Personal happiness is a hot topic these days. We can find loads of books and podcasts on the subject. Checklists abound for what we need to do to be happy – count our blessings, get plenty of sleep, meditate, go to church, keep our homes organized. According to Dr. Bill Bellet, many of us work WAY too hard to find happiness. As we chat in his Nashville office, I get
The 21-day project, outlined by Dr. Bill Bellet, seems simple enough. Perform four, easy tasks each day. If you skip one of the assignments for the day, you must start over with the entire three-week cycle. Helpful to clients in Dr. Bellet’s Nashville clinical and organizational psychology practice, this “challenge” consists of four daily components. Every day, for three weeks, you: Write down three things you are grateful for –
Two years ago today, on my 57th birthday, I embarked on a project. I pledged to do one new thing—every single day—for the following year. As it turned out, one year of novel activities, both large and small, rolled into two years of something new every day. Now, 730 days later, I realize what a gift my experiment turned out to be. Just as my grown sons were beginning their careers and evolving
Our two sons were finishing college when my husband of 30 years accepted a new job. All was good, except for one tiny detail. This position was located 780 miles from our home. All our stuff – literally and figuratively – was in Houston. A home filled with the accouterments of raising our boys. Plus 20 years’ worth of friendships, history, comfort, and security. My life was in Houston,
-Mary Wells Lawrence, 88, advertising executive and first female CEO of a NYSE company
A few years ago, I gave my husband a simple and inexpensive valentine—a small, red notebook. Inside the front cover, I wrote a message to my sweetheart. I proposed, with this notebook in hand, we sit down a few times a year and talk about our marriage. My concept was to document our hopes and dreams for the coming months and what we’d like to work on, as a couple,
A personal goal for 2016 – and one I plan to carry into this new year— take more time to play. Play with no purpose in mind. Let go of my to-do list, turn off my phone, stop worrying about what needs to be done. Play by myself, play with my friends, play with my husband – play and have fun.
