Last year, a study of more than 30,000 people revealed that harping on negative life events (particularly through rumination and self-blame) can be the prime predictor of some of today’s most common mental health problems. Results from the eye-opening U.K. study, the largest of its kind, indicated that it isn’t just what happens to us that matters,… Read more »
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What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a state that can be cultivated in which one is aware of one’s present experience and responds to this experience in a non-judgmental and non-reactive way. The practice of mindfulness often leads to a sense of balance and psychological well-being. To cultivate mindfulness, you don’t need to try to create… Read more »
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It turns out that what predicts how well we will do in life, our relationships, careers, etc. isn’t how much money we have or even how many obstacles we face; it’s a matter of how hardy we are. Hardiness predicts how well people can handle the challenges life throws at them. It involves a pattern… Read more »
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What does it mean to be happy? It is the most elusive of questions, and permeates much of our daily lives. While we toil away, we secretly pray for happiness. “I just want to be happy,” so many people say. But do we even know what happiness is? Recently, a science of happiness has cropped… Read more »
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The world is a competitive place. That is why it’s important to remember the value of kindness and compassion, or we might be taken over by a will to succeed at all costs and never have any fun or experience true joy. There is a quote from the Dalai Lama: “If you want others to… Read more »
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Challenging negative voices is the way to overcome a victimized orientation. Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears. ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations One of the principle ways that people mismanage their anger is by playing the role of victim. In a previous blog, “Don’t Play the Victim Game,” I described the characteristics… Read more »
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The Dalai Lama smiled as he shook his head. There is no difference between the East and the West, he said. Everyone has the same “mind,” so every person has the chance to gain enlightenment – the ability to live a joyful life. He was sitting in a packed ballroom, talking to a group of… Read more »
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Let’s face it; with the expectation that society holds for near perfection, it is easy to get trapped in thoughts of self-doubt, agonizing fear, and sheer exhaustion from the day-to-day issues and errands we must conquer. How many of us halt our anxious thoughts and replace them with… Read more »
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Generosity is no longer the selfless act we’ve long thought it to be. Studies now suggest that one of the biggest benefactors of generosity is the person who is dishing it out. Like a healthy diet, exercise, and good genes, generosity may increase your life span. A 2003 research study at the University of Michigan… Read more »
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I was once doing a radio show about our (my and my father Dr. Robert Firestone’s) work on the “critical inner voice.” The host started the show by talking about all the media attention on terrorism and the fear we, as a nation, were feeling following the attacks of 9/11. She ended her introduction by… Read more »
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