“The difference between one person and another is not mere ability, it is energy.” Thomas Arnold
You can have the best plans in the world. You can be full of ideas and inspiration. But if you don’t have the energy to actually implement your ideas, you’re not going to get very far. Even worse, your energy levels are so low that you cannot even be bothered to make any plans. By energy I refer to both physical and mental energy. You will need to take care of both your body and …

Two giant pandas have recently arrived in Australia for their ten year vacation at Adelaide Zoo. They are called Wang Wang and Funi. Pandas are one of my favourite animals, so I’m looking forward to being able to wander down and visit them. When I reflect on the life of a panda, it occurs to me that there is quite a bit we can learn from them; things that can make our lives a bit less stressful.
If there’s one thing you may know about pandas, it’s probably that they like …

There’s always something to do right? Every day something new comes along to take up your energies. You have a huge list of tasks to do and you say to yourself that once these are done, then you will do the things that bring you pleasure.  How often has it happened that you never quite get around to the fun activity you’d planned for yourself, once the boring stuff was done? You ended up running out of time, or were too tired, or you decided that you didn’t deserve it …

We worry about many things, from the small to the large, things from our past, future happenings and current situations. For some, this is a time to ruminate. The worries are going around their head and there does not seem an end to it. They just cannot stop thinking about it. There is no thought of resolution as they are too busy mulling. ‘Why didn’t I do this differently?’, ‘what if this happens?’, ‘why did he ignore me?’, ‘I looked so stupid’. On and on it goes. Martin Seligman suggests …

If you want to increase your happiness, one way is through nurturing your character strengths. Positive psychology has identified 24 strengths which can be divided into 6 distinct virtues. In this article I will talk about the strengths which make up the virtue ‘transcendence’: appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, spirituality and playfulness and humour. In addition, I offer tips to help you develop each strength.
Appreciation of beauty and excellence
People with an appreciation of beauty and excellence find pleasure in the beauty of the world around them. This pleasure will be …

“Anything you’re good at contributes to happiness.” Bertrand Russell
This article provides some of my thoughts and reflections on Russell’s quote and offers you tips to use in your own life. The theme of this article is about enhancing happiness through using your skills and talents.
What you are good at
This quote is quite self-explanatory. Quite simply, all those things you do well in will increase your happiness. It’s not hard to see why. We all feel happiest when we are doing the things we love. It’s not just about your practical …

One moment this week, stop what you are doing and engage in the present. What are you doing? How are you feeling? What can you see, hear, smell, taste and touch? Forget about the past and don’t worry about the future. Just enjoy the here and now.

What is a ? It is a concept defined by Csikszentmihalyi to describe those moments when you are so absorbed in an activity that everything else is forgotten, even the time. You get that feel-good buzz afterwards of having engaged in something engrossing. So try to find activities in your life that enable a regular flow experience. Engage regularly and you will feel much happier.

If you were to live your life as you are currently, would you have any regrets years down the line? It could be not following your most desired career or not visiting a country you’ve always yearned to see. It could even be not devoting enough time to certain people, or a hobby. Write them down and think about the steps you can take to make those changes. Your next task is to put those steps into action!

Get yourself a diary or notebook. In here you can only put good things that you have experienced, or happy thoughts and feelings. Do it each day, adding things from your past, your present and things you are looking forward to. It can contain anything you want so long as it is the good stuff. Give it a name and be as arrogant as you like, for example, “John’s Ego Book”, “Full of Myself”, “Me Me Me”!