Accepting Death Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm having a look at death. Yes, it's scary but accepting it's normality can help us relax and be happy. Yesterday, we sat on the porch having dinner. In the tree right in front of our house, my son spotted a possum. It was being attacked by birds (minas can be vicious). I guess it fancied some eggs. It tried to escape and slid down the...
9 days ago • 2 min read
Enjoying Suffering Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm exploring what suffering is and how we can connect it with happiness. How can we connect enjoyment and suffering? Suffering — as a happiness topic? Don’t worry, I’m not talking about anything dodgy or 50 Shades of Grey. But I’ve discovered that suffering can sometimes be… enjoyable. Let me explain. Suffering Suffering is learning...
16 days ago • 1 min read
Talking about the Weather Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm looking at the famously shallow talk about the weather finding that it might not be shallow after all and a great way to connect (and be happier). People call talking about the weather small talk. But there’s nothing small about the weather. I mean we’re super dependent on the weather. It’s influencing our mood (rainy grey...
23 days ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Over the last weeks, I’ve shared the six Pillars of Happiness — my framework to understand and nurture happiness in everyday life. Each pillar stands on its own, but together they form a solid foundation for a lighter, more joyful way of living. Here’s a reminder of each one, with links in case you missed any: Body – The science of feeling good Learn how your brain, hormones, and nervous system shape happiness — and how small everyday choices like breathing, sunlight, and...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Pillars of Happiness: Letting Go Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm looking at the last pillar of my framework Pillars of Happiness - letting go. This pillar ties all the concepts together. I believe that letting go is the magic ingredient of happiness. Here we are — the final pillar of the Pillars of Happiness framework. While the other pillars are about taking control, this one is...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Pillars of Happiness: Connections Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm looking at the fifth pillar of my framework Pillars of Happiness - connections. This pillars examines the secret sauce of happiness - research finds that connections and relationships are the strong happiness makers. What is behind that secret sauce? Here we are, Pillar 5. There’s so much talk about how humans are...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Pillars of Happiness: Resources Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm looking at the fourth pillar of my framework Pillars of Happiness - Resources. How can we work with belongings, skills, time, money and energy to nurture our happiness? The Pillars of Happiness is a framework I’ve developed over the years to understand happiness and its determinants. This post is about the fourth pillar:...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Pillars of Happiness: Dreams & Desire Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm looking at the third pillar of my framework Pillars of Happiness - dreams & desire. This pillars explores why dreams and desire are essential for our happiness and how we can approach them so that they cause that happiness instead of frustration, disappointment and supressed energy. Self-development guru James...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Pillars of Happiness: Mind Each Tuesday, I'm reflecting on how aspects of our lives and society relate to happiness and how we can increase our happiness. This week, I'm looking at the second pillar of my framework Pillars of Happiness - mind. Let's see how happiness beliefs, the understanding of positive and negative emotions and mindfulness & presence are foundations to create long-lasting happiness. The Pillars of Happiness is a framework I’ve developed over the years to understand...
2 months ago • 4 min read