Gratitude. It’s a heavy hitter in the positive psychology world — in fierce competition with optimism as the most scientifically studied well-being construct out there. We’ll let the researchers duke it out in the lab, and in the meantime we’ll all benefit from the abundance of studies that tell us how thankful we need to...
Let’s be clear on a few things before we get to today’s little listicle: Vitality is defined as a positive sense of aliveness and energy. Some call it our health of spirit which just sounds cool, right? This subjective feeling of aliveness is a big deal for our personal well-being, because the polar opposite sure...
Now that you’ve faced the facts of life that you will, in fact, kick the bucket one day, we can shift to the practical topic of what to actually do with yourself once you’ve expired. Statistically speaking, more than half of you will opt for the cremation route when it’s “your time,” so if you’re...
The facts of life when we’re kids are pretty tame compared to the facts of life for adults. As kids we learn about the birds and the bees who get to fly around and make whoopee all day (hopefully not with each other — those poor bees), whereas the adult facts of life are a...
Admit it — you got sucked in by the f-word. Fear. Dogs can smell it on you, and so can I. It’s not really hard to do — not much of a parlor trick at all, really (bucket list item #340: come up with a parlor trick before I die). You don’t need to be...
When are you at your best in the day? Pick the best answer that applies to your life: a) I’m a morning person b) I’m a night owl c) I’m amazingly productive all day + night long d) I never really manage to click into gear at all e) I don’t know; is that bad?...
Spring, as a season, needs a little PR help. Budding tulips and the smell of hope in the air are great and all, but spring has problems. Not only do we lose an hour of sleep, but we’re also supposed to do the one thing we like less than root canal: clean. Spring cleaning is...
First things first: where do you fall on my highly scientific Distance-to-Death Scale? Are you old? And how would you know — does it have more to do with how you look, feel, or how you’re perceived by others? At what age are you no longer a spring chicken? (I haven’t been called one in...
There are things in life we know to be true about how to live “the good life,” and we’re sick and tired of hearing about them. We know money can’t buy us love (but it can buy us a bit of happiness). We know an apple a day keeps the doctor away (which is actually...
I hate gardening (because it is in gardens where the spiders can be found — plotting and scheming as they spin their death webs), but I love a good pruning metaphor, so I’m willing to wade into web-filled territory to make a point for you here, friends.* Before I talk about pruning, I need to...
On the weekend after daylight savings robbed us of an hour of our lives, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about all the other things we might have to lose in our lives. Let’s keep this morbid bitching and moaning party going! No, this won’t be a pity party. Psychologists say this kind...
There are things we know by now as adults, right? Like how we’re supposed to replace the word “but” with “and” in conversations (if we care at all about being socially intelligent)... like how we all know by now to not leave the tap running while we brush our teeth (like we did with reckless...
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