Discerning How to Help
In his commencement address to The Class of 2020, Barack Obama reminded us that “our individual well-being depends on the well-being of the community that we live in and that
From Aspen with Love
I recently attended the Aspen Ideas Festival. It’s a weeklong event featuring discussions of politics and economics, the environment, technology, science, health, education, and the arts. I learned a
A Powerful Path to Self-Control
Self-control is about sacrificing something now in order to gain something in the future. The ability to resist temptation is essential for success. Typical suggestions for increasing self-control include relying
World Happiness Summit
I returned yesterday from the World Happiness Summit in Miami. Three amazing days learning about happiness, mindfulness, and well-being from positive psychologists, spiritual leaders, and hundreds of people who clearly
The Power of Combining Doing with Being
Many people are experiencing fear and uncertainty as a result of the presidential election. The overwhelming response has been to take action. Thousands of people around the country participated in
What Love Looks Like
Yesterday I had the incredible honor of participating in the Women’s March on Washington with my seventeen-year-old daughter, Emily. We started out from Virginia in a packed Metro train.
Practicing Compassion
Gretchen Rubin suggests starting each new year by “identifying one idea, often summarized in just one word, as an overarching theme for the entire year.” I think this is a
Cheers to Compassionate Engineers
Facebook is getting a lot of heat right now for contributing to the spread of fake news during the presidential campaign. While this is an important issue that Facebook and
Prince: A Life Well Lived
People around the world are still mourning the untimely death of Prince last week. The Eiffel Tower, the Chicago skyline, Niagara Falls, the High Roller in Las Vegas, city halls,
Self-Compassion Helps You Achieve Your Goals
This week I taught a class on goal getting for greater well-being to the students who live in George Mason’s Mindful Living Residence. I told them about a number
Choose Compassion Over Empathy
I attended a dinner last week with Tania Singer, a neuroscientist from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, scientist, and meditation expert. They told
Bad Times Can Bring Out Our Best
I’ve blogged before about how we can increase our happiness by making a point of noticing the good and looking for the silver lining when something bad happens. It
The Best Ways to Give
Adam Grant is a professor at Wharton whose research I have been interested in for years. He recently wrote a book, Give and Take, where he summarizes much of what
Embrace Vulnerability
One of my favorite TED Talks is Brené Brown on the power of vulnerability. Clearly I’m not the only one who likes it because it has over a million
Active Constructive Responding Strengthens Relationships
In a previous post I talked about the value of celebrating other people’s good news. The best way to respond when something good happens to someone we care about
Love is Good for Your Health
Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I thought I’d dedicate this blog post to the topic of love. Barbara Fredrickson, who first peaked my interest in
Finding Good in the Bad
This Sunday is the year anniversary of the shooting in Tucson that killed 6 people and injured 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. What a tragedy! But this
Notice the Good
The holidays can be a stressful time and stress can bring out the worst in people. Some of the stories from Black Friday are enough to make you wonder what
Love Thyself
The Bible teaches us to “love thy neighbor as thyself”. It’s a great idea except for one thing: most of us aren’t very good at loving ourselves. Our
Positivity Puts the Brakes on Negativity
Negative emotions are bad for us. When we experience stress, anger or fear our body generates chemicals that have harmful effects on our body. The health risks of negativity include
Meditation: Just What the Doctor Ordered!
Last week there was a story featured on ABC World News about the amount of doctors who are now prescribing meditation to their patients. Over 6 million Americans have been
Combine Compassion With Assertion
I enjoyed reading Rick Hanson’s book, Buddha’s Brain. In it he presents many thought provoking ideas, one of which is, “pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.” He
Dealing with Negative People
People have asked me what they can do when there is someone in their life who is negative. The truth is that we can work really hard to be more