So I had my first game of golf for the year on Sunday and I really enjoyed myself. As I sent balls in various directions (I never said I was good!), it occurred to me that playing golf is the perfect way to inject a little happiness. These are some of my realisations:
1)    Golf can suit all personality types. Because you can play it on your own, or with a group of people, it can be suited to both introverts and extraverts. Introverts will value the opportunity for some quiet …

Have you ever done something that is at odds with how you perceive yourself? Something that has challenged your beliefs about who you are and the sort of things you do. Really I’m talking about the times when you have stepped outside of your comfort zone and exceeded expectations of yourself. Hopefully you recognised that what you did is in fact part of you. As such you will need to create a new, updated perception of self.

If you are unsure whether to spend your free time doing things alone or with others, recent research suggests doing things with others results in greater feelings of joy. Although any flow experience can increase happiness levels, people tend to feel even better when carried out in the company of other people. So choose an activity that challenges you and go for it.

Going to university. It’s a waste of time and money. I learnt from the university of life.
Having a long distance relationship. They just don’t work. I know because my friend was in one and it didn’t last.
Getting married. You’ve seen the statistics on this one. It’s way too risky.
Starting your own business. What if it doesn’t succeed? It’ll be too hard.
Moving abroad. Because I haven’t got the courage to do it, so why should you?
How often have you been confronted with a naysayer whenever you are attempting to make a …

is a way of thinking about the world. It is a great way of coping with life’s difficulties and challenges. Fortunately it is something we can all learn at any stage of life. However teaching it to your children now means they will see immediate benefits and it is something they can take into the future.
An optimist expects to get the best out of life. As such they believe they will succeed. They are able to recognise their abilities and that they are capable of making things happen. So …

How resilient do you think you are?  How easily do you bounce back when bad things happen? Do you think you would manage if disability or serious illness were to come your way, or do you think you would buckle under the misery and give up on life? People sometimes say ‘I don’t know what I would do if’. But people do manage, somehow life goes on and for some their life is more satisfying and meaningful than it was previously. You are probably more resilient than you think you …

W hen I worked in an office, one of my favourite boredom busting activities was to make things out of paper clips. Did it relieve my boredom, get my work done or make the job any more exciting? Definitely not. It seems when we are bored we have this tendency to engage in activities that will increase  our  boredom and make us feel worse about ourselves, especially when we realise hours have passed and we have produced nothing meaningful. You may rummage around the web and find yourself reading things …

As part of my regular exercise routine I keep a written record of my workouts. I use these to record the progress I am making, where work still needs doing as well as how much I enjoyed the workout. I was looking through some entries recently and noticed how often I would write ‘a fun workout’, or ‘enjoyable’.  Such observations took me by surprise – were they all enjoyable? Was I really having fun? So I decided to observe how I was feeling actually during my next few workouts (rather …

‘If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Confidence is about believing in yourself, giving you the to go for your goals. As such, assertiveness is a valuable component of a self-confident person. To reach your goals you need to be able to go for what you want. Tied in with this is having an optimistic outlook. Self-confidence is also about liking yourself and being able to take personal responsibility. Furthermore, having confidence is not about belittling or treading on the needs …

What is flow experience?
Flow experience is a concept defined by Csikszentmihalyi to describe those moments when you are completely and totally absorbed in an activity. As such, everything else is forgotten. You have total concentration and nothing else matters. You are no longer aware of what is going on around you. The rest of the world is forgotten.
When you are in a flow experience, your focus is so complete that you forget all about sleeping and eating. You are not even aware of yourself; you are immersed in the activity …