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Positive Psychology Articles
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- Enjoy The Good That Lasts - by Submitted on May 05, 2025 from Rick HansonWhy? So many things change. Leaves fall, friends move away, and children leave home. My dad died some years ago, and my mom about ten years before that. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting older (darn, there is no fooling the mirror). The world changes, too. Evolving ...
Views: 1 - Love Your Neighbor - by Submitted on May 04, 2025 from Rick HansonThis practice might sound extreme or pushy, and I want to tell you what I mean by it. Everyone has lots of neighbors, and they come in many shapes and sizes. Obviously, the people living across the street are neighbors, but in some sense, so are the people you live with. Friends, ...
Views: 5 - Beware of Anger - by Submitted on May 04, 2025 from Rick HansonAnger is tricky. On the one hand, anger – feeling annoyed, irritated, resentful, fed up, mad, outraged, or enraged – alerts us to real threats, real injuries, and real wrongs that need correcting, and it energizes and fuels us to do something about them. In my family growing up, my ...
Views: 5 - Welcome Joy - by Submitted on Apr 14, 2025 from Rick HansonPositive emotions – such as feelings of gratitude, love, and confidence – strengthen the immune system, protect the heart against loss and trauma, build relationships, increase resilience, and promote success. Based on studies that have already been done, if a drug company could patent a ...
Views: 9 - Find Your Ground - by Submitted on Apr 07, 2025 from Rick HansonI've been to New Zealand, and really respect and like it. There's a Maori term - turangawaewae, "a place to stand" - that I've come back to many times. I'm sure I don't know the full meaning of the word in its cultural context. But at a basic level, it's clear that we all need a place to ...
Views: 12 - Love Someone - by Submitted on Mar 31, 2025 from Rick HansonSometimes something happens. Perhaps your sweet old cat takes a turn for the worse, or there’s a money problem, or your son waves goodbye as he gets on a plane to start college on the other side of the country. Sometimes it’s on a larger scale: maybe there’s been an election, and you’re ...
Views: 19 - Take Heart - by Submitted on Mar 24, 2025 from Rick HansonIt takes heart to live in even ordinary times. By “taking heart,” I mean several related things: Sensing your heart and chest Finding encouragement in what is good both around you and inside you Resting in your own warmth, compassion, and kindness; resting in the ...
Views: 23 - Recognize Suffering in Others - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2025 from Rick HansonWe’re usually aware of our own suffering, which – broadly defined – includes the whole range of physical and mental discomfort, from mild headache or anxiety to the agony of bone cancer or the anguish of losing a child. (Certainly, there is more to life than suffering, including great joy and ...
Views: 29 - Trust Yourself - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2025 from Rick HansonAs I grew up, at home and school it felt dangerous to be myself - my whole self, including the parts that made mistakes, got rebellious and angry, goofed around too loudly, or were awkward and vulnerable. Not dangers of violence, as many have faced, but risks of being punished in other ...
Views: 32 - Be At Peace With The Pain Of Others - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2025 from Rick HansonHumans are an empathic, compassionate, and loving species, so it is natural to feel sad, worried, or fiery about the troubles and pain of other people. (And about those of cats and dogs and other animals, but I'll focus on human beings here.) Long ago, the Buddha spoke of the "first dart" ...
Views: 36 - Be Amazed - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2025 from Rick HansonHere are my top five inner practices for helping this year be a good one for you and others (click the links to see the first four): Drop the stone Let it flow Learn as you go “Us” all “thems" Be amazed By “be amazed,” I mean staying open to a sense ...
Views: 37 - Be Mind Full of Good - by Submitted on Feb 18, 2025 from Rick HansonIt's kind of amazing: right now, what you think and feel, enjoy and suffer, is changing your brain. The brain is the organ that learns, designed by evolution to be changed by our experiences: what scientists call experience-dependent neuroplasticity. Neurons that fire together, wire ...
