Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/txwdt6RK5Gg/funny_quotes.shtml
health and happiness quotes on happiness how to be happy quotes about being happy quotes about love and happiness
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Funny Quotes
"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." -- Will Rogers 
Habits Are Everything
Watch a video of any elite athlete or performer before a big game or show, and you will likely see one thing: their pre-performance habits, the things that they do every single time in exactly the same way.
This is because habits are everything. Not just for game-day, and not just for elite performers. For normal people like you and I, for raising our children, for being happy in our relationships, for being happy as individuals.
Our routines and habits allow us to access a part of our brain that runs on relatively little gas. The newer (in evolutionary terms) part of your brain?your smarty-pants pre-frontal cortex, the area that sets you apart from the family dog,?works pretty well, of course. But it requires effort and willpower to make it tick. The more you use it throughout a day, the less reliable it becomes. Low blood sugar? Your decision-making will falter, whether you realize it or not.
Good thing there is a back-up plan in the older part of your brain: your basal ganglia, a primitive knob of tissue deep in your noggin that acts as your own personal auto-pilot. It controls your breathing, and swallowing, and that weird way that you sometimes drive to work while sort-of unconscious.
Your basal gangla is, among other things, your habit center. And once it is programed, it requires no effort on your part to accomplish truly amazing feats. (Really. Charles Duhigg, in his inspiring book The Power of Habit, gives a detailed account of the way Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps won his world records by honing his habits.)
This means that when we are too tired to think?as we parents often are?we default to our habits. Which made me realize: our habits are our most critical cornerstones for happiness.
I have long advocated finding habits and routines with our children that actually work. A working routine, I believe, doesn?t have to be the most efficient or productive routine; it?s simply one that makes us feel good, or at least it doesn?t make us feel bad.
We need a dinnertime routine that creates feelings of gratitude rather than annoyance, for example, and a morning routine that doesn?t make us want to lay our heads down and cry before we even get the kids to school. We also need bedtime routines for ourselves and our children that don?t leave us exhausted and irritable.
An important caveat: cultivating habits and routines doesn?t mean that we go through life mindlessly. I mention this because mindfulness?when we consciously pay attention to what we?re thinking, feeling, and experiencing in the present moment, without judging our thoughts and feelings as ?good? or ?bad??is a research-tested way to reduce our stress and, generally, be happier.
How can we be mindful about things we do habitually?
Well, consider how we breath. On the one hand, our breathing is on auto-pilot?we aren?t thinking, ?Okay, now I need to breathe in! Now breathe out! And in! And out!? At the same time, though, we can pay attention to our breath as a part of a meditation or another relaxation practice.
So when we make something a habit?say, washing the dishes right after dinner?we don?t need to become mindless about it?we can still pay attention to the way the water feels on our hands, for instance, or even appreciate the fact that we have dishes and food to eat off of them in the first place. Habits can make something relatively routine and effortless, but not necessarily mindless. In fact, I find it much easier to be mindful about something once it is a habit?once I?m not trying to figure out what I?m going to do, or how I?m going to do it.
So our habits can routinely make us feel grateful, or joyful, or they can prompt us to pay attention and be mindful. But HOW?
I have spent years pondering this question, subjecting my clients and readers to my habit tracker and methods for getting into better routines. A few months ago, I realized that I still wasn?t in certain habits I intended to be in. For example, I wasn?t exercising very consistently; I had to schedule it on my calendar, making it vulnerable to more urgent matters. And so I re-immersed myself in the science of change, and the science of habits. There is compelling new research here to share.
In coming weeks, I?ll be posting a newer, easier method to change bad habits into good ones. I?ll be writing about the most powerful happiness habits: the ones that will make you feel more content and less over-whelmed, that will make parenting feel more effortless. I?ll even write about habits that will make you feel more in love with your spouse.
Habits are a critical component of the happiness equation. It is one thing to know what to do to be happy (or to raise happy children, or to create a happy marriage) but it is quite another thing to actually be able to do those things. You know that you should exercise and meditate and eat kale, for example. But do you often do those things? Perhaps the missing piece is a habit.
