Ben-Shahar's Happiness Model - Career Development from MindTools Finding the Right Path to Happiness (Also known as "The Hamburger Model") How can you ensure happiness now, and in the future? © iStockphoto/Kuklev Many people are raised with the belief that if you get good grades in school, get a degree from a good university, and then secure a good job, then you'll be happy. Sounds pretty familiar, right? The problem is that, sometimes, this approach to life doesn't make people happy. Sure, they might have a wonderful family, a good job and a lovely home, but they are still dissatisfied with life and are searching for something else. However, when we experience true happiness, our life takes on a joyful luster and vividness. So how can we find this type of happiness? According to Dr Tal Ben-Shahar, leading researcher and author of the book "Happier," we need to learn how to live for today and for tomorrow at the same time. The Model Explained According to Ben-Shahar's model, there are four archetypes that people can exhibit in the way they live.
Getting More Exercise - Career Skills from MindTools Fitting Exercise Into a Busy Schedule Reap the benefits of regular exercise. © iStockphoto/bowdenimages We all know that exercise is good for us. But many of us don't realize just how good it is. For instance, did you know that spending just 30 minutes exercising every other day can raise your IQ, relieve stress, make you happier and more productive, and boost your energy levels? These are only some of the benefits you can get from regular exercise. In this article we'll look at why exercise is so beneficial, and we'll discuss how you can fit regular exercise into an already busy schedule. Benefits of Exercise There are many physical and psychological benefits of getting regular exercise: ... for the complete article: Mind Tools Club members, click here. Join the Mind Tools Club to finish this article AND get 1,000 more resources Join now for just $1, first month "When I started using Mind Tools, I was not in a supervisory position. Join the Mind Tools Club Find out more
Physical Relaxation Techniques - Stress Management Training From MindTools Deep Breathing, PMR, and Centering Explore how relaxation techniques can reduce stress. © iStockphoto/arsenik Imagine that you're having a particularly stressful day, and everything seems to be going wrong. You have a number of important deadlines due, several members of your team have called in sick, and you've just found out that you have to make a presentation to the board – tomorrow. When you have to deal with situations like these, your heart may race, your breathing may become fast and shallow, and you could even feel that you can't cope with the task at hand. All of us experience this occasionally, and, for some, it can be a regular occurrence. You can use these techniques whenever you're feeling stressed or tense. In this article, we'll look at deep breathing, progressive muscular relaxation, and centering – three physical techniques that can help you reduce muscle tension and manage the effects of your body's fight-or-flight response. ... for the complete article:
How to Relax After a Hard Day - Stress Management Training from MindTools Leaving Work at Work © iStockphoto/pidjoe You had a challenging, productive, and sometimes stressful day at the office. You then battled traffic to make it home. Now you need to put your mind at ease, recharge your battery, and refresh yourself so you can do the whole thing again tomorrow. Yet the house is a mess, the kids are restive, and your partner wants to know what you're cooking for dinner (yes, it's your turn!) Or perhaps things at home are relatively calm, but your mind is anything but. If either of these scenarios describes your after-work evenings and weekends, you might need to work a little harder at something that seems like it should come easy: Taking a well-earned breather after a long day at the office. Like most other tasks, relaxation is a skill – one that repays the effort of learning it. Does relaxing really matter? If you're having trouble resting your mind away from the office, you already know it. ... for the complete article: Mind Tools Club members, click here.
Subjective Well-Being - Career Skills from MindTools Living Your Own Good Life How do you define happiness? © iStockphoto/pascalgenest The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, and hell of heaven. – John Milton, English poet We all want to be happy in our lives, and we all want to experience "well-being." However, people often disagree about what well-being involves. The point is that well-being is subjective – we all have different ideas about what it means to live a fulfilling life. In this article, we'll examine the concept of "subjective well-being." ... for the complete article: Mind Tools Club members, click here. Join the Mind Tools Club to finish this article AND get 1,000 more resources Join now for just $1, first month "When I started using Mind Tools, I was not in a supervisory position.
The Life Career Rainbow - Get a better work/life balance - Career Development from MindTools Finding a Work/Life Balance That Suits You © iStockphoto Just as we move through different stages in our life, so we also move through different stages in our career. And just as demands for our time in our personal life can vary, so can demands at work. When peaks of demand in one area match troughs in another, life can be good. However, when demands are in synch we can experience dissatisfaction, stress, anxiety, depression and a whole host of other ills. In 1980, Donald Super introduced a theory that describes career development in terms of Life Stages and Life Roles. Super called this theory the "Life Career Rainbow". Here, we look at how you can use the Life Career Rainbow to find the work/life balance that suits you at this stage of your life and career. Understanding the Model The Life Career Rainbow (see figure 1 below) helps us think about the different roles we play at different times in our life. ... for the complete article: Mind Tools Club members, click here.
Rest, Relaxation and Sleep - Stress Management Training from MindTools © iStockphoto/lisegagne A key facet of long-term stress is the way that people can sustain intense levels of stress for a while, but then burn out. Burnout is something that typically affects people who are highly committed to the work they do, probably much like you. If this is short-lived, then negative effects will be minimal and success will often be spectacular. Mind Tools Club members, click here. Join the Mind Tools Club to finish this article AND get 1,000 more resources Join now for just $1, first month "When I started using Mind Tools, I was not in a supervisory position. Join the Mind Tools Club The Mind Tools Club gives you many more resources than you get here on the basic Mind Tools site, including these 4 free workbooks. Access training, help and ideas to boost your career. Find out what you get
The Wheel of Life - Finding Balance in Your Life - Time Management Techniques from MindTools Finding Balance in Your Life "Wheel of Life" is a trademark of Meyer Resource Group, Inc. "Success Motivation" is a trademark of Success Motivation, Inc. Put your life under the microscope. © iStockphoto/Snowleopard1 When life is busy, or all your energy is focused on a special project, it's all too easy to find yourself off balance, not paying enough attention to important areas of your life. That's when it's time to take a "helicopter view" of your life, so that you can bring things back into balance. This is where the Wheel of Life® (or Life Wheel) can help. Figure 1 below shows an example wheel of life with example "dimensions" (we'll explain how to choose the right areas of life or dimensions for you below). Figure 1 – Wheel of Life Example The Wheel of Life is powerful because it gives you a vivid visual representation of the way your life is currently, compared with the way you'd ideally like it to be. Using the Tool There are two ways you can use this tool. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Tip:
Getting a Good Night's Sleep - Stress Management from MindTools Starting Each Day Fresh, and Full of Energy © iStockphoto/sswartz Do you often wake up in the mornings feeling more tired than when you went to bed? Do you regularly wake up during the night for no apparent reason? Or do you have trouble getting off to sleep in the first place? Poor-quality sleep can quickly lead to reduced performance at work from reduced concentration, poor memory and diminished motivation, impaired judgment and irritability. If you are one of the millions of people who occasionally suffer poor quality sleep, and you want to feel more rested, alert and ready to go, then the good news is that you can improve the quality of your sleep and so maximize your work performance. Tip: If you have more serious difficulties sleeping or are constantly tired, you may have a sleep disorder that requires medical attention. What affects the quality of your sleep? Good quality sleep is an uninterrupted stretch of roughly... ... for the complete article: Mind Tools Club members, click here.