The Pursuit of Happiness is an essential human right. Both Confucius and Socrates insisted that well-being and personal growth were a major purpose of life, and a central goal of education.
When I first started this project, I had more downers than believers. Most people don’t like to see something new, and happiness has never been chosen in the 45 years that this project has been run. My 8th grade class was assigned the task to find a problem in our community and take a step…
“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” -Benjamin Franklin In order to understand happiness, one must understand what happiness actually is. The definition of happiness is, “feeling pleasure and enjoyment.” However, what is pleasure? What is enjoyment? Thomas Jefferson, an original Son of Liberty, once said,…
Guest Post from Jenn Eichner There is much debate over the effectiveness of anti-bullying campaigns currently active in many high schools. I have read research and opinion pieces which suggest that the campaigns may actually be counter-productive. There appears to be little discussion, however, on alternative measures and even less dialogue with students about their…
New research by Russell Clayton and colleagues, which is due out in the next issue of Human Resource Management, concludes there is a positive relationship between exercise and work life balance. Based on Clayton’s research, people who take the time to exercise feel more self-efficacy. In other words they are confident they can get things…
The good news; happiness is starting to consistently make headlines. The bad news; not everyone is happy. More good news; there are a lot actions you can take to become happier. Happiness at Work From a recent New York Daily News article: Workplace morale heads down: 70% of Americans negative about their jobs, Gallup…
Please welcome Suzanne Hazelton as one of our guest bloggers. She is also the author of Great Days at Work. Happiness. We can cultivate long term happiness by sowing regular seeds of positive emotions. But first let me digress into goal setting. When coaching clients it can be useful to understand “why” a particular goal…
It is a great article that covers reasons for Americas obsession with The Pursuit of Happiness and how it might actually be related to evolution and inherited genes. It also covers the impact of money on our happiness and explains the benefit of buying experiences instead of things with our money. It also gives…
I have heard a lot of questions and discussions about the one thing that leads to happiness. Everyone wants to know, “What is the one secret?” Even happiness research focuses on one skill or activity at a time, because researchers need to isolate a variable in order to find clear answers about causality. Is it…
Everyone worries; some people worry excessively. But, what do we typically worry about? Author and motivational speaker, Earl Nightingale, estimates that: 40% of the things you worry about will never happen. 30% of the things you worry about couldn’t be changed by all the worrying in the world. 12% of your worries are needless worries…
Over the years I have had the opportunity to study leadership and success. I am struck by the connections between each area and how those connections are similar for happiness as well. Your first test on happiness: Do you want to: Receive happiness like winning the lottery or receiving a gift? Experience happiness as a…
