Dear Reader, Some years ago, a friend told me that she wouldn't give advice anymore because that makes people unhappy. She had participated in a course around spirituality and self-improvement. I love giving (usually unsolicited) advice. While I could understand her reasons, I totally disagreed and still do. I think advice is great, and we should give and listen to it way more. But of course there are a few requirements to consider. So, let's get to it! Why can advice be really good? It's...
22 days ago • 3 min read
Dear Reader, My friend had her first baby a few weeks ago. She tells me that the baby cries a lot and that gas is probably the trouble. She's exhausted (although the baby sleeps a lot at night) and worried. Not our job What I'm trying to tell her is that it's not our job to make our babies/children happy. NOT OUR JOB. It's actually their job. Of course, here I am talking when I absolutely tried to make my baby happy when little Nima was born. I was very unhappy when she cried because she...
29 days ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Today, I decided to avoid world improvement rants. Since I also decided to let my local pub cook my dinner (steak night!), today's newsletter was all set: community. Community is very important in the happiness field! Our locals There is something nice and comforting about our local places, isn't there? It's the sense of belonging to a community and it makes us happy! Right now, I'm enjoying a glass of bubbly after my steak, appreciating the balmy late summer evening and the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, Are you settled well into the new year? I hope so because we're now already half through January. While I am focussing on writing this last submittable draft of my PhD for the next 2 to 3 months - it's going really well! - I'm starting to think beyond PhD. Currently, it takes all of my energy dedicated to income generation and career (I also have some dedicated to family, health and friends). But since it looks promising that I will submit in the first half of 2024, it's time to...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Have you tried some grounding? Probably not but maybe it will be useful one day. I've reflected on the idea that only happiness should be used for life evaluation (not success, health, wealth, growth etc.). This reflection was triggered when reading about Amartya Sen who is an influential scholar in the field of economic and humanitarian development. His capability approach suggests offering so-called freedoms so that people can live their lives to the fullest. In the...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Hope you are well and happy! You might have noticed that I'm slipping into a new routine of sending newsletters every second week. I might return to weekly at some point but currently, the PhD stuff is absorbing my energy. Talking about energy, I'm really getting into energy healing. After years of health mismanagement (hello super drunken sleepless nights, binge eating, smoking and believing that I can do 'it all'), I have a number of health issues. The worst ones are looked...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, How are you? I didn't send out last week's newsletter due to the school holidays, but truthfully, I also needed some time for soul-searching. So, it feels fitting to come back this week and revisit the question of why I believe I am happy. After all, that's the essence of these newsletters. Yet, they often delve into topics like money (or the lack of it), consumerism, parenting challenges, conflicts, and failures. It might make these newsletters seem like they're coming from...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, I've been playing with ChatGPT lately. Mostly to get the writing started, a point of research or brainstorming. As you can probably tell, these emails are not AI-generated, but just flow from my pen... well, fingers. I'd like to keep it that way, but for some copywriting tasks ChatGPT is incredibly useful. To learn more about this new tool, I signed up for an AI Summit and am finally watching all the recordings. There are so many cool things that AI can do for us. But what comes...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Many of you are transitioning into autumn right now. We're transitioning into spring. Well, transitioning... it's suddenly 32 degrees (Fahrenheit people: that's warm). I think I'm in spring cleaning mode. I haven't done much yet, but I'm itching to clean the windows and kitchen cupboards and get lots of fresh air into the apartment. This is also usually my time for serious decluttering. Well, I've done a lot of tidying over the years, so there's less to tidy. I still itch to do...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read