Views: 47 - Kindness to You is Kindness to Me; Kindness to Me is Kindness to You - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2025 from Rick HansonI usually describe a practice as something to do: get on your own side, see the being behind the eyes, take in the good, etc. This practice is different: it's something to recognize. From this recognition, appropriate action will follow. Let me explain. Some years ago, I was invited to ...
Views: 53 - Grow A Key Inner Strength - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2025 from Rick HansonWe all have issues - including demands upon us, stresses, illnesses, losses, vulnerabilities, and pain. (As Alan Watts put it: "Life is wiggly.") Of course, many of our issues - in the broad sense I'm using the word here - are related to important sources of fulfillment, such as starting a ...
Views: 57 - Eat Right - by Submitted on Jan 20, 2025 from Rick HansonThe easiest and usually most effective way to replenish your body is through good nutrition. Most of us have a diet that is very different from the one that we are adapted to through millions of years of evolution - a diet of mainly vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meat. Humans first started ...
Views: 65 - Turn Anger into a Peaceful Heart - by Submitted on Jan 13, 2025 from Rick Hanson(Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture, a book written for mothers - focusing on typical parenting situations and gender differences that are experienced by many, though not all, mothers and fathers, and by parents in same sex relationships. Parenting is a complex subject, plus it ...
Views: 64 - Stay Well - by Submitted on Jan 06, 2025 from Rick Hanson[Note: This JOT is adapted from Mother Nurture, a book written for mothers - focusing on typical parenting situations and gender differences that are experienced by many, though not all, mothers and fathers, and by parents in same-sex relationships. Parenting is a complex subject, plus it ...
Views: 72 - Learning as a Team Sport: Why Collaboration Is Key to Collective Growth - by Submitted on Dec 24, 2024 from Angela AshIn many teams, knowledge gets siloed, ideas don’t flow, and solving problems feels harder than it should. The result? Slower progress, repeated mistakes, and missed opportunities to grow as a team. When teams learn and collaborate, they share knowledge and amplify it. A fresh perspective ...
Views: 91 - Feel Whole - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2024 from Rick HansonWhen I look back on mistakes I've made - like dumping my anger on someone, making assumptions in haste, partying too much, losing my nerve, being afraid to speak from my heart - in all cases, a part of me had taken over. You know what I mean. The parts of us that have a partial view are driven ...
Views: 104 - Love Freely - by Submitted on Nov 18, 2024 from Rick HansonIn my early 20's, I went through Rolfing, a form of deep-tissue bodywork, and I nervously anticipated the 5th session, the one that goes deep into the belly. But instead of gobs of repressed emotional pain, what poured out was love - waves, and waves of love that I'd pushed down due to ...
Views: 102 - Unleashing The Future Of Wellness: How White Label CBD Is Empowering Entrepreneurs To Build Profitable Health Brands - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2024 from Angulena BobesThe wellness industry is booming like never before, with consumers increasingly seeking natural, effective solutions for health and well-being. At the forefront of this trend is CBD (cannabidiol), a compound derived from the hemp plant, known for its potential health benefits, ranging from ...
Views: 120 - Do Freely - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2024 from Rick HansonMost people spend most minutes of most days doing one thing after another. I sure do. Typing these words is a kind of doing, as is driving to work, making dinner, brushing one's teeth, or putting the kids to bed. For all the "labor-saving" devices of the past 50 years - dishwashers, phone ...
Views: 109 - Rest in Center - by Submitted on Nov 04, 2024 from Rick HansonGravity and entropy are powerful processes in the natural world. Gravity draws things together, toward a center, while entropy scatters them into disorder. In much the same way, in our own lives, some things bring us to the center, while others disturb and disperse us. In terms of ...
Views: 118 - Choose to Love - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2024 from Rick HansonMany years ago, I was in a significant relationship in which the other person started doing things that surprised and hurt me. I'll preserve the privacy here so I won't be concrete, but it was pretty intense. After going through the first wave of reactions - What?! How could you? Are you kidding ...
Views: 121 - Relax Needless Fear Around Other - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2024 from Rick HansonWe all know this fear. You step into a meeting with people you know and still, there could be a watchfulness, a restraint, a certain carefulness in how you speak that comes more from subtle anxiety than reasonable prudence. Perhaps someone disagrees with you in this meeting – and you feel ...
