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Positive Psychology Articles
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- Embrace Change And Adaptability: Empower Your Life With A Sphynx Kitten - by Submitted on May 22, 2024 from Word SmithChange is an inevitable part of life, and embracing it with a positive mindset can lead to personal growth and new opportunities. One unique and rewarding way to embrace change is by welcoming a Sphynx kitten into your home. These remarkable feline companions are not only a joy to have around, ...
Views: 242 - Lived By Love - by Submitted on May 20, 2024 from Rick HansonFeeling both the world and myself these days, one phrase keeps calling: lived by love. Explicitly, this means coming from love in a broad sense, from compassion, good intentions, self-control, warmth, finding what’s to like, caring, connecting, and kindness. Implicitly, and more ...
Views: 212 - Feel Already Full - by Submitted on May 13, 2024 from Rick HansonOne slice of the pie of life feels relaxed and contented. And then there is that other slice, in which we feel driven and stressed. Trying to get pleasures, avoid pains, pile up accomplishments and recognitions, be loved by more people. Lose more weight, try to fill the hole in the heart. Slake ...
Views: 219 - One Breath at a Time - by Submitted on May 06, 2024 from Rick Hanson[If for you the breath is associated with trauma and discomfort, you probably shouldn't try this practice in its form below. But you might adapt it to something that is more nurturing for you, such as a saying or image.] Breathing brings you home. Body and mind twine together in the ...
Views: 231 - Lean Into Good On First Waking - by Submitted on Apr 29, 2024 from Rick HansonWaking up is like the sun rising. At first, it's mostly dark, as glimmers of consciousness begin to light the shadows. Emerging into full wakefulness, the fogs and veils dissolve and the whole plain of your mind comes into view. It's quiet: a restiveness in the body, sleepy still, not yet much ...
Views: 239 - See Deep Wants - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2024 from Rick HansonI did my Ph.D. dissertation by videotaping 20 mother-toddler pairs and analyzing what happened when the mom offered an alternative to a problematic want ("not the chainsaw, sweetie, how about this red truck?!"). Hundreds of bleary-eyed hours later, I found that offering alternatives reduced the ...
Views: 234 - See Good Intentions - by Submitted on Apr 09, 2024 from Rick HansonHustling through an airport, I stopped to buy some water. At the shop’s refrigerator, a man bent over, loading bottles into it. I reached past him and pulled out one he’d put in. He looked up, stopped working, got a bottle from another shelf, and held it out to me, saying, “This one is cold.” I ...
Views: 247 - Managing Stress and Preventing Burnout - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2025 from Paul JenkinStress is an inevitable part of life. You’re bound to face numerous challenges in your daily life, and most commonly, in your work. Whether it’s meeting deadlines, handling difficult colleagues, or managing personal responsibilities, stress can manifest in various forms. While this is ...
Views: 283 - Drop The "Shoulds" - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2024 from Rick HansonOne time I watched a three-year-old at her birthday party. Her friends were there from preschool, and she received lots of presents. The cake came out, she admired the pink frosting rose at its center, and everyone sang. One of the moms cut pieces and, without thinking sliced right through the ...
Views: 245 - Mastering Self-Development for Thriving Digital Careers - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2024 from Christopher thomasStaying ahead of the curve is crucial for success in digital careers in today's quickly changing digital economy. Since there is an ongoing need for professionals in industries such as performance marketing, digital marketing, analytics, and creative content creation, self-improvement is an ...
Views: 264 - Let it R.A.I.N. - by Submitted on Mar 25, 2024 from Rick HansonWhen you're young, the territory of the psyche is like a vast estate, with rolling hills, forests and plains, swamps, and meadows. So many things can be experienced, expressed, wanted, and loved. But as life goes along, most people pull back from major parts of their psyche. Perhaps a ...
Views: 245 - Find Your Own Way - by Submitted on Mar 19, 2024 from Rick HansonThe human body has about 100 trillion cells (plus another ten quadrillion microscopic critters hitching a ride, most of them beneficial or harmless). Each one of your cells has aims - goals, in a sense - controlled by its DNA: cells conduct processes aimed at particular functions, like building ...
