Archives for Happiness
Why Your Career Path Should Have No End
Life expectancy is ballooning, but really, who’s paying attention? I wasn’t, and the results were a transition that could have been better navigated. Entering my third act of life, I ended up confused in a swamp land of outdated information, no great “how-to” bestseller as a guide and social benchmarks that just didn’t fit anymore. […]
Oh the Things You’ll Learn! Three Notable Sabbatical Books
We can learn a lot from the story line, “sabbatical idea to departure.” But, the story of what happens next provides the best information to help us to look closer at our own ideas about taking time out from work Who doesn’t want answers to these questions: Just how did those teenage daughters like being […]
The Purpose-Driven Sabbatical: New Approach to Achieve the Happy Factor
Without purpose, a sabbatical won’t make you happy. I’ve interviewed many individuals who thought all they needed to do was negotiate the time away, arrange for their work to get done, and instruct the tech department to dissolve temporary access to their email. Then, totally disconnected from work life, the grand experience of their sabbatical […]
Get Where You Live Right, You’ll Get Life Right. R-e-a-l-l-y?
A good friend is packing up to move six states to the east - closer to the ocean where it won’t snow. Without a job for over a year, she figures her spirit will get a boost in new surroundings where the sun shines more days than in Cincinnati. In no time she’ll be inspired to tackle a future […]
Obsessed with Goals? Might Explain Why There’s No Sabbatical in View for You
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, written by Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter, outlines 20 habits to break to become even more successful. With an average of 4.5 stars from 288 Amazon readers, the book deserves your attention. The 20 habits include clinging to the past, making excuses and winning too much. Goldsmith is “corporate America’s […]
Name Your Sacrifices for Work Bliss
Stephen Sondheim, the “the master lyricist of our generation” 80 years old and would forgo love to write lyrics. How does a genius think? How does he approach work? As a prolific, high-achieving performer, does he ever want to stop working? Does he have a life? All the answers are in Sondheim’s new book (the first […]
Sacrificing Your Life for the Kids? Forever?
I believe in being the best mom or dad you can be, just not at the expense of living the life you want for yourself. Asked when one plans to accomplish some of the things that he/she has identified on the “dream list,” here are familiar responses: Just as soon as the kids get a […]
Experts Say We Already Have What It Takes. Oh What Rubbish.
Can you remember the last bad day you had? The one where the future seemed dimly lit and you felt frustrated not knowing what to tackle first? Well, today’s mine. Bad mood and overwhelmed, I feel my life has a thousand loose ends and the dragon that will slay the fears of my future is […]
What’s the First Step? The Step You Don’t Want to Take.
I’ve been seeing more people standing on street corners with signs in my small town. A couple of weeks back, a middle-aged woman on the median of a busy intersection held a one word sign - “Help.” It’s unusual to see a woman on the street holding a sign; mostly it’s men. Most signs ask for […]
Are You a “Belonger” or an “Other”?
After a couple of falls and a hospital stay, my 94-year-old dad isn’t able to return to his assisted living apartment. He’ll stay at the nursing home when he complete his rehabilitation at the end of this month. Sunday night in the hang-out room of the nursing home, “The Wharf,” Dad and I watched the baseball […]
Five Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life
Wrecking one’s life isn’t all that difficult. Coaching sessions with top-notch executives – talented, smart and good at what they do - reveal an extraordinary gift for giving momentum to the wrecking ball of life. But once in a while, a leader has a come-to-Jesus meeting … with himself or herself (and perhaps a coach) to […]
First Survival THEN the Pursuit of Happiness? Hell, No.
Toward the end of his August book review of “Exploring Happiness” by Swedish born philosopher Sissela Bok for the Wall Street Journal, Paul Beston, associate editor of the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal, states: “He who worries about happiness in itself has probably already secured his dinner.” Oh I so disagree, Mr. Beston. Faced with poverty, disease, war and […]
Your Geography of Place. Where is it? Why is it Important?
Where is it that you have a sense of belonging to the land? A place you feel rooted? What vista feeds your soul? Some describe it as a place where they feel “home,” while others describe a place that stirs their mind and soul. One morning this past June, I woke up in a Malmerby Hall in […]
Drama Descends Upon Life: Choosing Between Joy and Sorrow
Drama intersperses regular life unexpectedly. I’ve had my share of drama moments. Like the time I (who walked the straight, narrow and confining path of “good girl”) entered the home of my parents while they were away camping to find my younger brother rolling joints at the kitchen table. What are YOU doing?!!!! What does it look like? Get […]
What Can You Buy That Will Make You Long-Term Happy? Here You Go.
A raft of new research suggests spending money on an experience will make you happier than those new shoes or a Borsalino Super Fino Montecristi Men’s Fedora ($950). “We’re moving from a conspicuous consumption – which is ‘buy without regard’ – to a ‘calculated consumption,’” says Marshal Cohen, an analyst at the NPD Group, a […]
Message to Gen X, Y and Z: Boomers Were Dead Wrong About How to Live A Happy Life
Dead wrong? I’m overstating it a bit. At least half of us in mid-life are happy. In fact, we’re happier than we’ve ever been. The other half of Boomers? Suicidal and making good on it. That’s a brutal reality for the largest and richest generation in history. The results of the latest Centers for Disease Controle […]
After 29 Years of Marriage, My Singular Advice for Wedded Bliss - Solo Sabbaticals
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 29th anniversary. It makes us both laugh wildly to think we’ve been together this long. We could never have imagined it. While the Atlanta rental properties we bought together, the time-share we agonized over, and my moving into his bachelor house after we married proved to be terrible choices, […]
“Life Is Wasted On People” Invokes Regret, But Hints at Opportunity
Ben Stiller hit the talk shows last week promoting his new film, Greenberg, using a clip that made me pause - as the advertisers obviously intended. Playing a single, 40ish man at the crossroads of his life, Stiller responds to his friend’s lunchtime quip, “Life is wasted on the young,” with a more contemporary version than the originator […]
A Committed Sabbatical Taker Discusses Self-Awareness and Authenticity
Taking a sabbatical is an ideal activity for a Life Entrepreneur. It gives you a chance to explore new parts of yourself, learn something different, engage in activities that will allow you to return to work renewed and re-energized. In looking back at my life, I can see that I have been a committed “short […]
Get the Most Out of Your Life: Run Away (then come back)
In conversations for the past three days, the phrase, “run away” has predominated my vocabulary with interesting results. I’ve done more than just use the phrase in passing; I’ve suggested it to people as an outright solution for any woe. If the person was having a rough day at work, Tropical Storm Ida had made […]
What Will Stay on Your Bucket List?
There are various ways to learn about how to live life better – follow the happiness research, read self-help vociferously, use downtime to zero in on what’s working and what’s not – or listen in on a conversation in a nursing home. Last Wednesday a 54-year-old dishy blonde, positive and perky woman introduced herself to […]
Want to be “Happy-Well”? Invite Your Brother on Your Sabbatical
I trudged through 14 pages of teensy-sized font, carefully taking notes, to learn from respected research on secrets of “the good life.” Why? Because this mother-of-a-study makes an unusual discovery. The Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of THE longest-running and very exhaustive longitudinal studies of mental and physical well-being in history followed 268 men […]