Dear N, It might seem a bit odd to hear from a former acquaintance by way of his obscure blog. That’s true, especially considering it has been the better part of 30 years since we last spoke. Thanks in advance for humouring me! I am taking a course to try and improve my well-being. One…
Striking Back Against the Uncooperative Brain As Professor Santos tells the class very early in the course, the old(!) G.I. Joe cartoons were wrong when they told us “Knowing is half the battle.” It would be great if this was true. If simply being aware of our mental biases got us 50% of the way…
How Our Brains Mess With Our Happiness If we consider all the great works of art and scientific achievements through history, we might think the human brain is pretty awesome. It certainly is. It has helped guide hordes of slightly evolved apes to their current position of global dominance. When we are trucking around, we…
What SHOULD Make Us Happy but Doesn’t A while back I gave you a “top five” list of books for the youngster in your life. For those of you who struggle with Christmas shopping, you are welcome for my helpful ideas. On the list was Sonja Lyubomirsky’s excellent work “The Myths of Happiness”. The…
Yale professor Laurie Santos created a bit of a stir when she developed the course “Psychology and the Good Life”. The essence of the course was teaching students about what research tells us actually makes people happy. And further to that, what we can do to move the happiness needle. Oh to have had this…
“It’s Your Life – Make it Sing!” -Lowry Olafson My dear wife Valerie is to blame for a lot of great things in my life. If I am pushing beyond my comfort zone, chances are Valerie is involved in some way. And so it was a couple of weeks ago, when Valerie said: “Merry Christmas!…
On my recent road trip down the long, wide stretch of I-5 asphalt from Seattle to LA, I quietly cursed the rental car company. “Sorry sir, you requested Sirius satellite radio but your car does not have Sirius installed. Would you like us to remove that from your booking fees?” The answer of course was…
As I trod the trail in a fir-fragrant afternoon under a hazy sky, I “got to thinkin’” as I joke with Valerie when I have a spell of contemplation. It wasn’t a solitary walk, Dusty the ragamuffin dog alternated between lagging behind and speeding ahead depending on how interesting the scentscape was in either direction….
I first saw Rob Crow at the Crescent Ballroom in downtown Phoenix. He looked a bit like a demented Santa Claus in cargo shorts and a longshoreman’s cap. He was playing bass and singing backup for Nick Reinhart (as part of a touring incarnation of Nick’s band Dishevelled Cuss). Okay, so maybe I couldn’t really…
When I was growing up, my grandma had a great system for spending time with her grandkids. It ensured bickering would be low to nil, and the level of care quite manageable. She would invite all of us kids to spend a week with her and grandpa at their modest but cozy home during the…