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Building Your Happiness Momentum

September 6, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Sometimes thinking too much can destroy your momentum.

— Tom Watson

There’s something about Americans’ expectations of life that seems to set us up for dissatisfaction. Don’t get me wrong, a little dissatisfaction is good for the soul, it motivates us to stretch – to accomplish more, for ourselves and others. But, as a culture, we seem to have trouble finding a Continue reading » Building Your Happiness Momentum

Building a Happiness Habit

May 19, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: ElvertBarnes

I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.

— Brian Tracy

Ellie and I face a common problem. We both have to come up with topics to write about. While neither of us could probably tell you exactly how we do it, it seems to be true, at least for me, that it has something to do with showing up.

I’m sure you’ve heard that 80% of success in life is showing up. And so it is with writing.

When Ellie and I are asked to present at business and community meetings, whether we’re conducting training or simply providing inspirational encouragement, we always include some Continue reading » Building a Happiness Habit

Doing It My Way

April 19, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: stevendepolo

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

— Dalai Lama

In the Epilogue to Better Than Good: Creating the Life You Can’t Wait to Live, Zig Ziglar said that a very long time ago, he learned the answer to the question, “What would you change in your life if you had it to live over?” When asked this, one woman replied that she wouldn’t change anything because that meant that she wouldn’t be where she was now and she loved where she was right then. It made me wonder whether I Continue reading » Doing It My Way

Writing the Story We Want

April 12, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: georgikeith

All you see in your world is the outcome of your idea about it.

— Neale Donald Walsch

I think it’s very interesting that so many of us have to struggle to be happy. I don’t mean that our lives are so horrible that we can’t be happy; rather, I am referring to the problem we have recognizing how wonderful our lives are.

You’ve probably experienced this phenomenon if you’ve ever been given a raise at work. While any “normal” raise has some impact when we receive it, research shows that it takes only a couple of higher pay periods before we’ve absorbed the new money into our spending habits and no longer feel the Continue reading » Writing the Story We Want

The Enemy of Happiness

March 1, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: lostajy

Time is the scarcity, and it’s the commodity we can’t create any more of.

— Jim Mitchell

Lately, I’ve been struggling with the idea of scarcity. It seems as if there’s never enough:

Time
Energy
Relaxation
Understanding
Privacy
Fitness
Chocolate

Love
Money
Exercise
Peace of mind
Health
Friendship
Organization

Seldom do we think in terms of having too much of anything. The result is that the unformed thought in our heads is Continue reading » The Enemy of Happiness