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Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

Leslie Davenport: 7 Ways to Beat Mental Fatigue Let's get the bad news out of the way first: There's no quick fix for chronic fatigue. It is typically a level of depletion that results from draining your energy reserves over a period of time. It requires a commitment to refuel and restore your vitality. But the good news is that there are many tried-and-true approaches you can begin using right now that can start building up your energy level significantly. Let's look a little deeper at what's involved. Physical, Mental/Emotional and Spiritual Fatigue Depletion can occur physically, emotionally/mentally and spiritually, so what kind of tired are you? While there are always exceptions, general guidelines are that if you wake with energy in the morning and find yourself dragging in the afternoon, the fatigue may have a physical origin. Whole Person Fatigue Fighters So what burdens are you are carrying mentally that keep you from being present in the moment to your family, to your friends, to yourself? Back Pocket Practices

Why Money Doesn't Motivate Higher Performance Rick Hanson, Ph.D.: Simple Ways to Soothe the Anxious Brain I've always liked lizards. Growing up in the outskirts of Los Angeles, I played in the foothills near our home. Sometimes I'd catch a lizard and stroke its belly, so it would relax in my hands, seeming to feel at ease. In my early 20s, I found a lizard one chilly morning in the mountains. It was torpid and still in the cold and let me pick it up. Concerned that it might be freezing to death, I placed it on the shoulder of my turtleneck, where it clung and occasionally moved about for the rest of the day. Now, years later, as I've learned more about how the brain evolved, my odd affinity for lizards has started making sense to me. Reptile - Brainstem, focused on avoiding harm Mammal - Limbic system, focused on approaching rewards Primate - Cortex, focused on attaching to "us" Of course, the brain is highly integrated, so these three key functions -- avoiding, approaching and attaching -- are accomplished by all parts of the brain working together. How? Also soothe your own body.

The Power of Why Simon Sinek’s TED Talk from TedxPuget Sound (Sept 2009) has been posted and is just awesome. He starts out with the question “Why is Apple so innovative,“ Why is it that Martin Luther King led the civil rights movement,” and “Why is it that the Wright Brothers were able to figure out controlled power manned flight?” He answers this by describing something he calls the Golden Circle: Every single organization knows WHAT they do. Some know HOW they do it. Very few people and organizations know WHY they do what they do, where WHY is “what’s your purpose, your cause, your belief; why do you get out of bed in the morning; why should anyone care.” Most people start with the WHAT, go to the HOW, and end with the WHY. Find a quiet space and listen carefully to this TED Talk for 18 minutes.

Kristi Blicharski: 3 Ways to Be Happier Now I really love my life! It wasn't always that way. It took a lot of hard work, important lessons and many shifts in perception to get to this place. I've learned to step into myself and who I truly am, and I've learned to get out of my own way. Something else I learned along the way is that all human beings have a single life purpose in common. The truth is that authentic happiness and inner-peace lies in the present moment, right now, within us, waiting and longing to be embraced. Along my own journey to be happy, I discovered a number of ideas and tools that work extremely well to assist in embracing the joy that is always available in each moment. First, view happiness as an activity. Second, re-think mornings. Once I realized that the way I was starting my day was creating the path for the rest of it, I understood how extremely important it is to make mornings as positive as possible. The orchid plant in my office is a great example.

Brain 'rejects negative thoughts' 9 October 2011Last updated at 18:14 By James Gallagher Health reporter, BBC News "Don't worry, everything will be fine," says the brain One reason optimists retain a positive outlook even in the face of evidence to the contrary has been discovered, say researchers. A study, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggests the brain is very good at processing good news about the future. However, in some people, anything negative is practically ignored - with them retaining a positive world view. The authors said optimism did have important health benefits. Scientists at University College London said about 80% of people were optimists, even if they would not label themselves as such. They rated 14 people for their level of optimism and tested them in a brain scanner. Each was asked how likely 80 different "bad events" - including a divorce or having cancer - were to happen. They were then told how likely this was in reality. Pick and choose Optimism seem to be good for your health.

Karen Talavera: Do You Know Who You Really Are, and Are You Living as if You Believe it? Recently this story about a journey crossed my path. You may have run across it yourself -- it's often read at funeral and memorial services: The Dragonfly Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions. What does this have to do with the outer journey? Adventures in Surfing It's dragonfly mating season here in south Florida. So a few weekends ago I made a special trip to Cocoa Beach, one of the best in the state for surfing. Normally I venture into the water for a comfortable swim or snorkel with few disturbances. This time I felt the irresistible urge to ride above the water and feel the full surge of the surf that I'd had barely a taste of years before. Like many things in life, your perfect ride on the perfect wave happens suddenly, and you can't predict ahead of time which it will be. I caught a good one.

How to Reduce Negativity In one sense, the battle to be happy is a battle against negativity. Bad things happen all the time but how we internalize them, how we react to them, is what ultimately determines their final effect on us—and over that we have simultaneously more and less control than we realize. More, because assign the meaning of events, not the events themselves, even though it as if that meaning is somehow assigned for us. And a willingness to attack our negativity at its root. Habits are defined as actions that occur automatically in response to specific triggers, or cues. Complaint, in other words, often comes streaming out of our mouths without our conscious awareness. So what can we do to break this cycle? Similarly, when negative statements reflexively come out of your mouth, notice it and interrupt yourself, even if mid-sentence. Unfortunately, however, no shortage of triggers of negativity will ever exist. If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to visit Dr.

Oprah Winfrey's Relationship Advice For Conflict Resolution (Video) "You said that people will be able to take what you tell them, but what if you know that they will fall apart if you do?" This was the question a member of the audience posed to Oprah and her longtime friend, relationship expert Iyanla Vanzant, last Friday evening after the live weekly edition of Oprah's Lifeclass on OWN TV. Long after Friday's show ended, the conversation kept going and the cameras kept rolling, capturing the exclusive footage above. Oprah and Iyanla shared their insight into how to have the difficult conversations we all need to have in life, with confidence and without regret. Later, Oprah and Iyanla tackled the equally difficult question of how to honor your own emotions when you feel pressure to be the morale booster. For more life solutions and inspiration from Oprah, tune in to Oprah's Lifeclass weeknights at 8/7c. Today: When People Show You Who They Are, Believe Them Thursday 10/27: What Animals Can Teach Us Friday 10/28: Joy Rising: Australia More from Oprah.com:

Dr. Cara Barker: Taking Back Your Life From the Past It is one thing to be at peace when you live alongside Walden, but quite another when unexpectedly, you've landed in Metropolis. Or, is it? It is one thing to find calm at the feet of the masters, in far and distant romantic lands, yet quite another to find such rarified air in the midst of a protracted traffic jam in the evening commute. Or, is it? Only weeks ago one woman fell asleep each night under a canopy of silver sparkling stars and moonlight shining through the forest outside her window, where neighborhood frogs loved to join in chorus. Most every morning, she awoke before dawn to the gold of a rising sun illuminating the left margin of every evergreen, oak and blade of grass in sight. We never know what tomorrow brings. As the trees shed their precious cargo, we do well to shed our own, when life requires that we move forward. Here's the thing. These are the times in which we live. There you have it. Your turn.

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