Whether we’re in our homes, in our cars, or in our offices, we spend most of our days removed from nature—and it’s not good for us.

What makes you happy? Do “things” make you happy? Nice shoes, a fancy car, the best phone on the market- sure these are nice things that we can use to make life easier or more enjoyable but do they really make you happy? If these things have the power to actually make you happy then does that mean that you give a certain amount of control to things or outside forces rather than maintaining control over your own life? Now that’s not to say that we can’t enjoy nice things or treat ourselves to something special, we could all use a little self deserved gift or pampering from time to time. But are you the creator of your own happiness and self-fulfillment?

Hunger is a hard thing to hang onto in the face of doubt, but there are some ways to find and feed that hunger, and stay motivated when you’re struggling to see the light.

The following list contains 10 things that successful people do to find balance on the weekend and to come into work at 110% on Monday morning.

Below I am going to share with you 6 things that will help you reach a massive level of success.

“My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.” –Joe Versus the Volcano

What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at your desk? For many of us, checking email or listening to voice mail is practically automatic. In many ways, these are among the worst ways to start a day. Both activities hijack our focus and put us in a reactive mode, where other people’s priorities take center stage. They are the equivalent of entering a kitchen and looking for a spill to clean or a pot to scrub.

Well, sometimes that frustration can actually be a positive and can give you a new idea or angle on things. Or it can give you the power to keep going just a little bit more until you reach your goal.

Most people seek happiness, and it’s a strange thing that society almost makes us feel insufficient if we don’t maintain a standard of happiness 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

One of the greatest pioneers in the field of success and personal development was Napoleon Hill. His most famous work, “Think and Grow Rich” has been around since 1937, and is based on an even earlier book, “The Law of Success.”

One of my favorite quotes — one that guides much of my life and work — is a Japanese proverb: Your garden is not complete until there’s nothing more you can take out of it.