Tag Archives: happiness

Reality Check: A Simple Thank You

Do you offer compliments? If so, is it rarely, only when someone has done something truly extraordinary? Or does giving compliments come easily to you? Now, how about receiving compliments? Can you accept a compliment without embarrassment, shrugging it off, … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Expanding Happiness

Picture an image of everything that brings happiness to you. All the people, the places, the things, even the values and ideas; everything that brings you joy. Is your picture huge? Does it contain a wide selection of satisfying things? … Continue reading

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Reality Check: The Big Value of Small Talk

Choice Theory suggests that people need good relationships to have a satisfying life. For one person, a good relationship might mean constant contact, where you share not only hopes and dreams but also the struggles and joys of everyday life. … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Does Optimism Make a Difference?

Does optimism make a difference? That is, a positive difference? Or is optimism only for the naive and easily-led, those folks who aren’t wise enough to understand how really bad and awful and disastrous everything is? If you’ve been reading … Continue reading

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Reality Check: One Suggestion

Do you look forward to each day with optimism? Or do you anticipate it with dread? Maybe you’re thinking, “There’s no point in either worrying or anticipating; it will be what it will be.” Here’s a bigger question: Does your … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Choosing Your Surroundings

It’s the dead of winter. Snow is falling, cold winds are blowing; there is ice wherever you want to walk. In the midst of this dull and often non-productive time, an amaryllis bulb that I’ve had for years is starting … Continue reading

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Reality Check: The Tiny Point of Light

If you are fortunate, on a clear night you see a vast expanse of blackness interrupted by tiny points of light. Even if you’re not in a place where you can see stars, you know how one tiny point of … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Which List Do You Keep?

As you’d expect from a person who writes lessons on happiness, Dr. Gad Saad looks like a pleasant man who has a positive attitude. It makes sense; I’m sure neither you nor I would be enthusiastic about buying books or … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Unplanned Events That Change Our Lives

In my research on happiness, I came across a soon-to-be-released book titled “The Saad Truth About Happiness.” It’s by Gad Saad, professor of marketing at Concordia University in Montreal. Saad’s happiness suggestions are clear and practical; I’ll write about them … Continue reading

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Reality Check: The Belonging Problem

The Choice Theory of Dr. Wm. Glasser suggests that we have five basic needs that motivate us to act. We may choose effective actions that create a satisfying life or we may choose ineffective actions that are counter-productive, even self-destructive. … Continue reading

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