Views: 255 - Find The Good News - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2024 from Rick Hanson“Tell the truth.” It’s the foundation of science – and the foundation of healthy relationships, communities, and countries. But the truth of things is complicated. To simplify, there is the good of things that are enjoyable and helpful, the bad of things that are painful and harmful, and ...
Views: 256 - Change the Channel - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2024 from Rick HansonIn response to a previous JOT – Find Stillness – a wise therapist, Betsy Sansby, reminded me that sometimes a person just can’t find any stillness anywhere. Maybe you have epilepsy or chronic pain or are wildly worried about a child or other loved one, or have been rejected in love or had the ...
Views: 260 - Find Stillness - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2024 from Rick HansonThings keep changing. The clock ticks, the day unfolds, trees grow, leaves turn brown, hair turns gray, children grow up and leave home, attention skitters from this to that, the cookie is delicious but then it’s all gone, you’re mad about something for a while and then get over it, ...
Views: 251 - Let It Go - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2024 from Rick HansonMost people, me included, are holding onto at least one thing way past its expiration date. It could be a belief, perhaps that your hair is falling out and you are ugly and unlovable as a result, that you can’t say what you really feel in an intimate relationship, or that you must lose ...
Views: 251 - See What's Likable - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2024 from Rick HansonLiking feels good, plus it encourages us to approach and engage the world rather than withdraw from it. Your brain continually tracks whether something is pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. In essence, is it a carrot, a stick, or safely ignored? Naturally, we like - we enjoy - what's ...
Views: 268 - Be Home - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2024 from Rick HansonThroughout history, people have wondered about human nature. Deep down, are we basically good or bad? When the body is not disturbed by hunger, thirst, pain, or illness, and when the mind is not disturbed by threat, frustration, or rejection, then most people settle into their resting ...
Views: 262 - Top 10 Artificial Intelligence Innovations to Transform Your Life in 2024 - by Submitted on Feb 02, 2024 from Mahipal NehraTop 10 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovations for 2024. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just a buzzword anymore; it's an integral part of our daily lives. As we approach 2024, AI is poised to become even more embedded in various aspects of our society, promising to revolutionize ...
Views: 283 - Rest Your Weary Head - by Submitted on Jan 29, 2024 from Rick HansonThe traditional saying that's this week's practice has been sinking in for me lately. Thoughts have been swirling around like a sandstorm about work, things I've been reading, household tasks, finances, concerns about people, a yard that needs mowing, loose ends, projects, etc. etc. The other ...
Views: 278 - Gift Yourself - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2024 from Rick HansonCan you remember a time when you offered a gift to someone? Perhaps a holiday present, or a treat to a child, or taking time for a friend – or anything at all. How did this feel? Researchers have found that giving stimulates the same neural networks that light up when we feel physical pleasure, ...
Views: 272 - Enjoy Now - by Submitted on Jan 15, 2024 from Rick HansonThere’s a profound and miraculous mystery right under our noses: this instant of now has no duration at all, yet somehow it contains all the causes from the past that are creating the future. Everything arising to become this moment vanishes beneath our feet as the next moment wells up. Since ...
Views: 272 - Find What's Sacred - by Submitted on Jan 08, 2024 from Rick HansonThe word sacred has two kinds of meanings. First, it can refer to something related to religion or spirituality. Second, more broadly, it can refer to something that one cherishes, that is precious, to which one is respectfully, even reverently, dedicated, such as honesty with one's life ...
Views: 264 - Avoid The Rush - by Submitted on Jan 01, 2024 from Rick HansonAs I was meditating one morning, our cat hopped up onto my lap. It felt sweet to sit there with him. And yet - even though I was feeling fine and had plenty of time, there was this internal pressure to start zipping along with emails and calls and all the other clamoring minutiae of the ...
Views: 258 - Find Your North Star - by Submitted on Dec 25, 2023 from Rick HansonI did a meditation retreat (at Spirit Rock, a wonderful place, including for workshops). One evening as we walked out of the hall after the last sit, I was feeling rattled and discombobulated. (One of the benefits of a retreat - though it can be uncomfortable - is that it stirs up the sediments ...
