Four disclaimers. First, I am unapologetically a follower of Jesus Christ. He is God, the Son of God, the Lord and Savior, and he is uniquely those things. I believe and follow Jesus. I do not believe and follow The Buddha (a man), Confucius (a man), Mohammed (a man), etc. Second, while I do not […]
Energetic people are happier people and happier people choose to engage in more energetic activities. This is another simple way to flourish and be happy. Get active. Get going. Get moving. ONE: Exercise. Work out. Go on brisk walks. Join an exercise class. Do aerobics. Take 5 minute walk breaks during your work day. (These […]
So, you have a wonderful experience that causes you great joy and happiness. Do you know you can go back and enjoy it once again? And you may actually have almost the same amount of happiness as you did with the original experience! No, I am not talking about actually doing it again, I am talking […]
We suffer from hurry sickness and distraction disease in our culture. We are busy and we are bombarded. We rush through the day and miss most of the beauty of those moments. ONE: Every day is a gift – seize hold of it. Don’t believe you are entitled to it. Therefore, do what the ancients […]
Some things are so simple that I just want to hit my head and say, “Duh, Brian!” Like bottled water. What could be more simple and more brilliant than putting water into a plastic bottle and then having a price-gouging markup on the cost of the water? How about designer water in a designer bottle? […]
I don’t know when or where I first read this quote. Today’s blog title is the nicer version: “Life is hard, don’t make it harder.” The real version is a bit more sarcastic: “Life is hard. Being dumb makes it harder. Don’t be dumb.” In yesterday’s post, I talked about how thoughts and actions can shape […]
A few years ago I had a conversation with a man who was struggling with a bad attitude toward a co-worker. Even the sight of that co-worker was enough to upset him. I gave him a simple assignment. Every day he was to do something nice for that co-worker: help out, provide encouragement, be pleasant, […]
Let’s have a little fun with today’s post. There are always new words being added to the English language. The words below officially made it into various leading dictionaries (Oxford, Miriam-Webster) in 2016. Bitcoin: Digital currency. (I’m not sure what this is, but I don’t think I have any.) Breakfunch: A small meal consumed between breakfast […]
When was the last time you read the book of Ecclesiastes? If you have 60-70 minutes of time, sit down and read through it in one sitting. You will be glad you did. The second verse of the book introduces the theme that is repeated throughout: “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly Meaningless. Everything is Meaningless, says the […]
In preparation for The Flourishing Project, I have done quite a bit of reading and studying over the last 6 months. I read a dozen or so of the most important books on happiness. It was really interesting to find these authors agreeing that spiritual (or religious) people are happier people. They did not necessarily […]