Busy Is Not A Badge Of Honour
There is a dirty four letter word in the English vocabulary that makes me cringe every time I hear it. Busy. It’s defined as “having a great deal to do”, yet for some reason, a lot of people use busy as an appropriate response to the question “how are you?” Even though, it in no […]
Book Review: How Would Love Respond?
Kurek Ashley has had a pretty remarkable life. Whilst working as a stuntman in a Hollywood block-buster film, he witnessed the death of his five friends in a helicopter crash. Unsure of why he survived, Kurek spiralled into depression and addiction, and became homeless. After a series of transformative events, Kurek had a breakthrough and […]
From Mindlessness to Mindfulness
Do you ever feel like you are going through life on auto-pilot? That your days are blurred and you’re not sure when or how you even completed certain tasks? We all have minds that are constantly racing, full of mindless thoughts often dwelling on the past or stressing about the future, that distract us from […]
The Other Side of Psychology
Traditionally, Psychology was meant to achieve three things; 1. cure mental illness, 2. improve ‘normal’ lives and 3. identify and nurture high talent. Unfortunately, following World War 2, the focus of Psychology has been on the first, and fixing lives that needed help. This is obviously critically important for those suffering mental illness, yet the […]
Money and Happiness – It’s Complicated
What is your view on money being able to buy happiness? Are you for or against this argument? Like me, you may have fallen in the trap of believing that material possessions, the dream home, marriage, children, a well-paid job or just a little bit more ‘play money’ will contribute to our levels of happiness. […]
The Circle of Influence v. The Circle of Concern
The Circle of Influence and The Circle of Concern (The Circles) were first introduced to me by Stephen Covey in his hugely popular book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (based on Julian Rotter’s work) is a concept I regularly come back to, as it is an easy to remember guide for where I […]
The Yin and Yang of Happiness
Happiness is a complex topic. And what makes it even more so is when some researchers claim that there are in fact two types of happiness – hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic happiness refers to the single minded pursuit of in-the-moment pleasure. Hedonism aims for a presence of positive emotions and a higher sense of life […]
The Happy Pie
How would you feel if someone told you that you controlled 40% of your happiness? This may come as a surprise to some given most of us tend to assume that our happiness is largely dependent on external factors such as a great job, a loving partner, a steady cash flow etc. Sonja Lyubomirsky is […]
The Power of Purpose
If tomorrow was your last day on Earth, what would you do? Think about this for a minute. Those things you listed off in your head, how many of them are you doing each day? Often what comes to mind when we are asked this question is very different to the reality of how we […]
Book Review: Man’s Search for Meaning
I’m sure you have been given loads of book recommendations over the years that you have either taken on board or left behind. Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning is a piece of literature that belongs in that first camp and I have no doubt that the other 10 million people who have read it, […]