Happiness Blog

February 4, 2013

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.” (Josh Billings)

“Time spent with cats is never wasted.” (Sigmund Freud)

I am personally a “dog person”, but I can appreciate the value of cats. I’ve grown up with dogs and I cannot imagine how empty my life would be without an animal in it. A friend of mine genuinely hated dogs (any pets really, they are messy!) and then her kids wanted one; she gave in, quite reluctantly, and is now the biggest advocate for the joy of pets. That dog is treated like the queen she should be! My dogs have a sixth sense that’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t live with pets… they are full of wisdom, joy, and love. Definitely happiness with a tail!

January 28, 2013

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just make ourselves feel happy by looking at a color? It seems possible – after all, some of what we see travels beyond our eyeballs and deep into our brain. Some research suggests that what we see can affect our emotions at a scientific level beyond mere associations. Great! Then all we have to do is surround ourselves with the “good” colors, right? It’s not that easy.

Some research shows that red can make people feel excited or aggressive. Pink can also lead to aggression, or make us feel calm. Orange can stimulate feelings of passion… or frustration. Blue can make us feel relaxed and calm, or aloof and unfriendly. Yellow can make us feel optimistic or fearful. Green can lead to a sense of peace and relaxation, or stagnation. Purple stimulates our introspection but can lead us into introversion.

What colors make YOU feel happy?

January 21, 2013

I took a it of a hiatus from my morning routine – not because I dislike exercise, but because I felt like the need for sleep was simply winning over my need for exercise. Well, here I go again, back to the early morning routine. I have to say that every time I take a break and then return to this 5am wake up, I always think to myself… Why did I stop doing this to begin with because I feel so great when I do it? It’s like mental medicine to me! And then I remember the answer: sleep. But I’m back in the saddle again and I’m ready to commit again. That’s what it’s about – commitment. As they say…If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards.

January 14, 2013

It can always be worse. Even when things are pretty tough, it could be worse. This morning on my way in to work I saw a car fire. Not a little smoldering smoke coming from the roof – but a full blaze, giant black cloud rising up from the highway, and lots of sirens type of fire. It appeared that nobody was hurt or in trouble…well, other than the car being burnt like a marshmallow. This happens to occur on Monday morning and it makes me think, at least I’m not THAT guy! I guess the moral of the story is: It could be worse; your car could be on fire. Happiness is having a fire-free car.

December 31, 2012

As I’ve gotten older I really value the concept of seasons. Not just in the sense of weather and appreciating the fall leaves, dormant winters, blooms in spring, etc.., but in the bigger sense of how that applies to life. We all have seasons of simplicity, stress, growth, relative ease, challenges, and either moving forward or backward. Being able to focus on what you learn from those seasons in your life and using them as you go forward has been a great lesson I’ve learned. I have to admit, it sounds quite simplistic. After all, who wouldn’t learn from their mistakes, right? My guess is that you are smirking right about now…thinking, hmmmm, I know a few of those people – maybe even myself! I do believe that seasons give us a chance to improve and change the direction of where our happiness arrow is pointing.