If you have not seen the Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” or read her books, I’d highly recommend it. She’s terrific at helping people organize their homes, and she famously asks people to hold the objects or the items of clothing that they’re considering keeping or giving away and asking them if it […]
attachment, organization, psychology
When I was in college and on the track team, I asked my Coach how to run the 400-meter race. I didn’t run that event, but I was curious what his advice was because it’s a challenging race and it seemed to require as much a mental strategy as a physical one. He looked down […]
challenges, Motivation, obstacles
In one of the seminars I do, people are asked to take out their cell phone, think of somebody that they really care about — is important to them — and send them a text message. In the text, they are asked to share a positive thought about that person: Why they’re so important to […]
exercise, gratitude, thankful
On the lower left side of my computer monitor, there is a card that lists five tips I try to follow for having an outstanding day. Although it’s really just there as a reminder to me, visitors often ask about it, and I don’t mind explaining. Some of those things include: Going through my schedule […]
high tough, low tech, Productivity
In hospitals after someone has had a surgery, the medical staff will try to get them up and walking as soon as possible. There are a number of medical benefits to doing that. Psychologically, there’s one very large benefit and that is because of this elegant interaction between the brain and the body, when the […]
Stress, stress management, stress relief
When I was a kid, I was fascinated by world globes, whether it was the one in my classroom, or at the library, or one that was a decoration in my grandparent’s den. I thought it was interesting how you could see the entire world at one time. Kind of like the view the astronauts […]
perspective, problem solving, problems
In the 2008 movie “Get Smart,” the agent and spy Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, is a bungling but well-meaning spy (who usually gets things done actually), employed by the spy agency “Control.” It’s based on a TV sitcom that started in 1965 and ran for a few years on the television. In the movie, as […]
coneofsilence, Focus, Listening
Whether or not you are feeling stressed at this time, there are likely people in your life who are coming to you with the things that they are stressed or worried about. Here are three things you can do to help them: First, if somebody contacts you to talk about the things that they’re upset […]
coping, Stress, stress management, stressed
If I ask you to imagine yourself right now standing in front of the Eiffel Tower holding an ice cream cone with your favorite ice cream in it, you could probably do that quite easily, even if you’ve never been to the Eiffel Tower. The mind has an amazing ability to imagine and conjure and […]
imagination, visualization, visualize
In Norman Cousins’ classic bestseller Anatomy of an Illness is Perceived by the Patient, he describes how he overcame a debilitating disease by using, among other things, high doses of laughter. He did that by watching funny movies and television shows to increase the amount that he would laugh because that was shown to have […]
anxiety, comedy, happiness, laughter