Playfulness and humour is one of my top signature strengths, so it’s probably not surprising I like to laugh. And sometimes when I laugh, I admit I am loud. I can’t help it. I feel it rise up inside me and I have to let it out. It feels great. It’s a great release and I highly recommend it. Laughter after all is good for you. It increases mood, releases muscle tension, helps relieve stress and may help you live longer. Well I’m not sure about that last one, however given the health risks of stress, it makes sense.

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 …

I hate being ill. I’m not ill very often, but when I am it makes me really grumpy. I lay in bed thinking about all the things I could be doing if I wasn’t ill. I then promise myself that I will not take my health for granted. Because it’s easy to take your health for granted. You don’t notice it until things go wrong.
The same could be said for happiness. Life’s pretty good, you’re trundling along quite nicely then bam – something inevitably happens that throws you off course. …

Let me begin by asking you a question. What would you do to make this world a better place, if time and resources were not a limitation? Be ambitious with your answer. Get and spend some time thinking about this. The idea behind this question is an attempt to get to the essence of what is important to you. There may be different areas of your life that you look to in an attempt to answer this question. For example: your neighbourhood, your work, family, sport, education, health, your …

Tell a pessimist their life is about to change and they will assume it is for the worst. Tell them it will be for the better and they will say it won’t last. Ask them why and they will tell you that someone will take it away from them. It is this mindset that characterises a pessimist.
I recently read a pessimistic article about the problem of optimism and happiness. It essentially claimed that our happiness levels are genetic and as such there is nothing we can do about them. It …

It is possible to develop optimism since it is a mind-state and our thought patterns can be dramatically altered if we work hard enough at it. Hopefully the following ideas will help.

Watch your thinking. Try not to think in terms of always or never. For example: missing the bus and saying to yourself: “this always happens to me”.  Or, just before making a presentation at work, saying to yourself: “I never do well at these things”. Such thinking is not realistic or rational and should be challenged.

Acknowledge that good …

What is optimism?
Optimism is a concept closely related to happiness. It is about not giving up when the going gets tough. Yet when the going is good, having optimism means you expect the good to continue. It is about having hope and always believing things will improve. Being an optimist puts you in a good position to deal with situations in your life and to handle life’s difficulties generally.
Generally speaking:

Optimists believe bad things are temporary. They occur sometimes (rather than always) and will not last. For example, your boss shouting …

What is positive psychology?
The positive psychology movement was pioneered by Martin Seligman and is about improving the quality of life for all. It is concerned with happiness, sensual pleasure, wellbeing and . The vision is to enhance and nurture individual traits such as love, courage, forgiveness and perseverance. It is through this focus that it is hoped many mental health problems will be prevented.This idea is in sharp contrast to traditional psychology with its overriding concern with pathology and focus on what is wrong, rather than what is right with …

When you start to question your ability to achieve your desired goal, sit back and imagine you have already achieved it. Imagine what you feel like, what you are doing, where you are and what other people are saying and doing. Let your imagination run riot. Hopefully this will give you the motivation to reach that goal.

This week take time to reflect on yourself. Are you stuck in the past? It is easy to hold on to a time that you associate with better days. You may dress in 1970s gear, your house consists of 1970s decor and you may even act like you did back then. It’s okay to move on and develop new hopes, dreams and a new you. Try to become the present – it’s the best place to be.