What habit would you like to kick? What new habit would make you a happier person, or happier parent, or happier spouse?
?-
� 2012 Christine Carter, Ph.D.
Become a fan of Raising Happiness on Facebook.
Follow Christine Carter on Twitter
Sign up for the Raising Happiness monthly newsletter.
This is because habits are everything. Not just for game-day, and not just for elite performers. For normal people like you and I, for raising our children, for being happy in our relationships, for being happy as individuals.
Our routines and habits allow us to access a part of our brain that runs on relatively little gas. The newer (in evolutionary terms) part of your brain?your smarty-pants pre-frontal cortex, the area that sets you apart from the family dog,?works pretty well, of course. But it requires effort and willpower to make it tick. The more you use it throughout a day, the less reliable it becomes. Low blood sugar? Your decision-making will falter, whether you realize it or not.
Good thing there is a back-up plan in the older part of your brain: your basal ganglia, a primitive knob of tissue deep in your noggin that acts as your own personal auto-pilot. It controls your breathing, and swallowing, and that weird way that you sometimes drive to work while sort-of unconscious.
Your basal gangla is, among other things, your habit center. And once it is programed, it requires no effort on your part to accomplish truly amazing feats. (Really. Charles Duhigg, in his inspiring book The Power of Habit, gives a detailed account of the way Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps won his world records by honing his habits.)
This means that when we are too tired to think?as we parents often are?we default to our habits. Which made me realize: our habits are our most critical cornerstones for happiness.
I have long advocated finding habits and routines with our children that actually work. A working routine, I believe, doesn?t have to be the most efficient or productive routine; it?s simply one that makes us feel good, or at least it doesn?t make us feel bad.
We need a dinnertime routine that creates feelings of gratitude rather than annoyance, for example, and a morning routine that doesn?t make us want to lay our heads down and cry before we even get the kids to school. We also need bedtime routines for ourselves and our children that don?t leave us exhausted and irritable.
An important caveat: cultivating habits and routines doesn?t mean that we go through life mindlessly. I mention this because mindfulness?when we consciously pay attention to what we?re thinking, feeling, and experiencing in the present moment, without judging our thoughts and feelings as ?good? or ?bad??is a research-tested way to reduce our stress and, generally, be happier.
How can we be mindful about things we do habitually?
Well, consider how we breath. On the one hand, our breathing is on auto-pilot?we aren?t thinking, ?Okay, now I need to breathe in! Now breathe out! And in! And out!? At the same time, though, we can pay attention to our breath as a part of a meditation or another relaxation practice.
So when we make something a habit?say, washing the dishes right after dinner?we don?t need to become mindless about it?we can still pay attention to the way the water feels on our hands, for instance, or even appreciate the fact that we have dishes and food to eat off of them in the first place. Habits can make something relatively routine and effortless, but not necessarily mindless. In fact, I find it much easier to be mindful about something once it is a habit?once I?m not trying to figure out what I?m going to do, or how I?m going to do it.
So our habits can routinely make us feel grateful, or joyful, or they can prompt us to pay attention and be mindful. But HOW?
I have spent years pondering this question, subjecting my clients and readers to my habit tracker and methods for getting into better routines. A few months ago, I realized that I still wasn?t in certain habits I intended to be in. For example, I wasn?t exercising very consistently; I had to schedule it on my calendar, making it vulnerable to more urgent matters. And so I re-immersed myself in the science of change, and the science of habits. There is compelling new research here to share.
In coming weeks, I?ll be posting a newer, easier method to change bad habits into good ones. I?ll be writing about the most powerful happiness habits: the ones that will make you feel more content and less over-whelmed, that will make parenting feel more effortless. I?ll even write about habits that will make you feel more in love with your spouse.
Habits are a critical component of the happiness equation. It is one thing to know what to do to be happy (or to raise happy children, or to create a happy marriage) but it is quite another thing to actually be able to do those things. You know that you should exercise and meditate and eat kale, for example. But do you often do those things? Perhaps the missing piece is a habit.