Views: 121 - Water Your Fruit Tree - by Submitted on Oct 14, 2024 from Rick HansonMy wife and kids tease me that the title of this practice is corny - and it is. Still, I like it. If you don't nourish the things that nourish you, they wither away like a plant in dry stony ground. Looking to the year ahead for you - a year that can begin whenever you want - what's one ...
Views: 131 - Enjoy the Freedom Not To - by Submitted on Oct 07, 2024 from Rick HansonWe're pulled and prodded by financial pressures, commuter traffic, corporate policies, technology, advertising, politics, and the people we work with and live with. As well, internal forces yank the proverbial chains, including emotional reactions, compelling desires, "shoulds," and internalized ...
Views: 132 - Enjoy Sobriety - by Submitted on Sep 30, 2024 from Rick HansonBy "sobriety," I mean healthy self-control, a centered enjoyment of life, and inner freedom from drivenness. We typically apply this sense of balance and self-care to things like food, drugs and alcohol, sexuality, money, and risky behaviors. And if you like, you could bring sobriety to other ...
Views: 141 - Accept Difficulty - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2024 from Rick HansonSometimes things are difficult. Your legs are tired and you still have to stay on your feet another hour at work. You love a child who's finding her independence through emotional distance from you. A long-term relationship could be losing its spark. It's finals week in college. You're trying to ...
Views: 140 - Feel The Support - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2024 from Rick HansonWe're all carrying a load, including tasks, challenges, worries, inner criticism, mistreatment from others, physical and emotional pain, loss and illness now or later, and everyday stresses and frustrations. Take a moment to get a sense of your own load. It's very real, isn't it? ...
Views: 157 - Let Things Change - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2024 from Rick HansonThe fifth of my personal Top 5 practices (all tied for first place) is open out, by which I mean relaxing into a growing sense of connection, even oneness, with all things. "Opening out" can sound kind of airy-fairy or flaky, but I mean it is very down-to-earth ways; check out these JOTs ...
Views: 160 - Four Main Perspectives in the Game of Life - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2024 from William CottringerFour Main Perspectives in the Game of Life By Bill Cottringer The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective. ~Al Neuharth. Heroes, Villains, Victims and Bystanders There are only four choices, For all the unheard voices: Be an honorable hero, And gain ...
Views: 168 - A Mad Mystic’s Guide to Sanity Amidst this Never-Ending Tsunami of Change, Change, Change - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2024 from joan pancoeA Mad Mystic’s Guide to Sanity Amidst this Never-Ending Tsunami of Change, Change, Change TO ACTIVATE ALL LINKS AND VIEW ALL IMAGES ...
Views: 173(1 vote) - Accept Them as They Are - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2024 from Rick HansonI admit it: whether close to home or far away, I wish some people were different. Depending on who they are, I wish they'd stop doing things like leaving cabinet doors open in our kitchen, sending me spam emails, or turning a blind eye to global warming. And I wish they'd start doing things like ...
Views: 162 - Accept It - by Submitted on Aug 26, 2024 from Rick HansonAs general clusters that each include a number of specific methods, my Top 5 types of practices (all tied for first place) are: Be mindful Love Take in the good Go green Open out The practice of “go green” helps you get out of the brain’s ...
Views: 157 - Grow Inner Strengths - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2024 from Rick HansonI've hiked a lot and have often had to depend on what was in my pack. Inner strengths are the supplies you've got in your pack as you make your way down the twisting and often hard road of life. They include a positive mood, common sense, integrity, inner peace, determination, and a warm heart. ...
Views: 172 - Enjoy Four Kinds of Peace - by Submitted on Aug 12, 2024 from Rick Hanson“Peace” can sound merely sentimental or clichéd (“visualize whirled peas”). But deep down, it’s what most of us long for. Consider the proverb: The highest happiness is peace. Not a peace inside that ignores pain in oneself or others or is acquired by shutting down. This is a durable ...
