Knowing Yourself Archives - Page 14 of 15

Going Back to the Well (Using What Works for You): Music Hath Charms to Sooth

How much do you listen to music? Do you listen more or less than you did when you were younger? Do you enjoy music? Do you have a favorite singer, a favorite group, a favorite song?

Many of us, when we were in college, listened to music to study because it “helped us concentrate.” But somewhere after college, a lot of us stopped listening so much. Maybe in the car. Maybe not. We don’t spend as much time with music on because we are too busy doing other things.

Why not dip back into that well?

September 28, 2007

What Are You Complaining About?

People often tell us “don’t complain, you’re lucky,”or say, in a derogatory tone, “What you are complaining about?”

Obviously, we’re complaining because things are not the way we want them to be. I think it’s important to pay attention to what we’re complaining about, and why, because what we’re complaining about tells us more about who we are, what we want and what we need to do than almost anything else in our lives.

September 25, 2007

A Daily Reminder for Us All: We Are Products of Our Choices

We all make choices, every day. Millions of choices, probably, every week, if you count things like which shoe to put on first and whether to drink water or cola.

Choice, after choice, after choice.

They add up and become who we are. And who we are influences new choices, which contribute to who we will be in the future, which influences new choices…

September 20, 2007

Stress – Avoid It, Reduce It, Manage It, or … Redefine It?

I hear people talk about “avoiding stress,” and I wonder if they know what they really mean by that. I think what they mean is that they want to cut down on the negative stressors and the negative energy in their lives, increase the positive energy, and live a calmer, more peaceful life.

But what they want is not to “avoid stress.” What they want, really, is to react less to negative stressors and have a more positive response to their lives. The want to experience no distress.

Avoiding stress is not a practical solution, really, because stress is not something that is.

September 13, 2007

A Virtual Day, Place, and Time – Re-examining My Perceptions of Reality

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.

September 11, 2007

Life Coaches Blog Column: The Art of Predicting Your Own Lasting Happiness

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.

September 7, 2007

Imperfection is Inevitable, But Pain is Optional – Temporarily Settling for Second Best

We often hear people say, “Don’t settle for second best.” But if we really look at our lives, I bet a lot of what we have around us is second best.

There are a lot of reasons we settle, and sometimes they’re good reasons, at least temporarily. The problem comes when we forget that this settling was temporary, and that we had something big planned for the future. We get stuck in our settlement, and can’t find our way out.

September 6, 2007

Gut Check: Don’t Analyze This Question (and Don’t Blink): Is Intuition Underrated?

Impossible to define, yet something that each and every one of us experiences, gut feelings are unique, personal experiences that we’ve been taught to be very wary of, especially in this day and age of instant, easily-accessible information.

But what exactly comprises a gut feeling?

September 5, 2007

Productivity Tools? Time Management Techniques? First You Need a Strategy: Slow Down FAST

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.

September 4, 2007

Most Popular Class at Harvard University? Happiness!

Positive Psychology is the most popular class at Harvard University, having enrolled 855 students last semester.

Are you astounded?
What attracts so many students to study happiness?
Is such a class really needed in today’s world?

August 29, 2007

Where Today’s Young Folks Find Happiness

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.

August 22, 2007

Getting to Know Yourself: Self-Assessment and Reflection

Most people think they know themselves pretty well, but how well do you really know yourself? Do you know exactly how you feel about certain things and why, or do you tend to judge how you feel by how you think you should feel? Are you comfortable with your feelings and the “inner you,” or is that uncomfortable?

Getting to know yourself may be a little different from getting to know the new neighbor or that attractive co-worker in your building, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be harder to really get acquainted with you.

August 21, 2007

Free Teleseminar Reveals Secrets to a More Fulfilling, Joyful and Stress-Free Life

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.

August 20, 2007

New eBook by Recovered Workaholic Helps People Reclaim the Perfect Balance Between Work and Family and Re-Capture Lost Feelings of Inner Happiness

David B. Bohl used to work 100 hours a week. His family took a backseat to his fast-moving, high-paying career, and he eventually paid the price in the form of exhaustion, stress and a non-existent family life. Bohl has since recovered from this work fanatic, pressure cooker life and has done a complete 180. He now focuses completely on his values, beliefs and ideals, and as a result enjoys total life balance between work and family, and coaches people on how to do the same.

August 20, 2007

Will You Get Happier as You Grow Older?

In a word – yes (if you’re part of the statistical average).

If happiness increases with age, does unhappiness increase as well?

Why do people experience greater happiness as they age?

August 17, 2007

Opportunity Cost and the Art of Making Better Choices in Your Life

by David B. Bohl My son attends Cornell University, where I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Professor Robert H. Frank, author

August 15, 2007

Getting to Know Yourself

by David Bohl Most people think they know themselves pretty well, but how well do you really know yourself? Do you know exactly how you

July 11, 2007

Fulfillment and Leadership

If your definition of living a happier life includes fulfillment, and a big part of that fulfillment is learning and growing, you may find a new book by Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, very interesting.

In her latest book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, Professor Dweck discusses the issue of leadership, but not in the traditional sense – she doesn’t debate whether leaders are born or made. Dweck looks at precisely how you think about issues like this one to determine what makes you a better or a worse leader.

July 5, 2007

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DAVID B. BOHL

Relinquishee, Adoptee, MPE
Author, Speaker.