What habit would you like to kick? What new habit would make you a happier person, or happier parent, or happier spouse?
?-
� 2012 Christine Carter, Ph.D.
Become a fan of Raising Happiness on Facebook.
Follow Christine Carter on Twitter
Sign up for the Raising Happiness monthly newsletter.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/berkeley/MMpu/~3/NQwhtw0HyYA/habits1
quotes on happiness how to be happy quotes about being happy quotes about love and happiness thoughts on happiness
Stupid Quotes
"I think that the film Clueless was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness" -- Alicia Silverstone 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/OxzHq2LgWK8/stupid_quotes.shtml
thoughts on happiness what makes people happy being happy happy thoughts quotes how to be happy
Funniest Quotes
"By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you�ll be happy;
if you get a bad one, you�ll become a philosopher." - Socrates 
if you get a bad one, you�ll become a philosopher." - Socrates
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/txwdt6RK5Gg/funny_quotes.shtml
the secret of happiness key to happiness pursuit of happiness quotes happy things being happy quotes
5 Tips for Boosting Your Willpower
Who among us has not made a plan to get up in the morning and exercise, but then hit snooze one time too many, sleeping through our morning jog?
We may have been super-inspired by the incredible brain-boosting properties of exercise. We may have had every intention to start an exercise plan and stick to it. But then? we didn?t. Our warm bed sucked us in. We?ll exercise tomorrow.
What we need is willpower. Once we get in the habit of exercising?or of staying calm in the face of a toddler meltdown, of not checking our email after five o?clock, or of doing anything else we want to have the resolve to do?we don?t need to try so hard. But for now, because we are in the habit of pushing snooze?or yelling, or checking email compulsively all evening?we need self-discipline.
Here are five tips for strengthening your willpower.
1.Get enough sleep. That?s seven to eight hours for adults, at least nine for teens, or 10 to 12 for elementary and middle school kids.
Sleep deprivation makes us susceptible to temptations, like Facebook and that chocolate covered cookie over there, for physiological reasons. Self-control takes a ton of brain power, and when we are tired, our bodies don?t tend to deliver enough glucose to our brain for it to get the willpower engine going.
2. Meditate for five minutes a day. Sit up straight and focus your attention on your breath. When your mind wanders, as it will, you?ll be building willpower when you simply notice that your mind has wandered and you bring your attention back to your breath.
As Kelly McGonigal notes in her awesome book The Willpower Instinct, the worse you are at meditation, the better it is as an exercise for building self-control. Here?s why: In order to check your impulsive tendency to snag that donut off the counter, you need to build self-awareness.
When you are aware of what you are doing (e.g., ?I?m feeling tempted to scarf that down.?), you?re actually engaging the part of your brain you need for willpower, rather than letting your impulses take over. Meditation gives you practice at engaging your self-awareness; as a bonus, deep slow breathing also helps strengthen your self-control.
3.Lay off the cocktails. Science of the blazingly obvious, I know, but face it: We often have a glass of wine right before we need willpower to make healthy choices at dinner. Alcohol lowers your blood glucose, which a series of studies shows can dramatically weaken your willpower. (You?d be better off drinking sugary soda before testing your will, although I?m not actually recommending that.)
Alcohol also reduces self-awareness, and it is self-awareness that we need most to bring us back to our goals (see #2 and #5).
4. Make a plan for dealing with the temptations you will face. What will you do when things go wrong? Don?t leave your answer to chance or your whims; instead, write out a plan, however simple.
If you are trying to stop snapping at your children when they?re running late, make a plan for what you?ll do when the?re dawdling and you are in a big, big hurry. Write out what you?ll do instead of yelling?e.g., take deep breaths, walk away from the car, etc.
If you do blow it? Forgive yourself and move on. You are only human, and judging yourself as a bad parent or lazy slob will make you less likely to meet your goals, and more likely to give into your impulses.
