The underlying message became loud and clear, and formed a blueprint for life: If I just work hard enough and long enough, my life will turn out just fine — eventually – and it will all be worth it in the end.
Many of us do not fit or identify with the generation we are born into.
Have you ever made a big change in your life, but noticed that those around you don’t seem to have noticed?
I was recently asked by Dana Glazer, Director of The Evolution of Dad (“A Documentary-In-Progress about the Evolving American Father”), to write about something I’ve learned through my experience as a father.
Dana has graciously included this in his blog The Evolution of Dad Project.
This really got me thinking, as I’ve learned so much throughout my years of making mistakes, correcting them, learning from them, and attempting to change my habits and behavior to create a better life for myself and those around me.
I’ve often been asked the best way to deal with difficult people. My answer is that the best way is to avoid them altogether. Of course, that’s not always difficult, so I also have given some thought to how to deal with the difficult people we can’t avoid.
These are people who are part of our lives, at least now, not by our choice but by circumstance, and we just have to learn to get along. We do have the option of not getting along, but that rarely feels good or works out well, so I highly suggest learning to deal with these people in a way that causes everyone involved the least amount of damage and turmoil.
The term “science of happiness” implies there is a formula and that you can follow a scientific method of discovery to determine what makes you happy. The formula for “happy” for each of us is different because there are so many factors that contribute to individual happiness.
An ancient Greek named Menander said, “If we always helped each other, no one would need luck.” Actually, he probably wasn’t all that ancient when he said that, but he was a Greek, and he did live a very, very long time ago, and he was a very wise man.
I want to make a digression on luck. Some people think that other people are “really lucky” because they are able to achieve things they want to accomplish, and reach their dreams. The people considered lucky would probably respond that a lot of hard work went into that luck. That’s very true, but I think that the idea of helping each other also comes into play.
From the LA Times: Need Help Parenting? OK, Just Hire a Coach: Britney Spears has a County court commissioner’s order to get a parenting coach
I’d like to share with you a photo of my family. It was taken this past June by an excellent photographer by the name of Jim Schoonover at Carroll Studios.
my-family-june-2007.jpg
Clockwise from the left you’ll see my son Andrew, my daughter Adrienne, my wife Vicki, me, and our two black Labradors Kobe and Bear.
To me, it’s a work of art – digital art. Not only was the picture taken on a digital camera, but it was also enhanced and altered on a computer. In the truest sense of the word, this photograph is an original creation.
Can the achievement of happiness be predicted in any meaningful sense? Simply put, yes it can. If you have close (safe, nurturing, comforting) personal relationships and fulfilling work to do, and you know yourself and what you are about, you can predict that you will have enough good things in your life to bring you lasting happiness. No life is without conflict, pain or even moments of fear, but overall happiness counter-balances all the trials and challenges life hands you. If you have those things working in your life that generate a bone-deep level of happiness you have an automatic cushion against getting bounced on your ear by the unexpected.
Ok … you have all your productivity tools in place. You have a rock-solid time management system. You have a seemingly-workable plan. But something isn’t quite right. You feel that, now, more than ever, you’re being stretched beyond your limits.
Maybe what’s missing isn’t all the tools and techniques. Maybe it’s your strategy.
Are you planning one of those low-key, kick-back-and-relax weekends filled with quality instead of quantity? Here are some reads for your Good-Slow weekend:
When it comes to happiness – or enthusiasm, or friendliness – are Midwesterners different?
We’ve been shown evidence that people who experience feelings of thankfulness and appreciation in their lives also tend to be happy. Given this fact, why do we sometimes find it so difficult to express our gratitude?
How your experiences, attitudes, and beliefs, hinder your ability to show gratitude.
Like every generation before it, today’s parents worry that their children become consumed by tools of the devil (One of my guilty pleasures was watching The Waterboy with my kids. Remember Bobby Boucher’s Momma?). Whether it was the 1960s counter-culture icon Timothy Leary leading young people to follow his mantra “Turn on, tune in, and drop out,” 70s youth worshiping sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll, or today’s tech-savvy kids who are perceived as ultra-change oriented, not afraid of putting themselves out there for the world to see, overly confident, feeling entitled, and extremely irreverent, parents constantly worry that their kids’ pursuits of happiness are misguided, if not outright dangerous and corrupt.
Once again, however, perception and reality have failed to converge.
I will present present Slow Down FAST – 5 Secrets to Success: How to Begin Living YOUR Life YOUR Way in a groundbreaking FREE teleseminar event on Tuesday evening, September 11th.
According to a recent study of 1,148 adults nearly two thirds of parents say they don’t spend enough time with their children, while half say they must make their job a top priority – even if it affects their family life.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Many people join social networking sites, including Facebook. It is the new way to stay in contact with others, and people of all ages have
Jerry Seinfeld, as told to Brad Isaac, said that: “in order to accomplish something you have to work at it every day. Get one of
According to a Pew Research Center Survey, that WashingtonPost.com ran, children rank as highest sense of personal fulfillment for parents but they have dropped to
