14 Days of Mixed Nuts This past week the whip-wielders in Coursera started reminded me that we had reached week ten of “The Science of Well-being”. I walked out of the hallowed halls of university 25 years ago, but the prospect of missing a course deadline still tweaks my anxiety. I have to remind myself…
Seven Days of Squirrel Patrol After the first six weeks of the Science of Well-being course, the focus shifts to an extended implementation of tools. As I indicated in my last article I have chosen to implement a meditation practice. This was not the easy route. I could have picked “implement good sleep habits” and…
Setting Yourself up for Success After filling our heads full of great theoretical ideas to promote well-being, Professor Laurie Santos starts priming us for full implementation. As we have already learned, happiness is not derived from a one-time pill. Those of you who watched “Brain Candy” featuring Canada’s beloved Kids in the Hall will remember…
Better Wanting As a course first designed for overachieving Yale students, it is no surprise that Professor Laurie Santos starts the week by offering some thoughts on alternatives to seeking “great” (prestigious, high paying) jobs and excellent grades. On the topic of jobs, we would be better served by finding jobs that allow us to…
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!…