5. Remind yourself WHY you are doing what you are doing, and what you will lose if you give up. Why are you trying to start your new habit or quit your old one? Be honest as you do this; remind yourself what you really want, rather than what you think you should want.
For example, I could tell myself, or my neighbors, that I?m exercising more because I want to be a good role model for my children (what I should want). But what I really want even more than that is to fit into my jeans and feel healthy. Research suggests that these less moralistic motives tend to be more effective.
So ask yourself, frequently: How do you want to feel? Then visualize what you will lose if you give in to temptation.
I?ve mined literally dozens more tips for improving willpower and forming habits from the four amazing, research-based books listed below. If you want a concrete plan for strengthening your willpower and you have time to read only one, I recommend McGonigal?s book.
What works for you when you most need willpower? Help others by leaving a comment below; I?ll try to reply with the scientific reasons why your tactic might work for others!
Baumeister, Roy F., and John Tierney. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. Penguin Group US, 2011.
Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House Publishing Group, 2012.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
McGonigal, Kelly. The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It. Penguin Group US, 2011.
?-
� 2012 Christine Carter, Ph.D.
Become a fan of Raising Happiness on Facebook.
Follow Christine Carter on Twitter
Sign up for the Raising Happiness monthly newsletter.
We may have been super-inspired by the incredible brain-boosting properties of exercise. We may have had every intention to start an exercise plan and stick to it. But then? we didn?t. Our warm bed sucked us in. We?ll exercise tomorrow.
What we need is willpower. Once we get in the habit of exercising?or of staying calm in the face of a toddler meltdown, of not checking our email after five o?clock, or of doing anything else we want to have the resolve to do?we don?t need to try so hard. But for now, because we are in the habit of pushing snooze?or yelling, or checking email compulsively all evening?we need self-discipline.
Here are five tips for strengthening your willpower.
1.Get enough sleep. That?s seven to eight hours for adults, at least nine for teens, or 10 to 12 for elementary and middle school kids.
Sleep deprivation makes us susceptible to temptations, like Facebook and that chocolate covered cookie over there, for physiological reasons. Self-control takes a ton of brain power, and when we are tired, our bodies don?t tend to deliver enough glucose to our brain for it to get the willpower engine going.
2. Meditate for five minutes a day. Sit up straight and focus your attention on your breath. When your mind wanders, as it will, you?ll be building willpower when you simply notice that your mind has wandered and you bring your attention back to your breath.
As Kelly McGonigal notes in her awesome book The Willpower Instinct, the worse you are at meditation, the better it is as an exercise for building self-control. Here?s why: In order to check your impulsive tendency to snag that donut off the counter, you need to build self-awareness.
When you are aware of what you are doing (e.g., ?I?m feeling tempted to scarf that down.?), you?re actually engaging the part of your brain you need for willpower, rather than letting your impulses take over. Meditation gives you practice at engaging your self-awareness; as a bonus, deep slow breathing also helps strengthen your self-control.
3.Lay off the cocktails. Science of the blazingly obvious, I know, but face it: We often have a glass of wine right before we need willpower to make healthy choices at dinner. Alcohol lowers your blood glucose, which a series of studies shows can dramatically weaken your willpower. (You?d be better off drinking sugary soda before testing your will, although I?m not actually recommending that.)
Alcohol also reduces self-awareness, and it is self-awareness that we need most to bring us back to our goals (see #2 and #5).
4. Make a plan for dealing with the temptations you will face. What will you do when things go wrong? Don?t leave your answer to chance or your whims; instead, write out a plan, however simple.
If you are trying to stop snapping at your children when they?re running late, make a plan for what you?ll do when the?re dawdling and you are in a big, big hurry. Write out what you?ll do instead of yelling?e.g., take deep breaths, walk away from the car, etc.
If you do blow it? Forgive yourself and move on. You are only human, and judging yourself as a bad parent or lazy slob will make you less likely to meet your goals, and more likely to give into your impulses.
