, Halloween. The time of year when you can paint your face green, throw on some horns, and traipse around the neighborhood begging for candy without ending up in an intervention. The only thing scarier than the ghouls and goblins is the calorie count. The emotion du jour? Fear. If fear were a person, I wouldn't invite it to my birthday party. Outside of Halloween, we generally prefer not to be afraid in life. And that’s fear’s purpose: to keep…
metimes the pressure to be positive can get really annoying. The slogans, jeez, the slogans. "Be the change you want to see in the world." That's all very noble, but I can barely be the change I want to see in my living room. The propaganda of positivity forever bleating its mantra of happiness until you wish you could cram it into a cannon and fire it into the sun. But you know what? It works. Just ask yourself, “What’s…
, sleep. That miniature coma we indulge in when reality becomes too tiresome to endure. It's essentially the "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" of life. The health negatives of not getting enough sleep are serious. Research has found risk associations between short sleep and hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and dementia. Sleeping less than six hours a night is associated with a 20% higher chance of heart attack. Research shows two weeks of sleeping six hours…
the International Space Station nothing is comfortable and everything is a challenge. There’s no running water and even less privacy. Your world is covered in Velcro. And it’s loud. Fans whir and hum constantly, interrupted by the occasional micrometerorite slamming into the Station’s armor. Weightlessness does a number on your sinuses causing congestion, so food always tastes bland like when you have a head cold. There’s an emphasis on oatmeal, pudding and cooked spinach because food that clumps is…
fe, much like that questionable tuna salad at the office potluck, is a strange mix of flavors. We have many different feelings, many different emotions. Some are nicer than others -- and some we complain about a lot. Like boredom, frustration, and impatience. Well, I’ve got news for you: none of those three are bad things. You’re shooting the messenger. It’s an emotional friendly fire incident. In fact, boredom, frustration, and impatience are downright good for you. Yeah, I said…
all get a little sad sometimes. It feels like the universe is a twisted gameshow called "How Can We Torture This Poor Soul Today?" -- and you’re the contestant. Other times it can escalate into full-on depression and that dark cloud of emotions follows you around like a fart in a spacesuit. Trying to get anything done feels like trying to climb a mountain of razor blades with a backpack full of anvils while a broken sound system plays…
1974, Daniel Casriel released a book titled, “A Scream Away From Happiness.” The thesis was that by “scream therapy” you could release tension and anger and become a happier person. No, this doesn’t work and you should not buy that book unless you’re a big fan of unintentional humor. Research shows venting anger is not good. In fact, it’s better to do nothing than to scream and yell or throw things. But sometimes screaming, yelling, and throwing things sounds…
t’s begin with a cruel little fact… Iris Mauss, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, found that those who worked the hardest to be happier ended up being unhappier on every measure she studied. Huh? Trying to live a better life fails miserably? Might be time to close up shop on this blog. Well, we had a good run. It’s been fun. Bye... Seriously though, let’s put a pin in that one for now. We’ll get to it…
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