Views: 171 - It’s All In The Mind: Manifestation - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2025 from Paul JenkinThere’s a new buzzword that has grown in popularity all over social media, and that is – “Manifestation!” Manifestation has become a phenomenon that everybody seems to be interested in at the moment, particularly on TikTok. The platform’s bite-sized content format has transformed the topic of ...
Views: 184 - Get Out of the War - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2024 from Rick HansonBy "war," I mean here a mindset, not combat between nations with tanks and bombs. The "war" I'm referring to is an attitude of conflict and animosity toward a person, object, or condition. Parents can feel at war with a misbehaving teenager, and certainly vice versa. Neighbors quarreling over a ...
Views: 181 - Drop the Load - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2024 from Rick HansonYou may have seen the old Mickey Mouse movie in which he is working at a conveyor belt in a factory. More and more widgets come at him that he must handle, and he gets increasingly frazzled as he struggles to keep up. Do you ever feel the same way? Think about all the dishes, emails, ...
Views: 190 - Accept Dependence - by Submitted on Jul 15, 2024 from Rick HansonWant to try a little experiment? Stop breathing. Really. For a few seconds, maybe a few dozen seconds, and see how it feels. For me, this experiment is an intimate way to experience a deep truth that we live dependently, relying on 10,000 things for physical survival, happiness, ...
Views: 193 - Give Them What They Want - by Submitted on Jul 09, 2024 from Rick HansonResearch shows that relationships are built from interactions, and interactions are built from moments. A critical moment in an interaction is when one person wants something from the other one. ("Wants" include wishes, needs, desires, hopes, and longings.) The want could be simple and concrete, ...
Views: 188 - Transform Ill Will - by Submitted on Jul 01, 2024 from Rick HansonGoodwill and ill will are about intention: the will is for good or ill. These intentions are expressed through action and inaction, word and deed, and-especially-thoughts. How do you feel when you sense another person taking potshots at you in her mind? What does it feel like to take potshots of ...
Views: 191 - Cultivate Goodwill - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2024 from Rick HansonAs the most social and loving species on the planet, we have the wonderful ability and inclination to connect with others, be empathic, cooperate, care, and love. On the other hand, we also have the capacity and inclination to be fearfully aggressive toward any individual or group we regard as ...
Views: 202 - Come to Center - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2024 from Rick HansonI’m old enough to remember a time when people usually answered “good” when you asked them the standard, “How are you?” (often said “harya?”). These days the answer is commonly “busy.” I know what it feels like to get very busy and start to feel dispersed: juggling a dozen priorities at ...
Views: 209 - Be Helpful - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2024 from Rick HansonWhy? I'm doing a series on my personal top five practices (all tied for first place). I have so far named three: meditate (including mindfulness, self-awareness, and, if you like, prayer), take in the good, and bless (including compassion, generosity, and love). I saw one way to ...
Views: 209 - Bless - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2024 from Rick HansonLately, I've been wondering what would be on my personal list of top five practices (all tied for first place). You might ask yourself the same question, knowing that you can cluster related practices under a single umbrella, your list may differ from mine, and your practices may change over ...
Views: 209 - YOUR SEASONAL BOOSTER SHOT: Fully Loaded with Ambrosial Juju to Keep You on Your Toes (if not Jumping for Joy) - by Submitted on May 31, 2024 from joan pancoeRECOMMENDED: To see all visuals and activate all ...
Views: 277(1 vote) - How You Can Cultivate A Positive Mindset - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2025 from Paul JenkinThoughts are very powerful. They can shape our perspectives, influence our attitudes, and redefine our actions. A simple shift in outlook can ultimately change who you are. More often than not, we are alone with our own thoughts. Different things are running through our minds every single ...
Views: 239 - Meditate - by Submitted on May 27, 2024 from Rick HansonMeditation is to the mind what aerobic exercise is to the body. Like exercise, there are many good ways to do it and you can find the one that suits you best. Studies have shown that regular meditation promotes mindfulness (sustained observing awareness), whose benefits include decreased ...
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