You know about serendipity, right? That special type of luck, when misfortune turns out to be fortuitous? When the shit sandwich life serves you turns out to actually be a platter of cheese-covered nachos in disguise? Here’s the thing about stumbling upon good fortune: we usually trip over it, curse at it, turf it in...
We moved to freaking Palm Springs, California! (For a girl who grew up near wintery, snow-covered Toronto, and then moved to equally frosty Chicago for the last 15 years, this is kind of a big deal.) I want to tell you all about moving to paradise — not because I want to brag about it...
Holy crap! I did a TEDx talk! And I lived to tell the tale! I spent every waking hour over the last five months equal parts giddy with excitement and pee-my-pants nervous. You know how else I can describe this potent cocktail of feelings? UNDENIABLY ALIVE. It felt like I had taken a swig out...
I dare you to tell me you don’t like the idea of a life colored in with both absorbed enjoyment and meaning... a living-in-vivid-color kind of life where you sweep yourself off your feet with captivatingly engaging activities... a meaningful life that feels like your existence matters and has more than a pea-sized iota of...
The words we tell ourselves matter. You know this, I know this, and every coach worth the dough they paid to get certified knows this. I’m going to get all persnickety though and say it’s the verbs that usually matter the most. Verbs specify the action we want to commit to, rather than just musing...
Don’t you just love a chart that explains your feelings to you, in a way that feels more legit than reading your astrological chart? Like this one, that’s backed by real and actual science? If you’re feeling anxious, for example, it just might be because you’re overly challenged and woefully short on the skills to...
Rather counterintuitive in a world that favors comfort, convenience, and sheer and utter pleasure is the idea that humans deteriorate without challenges and adversity placed on our bodies and minds. (Deterioration, to be clear, is not what we’re looking for while we still have Mondays left to live.) The hedonic pursuit of happiness, characterized by...
I once spent an 18-month stint in my corporate career as a customer service expert (or at least I pretended very hard to be one and fortunately had fun trying). In that role I espoused the virtues of the Net Promoter Score — which is the gold standard in customer experience metrics and also a...
How are you feeling right now? Let me guess: “fine”? You can do better than that, friend. Being able to accurately perceive your emotions (and also the feels of others) is an enormous component of emotional intelligence — something you might want to boost if you interact with humans in any part of your day,...
If you were dying, would you want to know it? According to research, you might not have a choice: for half the people who die each year, the medical community is able to solemnly deliver the “I’m sorry but you’re dying” news to the sick patient before they kick the bucket. For the other half...
Look at me over here, just assuming you want to become a centenarian. I should begin this little “how to” ditty by asking if you even want to live until 100? According to research from the Stanford Center on Longevity, 77% of Americans want to live to see their 100th birthday. That’s what we think when...
Okay, eager pupils, it’s time for a pop quiz about how comparison robs us of the warm and fuzzy feelings of aliveness! And because you’re on the other end of an invisible Wi-Fi radio wave, I won’t even know if you cheat. (I’m totally fine if you cheat.) Question 1: What would most people rather?...
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