Views: 283 - Cling Less, Love More - by Submitted on Dec 19, 2023 from Rick HansonAs a rock climber and a parent, I know some physical kinds of clinging are good - like too-small holds or small hands! But clinging as a psychological state has a feeling of tension in it, and drivenness, insistence, obsession, or compulsion. As experiences flow through the mind - seeing, ...
Views: 280 - Pay Attention - by Submitted on Dec 11, 2023 from Rick HansonFrom moment to moment, the flows of thoughts and feelings, sensations and desires, and conscious and unconscious processes sculpt your nervous system like water, gradually carving furrows and eventually gullies on a hillside. Your brain is continually changing its structure. The only question ...
Views: 296 - Feel Good in Fall - by Submitted on Dec 09, 2023 from Janice WaldAlthough fall is almost over, it's not too late for a Feel Good Fall article. These articles are designed to boost your mood. INSPIRATION LINK PARTIES Every Monday I throw link parties that boost people's inspiration and positivity. Participants share ideas for crafts, recipes, and ...
Views: 277 - Leave the Red Zone - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2023 from Rick HansonThere I was recently, my mind darting in different directions about projects in process, frazzled about little tasks backing up, uneasy about a tax record from 2010 we couldn’t find, feeling irritated about being irritable, hurrying to get to work, body keyed up, internal sense of pressure. Not ...
Views: 294 - FIVE POTENTIAL DARKSIDES TO POSITIVE THINKING - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2023 from James MapesIn Part #1 of ‘Negative vs. Positive Thinking’, I gave you an overview of the conscious and unconscious mind and a glimpse into positive and negative thinking. Review on link below: https://www.jamesmapes.com/james-mapes-blog/negative-vs-positive-thinking-part-1/ In Part #2, we are going ...
Views: 349 - Be Benevolent - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2023 from Rick HansonBenevolence is a fancy word that means something simple: good intentions toward living beings, including oneself. This goodwill is present in warmth, friendliness, compassion, ordinary decency, fair play, kindness, altruism, generosity, and love. The benevolent heart leans toward others; it ...
Views: 341 - Make The Offering - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2023 from Rick HansonOne of the strangest and most meaningful experiences of my life occurred when I went through Rolfing (ten brilliant sessions of deep-tissue bodywork) in my early 20's. The fifth session works on the stomach area, and I was anticipating (= dreading) the release of buried sadness. Instead, there ...
Views: 310 - Don't Beat Yourself Up - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2023 from Rick HansonA previous JOT - admit fault and move on - was about our relationship with other people. This JOT applies the same practice to ourselves. Most people know they have less than wonderful qualities, such as too much ambition (or too little), a weakness for wine or cookies, something of a temper, ...
Views: 289 - Admit Fault and Move On - by Submitted on Nov 06, 2023 from Rick HansonHave you ever watched two people quarrel, or otherwise be stuck in a conflict with each other? Usually, if either or both of them simply acknowledged one or more things, that would end the fight. Recall a time someone mistreated you, let you down, dropped the ball, made an error, spoke ...
Views: 301 - Be the Body - by Submitted on Oct 30, 2023 from Rick HansonAs a kid, I was really out of touch with my body. I hardly noticed it most of the time, and when I did, I prodded it like a mule to do a better job of hauling "me" - the head - around. This approach helped me to soldier through some tough times. But there were costs. Many pleasures were ...
Views: 282 - Back to Basics - by Submitted on Oct 23, 2023 from Rick HansonIn middle school, I thought it would be cool to play a musical instrument and picked the clarinet. My wise parents rented one rather than buying it, and I started practicing. (In the garage because it sounded pretty screechy.) After a week or two of doing scales, I got bored and picked my way ...
Views: 304 - Know You're a Good Person - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2023 from Rick HansonFor many of us, perhaps the hardest thing of all is to believe that "I am a good person." We can climb mountains, work hard, acquire many skills, and act ethically - but truly feel that one is good deep down? Nah! We end up not feeling like a good person in a number of ways. For example, I ...
Views: 284 - Drop Tart Tone - by Submitted on Oct 10, 2023 from Rick HansonI remember times I felt frazzled or aggravated and then said something with an edge to it that just wasn't necessary or useful. Sometimes it was the words themselves: such as absolutes like "never" or always" or over-the-top phrases like "you're such a flake" or "that was stupid." More often, it ...
Views: 312 - Mindful Eating: Using Quality Ingredients for Self-Improvement and Wellness - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2023 from Christopher thomasMindful eating is just a science that lets you pay attention to what you are eating and how it makes you, therefore, being mindful of what you are eating is important as it gives you the power to control your health and weight. In this process, you get to determine the results that you want to ...
Views: 341 - Feed the Wolf of Love - by Submitted on Oct 02, 2023 from Rick HansonI once heard a teaching story in which an elder, a grandmother, was asked what she had done to become so happy, so wise, so loved, and respected. She replied: "It's because I know that there are two wolves in my heart, a wolf of love and a wolf of hate. And I know that everything depends on ...
Views: 325 - Lower the Pressure - by Submitted on Sep 25, 2023 from Rick HansonThings come at us with so much urgency and demand these days. Phones ring, texts buzz, emails pile up, new balls have to be juggled, work days lengthen and move into evenings and weekends, traffic gets denser, financial demands feel like a knife at the neck, ads and news clamor for attention, ...
Views: 330 - See Beings Not Bodies - by Submitted on Sep 19, 2023 from Rick HansonWhen we encounter someone, usually the mind automatically slots the person into a category: older, younger, your friend Tom, the kid next door, etc. Watch this happen in your own mind as you meet or talk with a co-worker, sales clerk, or family member. In effect, the mind summarizes and ...
Views: 315 - The Road to Personal Development and Wellness: Navigating a Hub of Growth - by Submitted on Sep 19, 2023 from Braden LoweIn the vast landscape of personal development and wellness resources, there exists a platform that serves as a beacon of hope and transformation. Whether you're on a quest for self-improvement, wellness, or simply seeking a path to personal growth, this platform offers a wealth of tools, ...
Views: 348 - Step Into the Cloud - by Submitted on Sep 12, 2023 from Rick HansonI had a lightbulb moment recently: I was feeling stressed about all the stuff I had to do (you probably know the feeling). After this went on for a while, I stepped back and kind of watched my mind, and could see that I was thinking of these various tasks as things, like big rocks that were ...
Views: 321 - Love the World - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2023 from Rick HansonTo simplify and summarize, our brain has three primary motivational systems – Avoiding harm, Approaching rewards, and Attaching to “us” – that draw on many neural networks to accomplish their goals. Lately, I’ve started to realize that a fourth fundamental human motivational system could be ...
Views: 315 - Hug the Monkey - by Submitted on Aug 28, 2023 from Rick HansonTo simplify a complex process spanning 600 million years, your brain developed in ways that are loosely related to three major stages of vertebrate evolution: Reptile - Brainstem, focused on avoiding harms Mammal - Subcortex, focused on approaching rewards Primate/human – Neocortex, ...
Views: 336 - Feed the Mouse - by Submitted on Aug 21, 2023 from Rick HansonTo simplify a complex process spanning 600 million years, your brain developed in ways that are loosely related to the three major stages of vertebrate evolution: Reptile – Brainstem, focused on avoiding harms Mammal – Subcortex, focused on approaching rewards Primate – Neocortex, ...
Views: 328 - Pet the Lizard - by Submitted on Aug 15, 2023 from Rick HansonI've always liked lizards. Growing up in the outskirts of Los Angeles, I played in the foothills near our home. Sometimes I'd catch a lizard and stroke its belly, so it would relax in my hands, seeming to feel at ease. In my early 20's, I found a lizard one chilly morning in the mountains. ...
Views: 352 - Give Over to Good - by Submitted on Aug 07, 2023 from Rick HansonIn every moment, you and I and everyone and everything else – from quantum foam to fleeting thoughts, intimate relationships, rainforest ecosystems, and the stars themselves – are each a kind of standing wave, like the ever-changing through a persistent pattern of water rising above a boulder in ...
Views: 333 - GAP-CLOSING - by Submitted on Jul 28, 2023 from William CottringerGAP-CLOSING By Bill Cottringer Life is all the stuff that happens in between acknowledging our gaps and trying to deal with them. ~The author. We are all confronted with problem gaps than need closing solutions in life. The differences are in the nature and priority of these gaps ...
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