5. Remind yourself WHY you are doing what you are doing, and what you will lose if you give up. Why are you trying to start your new habit or quit your old one? Be honest as you do this; remind yourself what you really want, rather than what you think you should want.
For example, I could tell myself, or my neighbors, that I?m exercising more because I want to be a good role model for my children (what I should want). But what I really want even more than that is to fit into my jeans and feel healthy. Research suggests that these less moralistic motives tend to be more effective.
So ask yourself, frequently: How do you want to feel? Then visualize what you will lose if you give in to temptation.
I?ve mined literally dozens more tips for improving willpower and forming habits from the four amazing, research-based books listed below. If you want a concrete plan for strengthening your willpower and you have time to read only one, I recommend McGonigal?s book.
What works for you when you most need willpower? Help others by leaving a comment below; I?ll try to reply with the scientific reasons why your tactic might work for others!
Baumeister, Roy F., and John Tierney. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. Penguin Group US, 2011.
Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House Publishing Group, 2012.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
McGonigal, Kelly. The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It. Penguin Group US, 2011.
?-
� 2012 Christine Carter, Ph.D.
Become a fan of Raising Happiness on Facebook.
Follow Christine Carter on Twitter
Sign up for the Raising Happiness monthly newsletter.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/berkeley/MMpu/~3/0L6K6uLof-g/habits2
being happy happy thoughts quotes how to be happy find happiness the secret of happiness
Funny Quotes
"Epitaph for a dead waiter � God finally caught his eye." -- George S. Kaufman 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/txwdt6RK5Gg/funny_quotes.shtml
thoughts on happiness what makes people happy being happy happy thoughts quotes how to be happy
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Stupid Quotes
"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe - I believe what I believe is right" -- George W Bush 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/OxzHq2LgWK8/stupid_quotes.shtml
finding happiness how to become happy happiness in life happy thought for the day howto be happy
Funny Quotes
"Don't keep a man guessing too long - he's sure to find the answer somewhere else." -- Mae West 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/txwdt6RK5Gg/funny_quotes.shtml
be positive improve mood happy life health and happiness quotes on happiness
Funny Quotes
"Every man over forty is a scoundrel." -- George Bernard Shaw 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/txwdt6RK5Gg/funny_quotes.shtml
how to become happy happiness in life happy thought for the day howto be happy the way to happiness
Funny Quotes
"Don't have a cow, man." -- Bart Simpson 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/txwdt6RK5Gg/funny_quotes.shtml
pursuit of happiness quotes happy things being happy quotes quotes about happiness quotes of happiness
Podcast: Parenting in a Media Age
It seems like kids many kids know much more than us adults about the technology around us?a friend of mine just discovered that her 11 year old daughter is very active on Instagram, when my friend didn?t even know what Instagram was. But just because kids love swimming in the sea of apps and techonolgies available to them, doesn?t mean that they don?t need firm limits placed on their usage.
Please check out my podcast with Rona Renner either here on the Greater Good website, or here on iTunes. Happy listening!
Become a fan of Raising Happiness on Facebook.
Follow Christine Carter on Twitter
Subscribe to the Happiness Matters Podcast on iTunes.
Please check out my podcast with Rona Renner either here on the Greater Good website, or here on iTunes. Happy listening!
Become a fan of Raising Happiness on Facebook.
Follow Christine Carter on Twitter
Subscribe to the Happiness Matters Podcast on iTunes.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/berkeley/MMpu/~3/TL1BnETXOv8/podcast_setting_limits_kids
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Stupid Quotes
"I'm the commander � see, I don't need to explain � I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being President." -- George W Bush 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/OxzHq2LgWK8/stupid_quotes.shtml
happy things being happy quotes quotes about happiness quotes of happiness happy person
Nov 2, GREAT spiritual Message
Thanks, I like the way you write. I follow spirit more than the secret and the fast food money ideas of wealth. Your writings match up more with attained
Source: http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com/great-spiritual-message.html
how to be happy quotes about being happy quotes about love and happiness thoughts on happiness what makes people happy
Funny Quotes
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." -- John F. Kennedy 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllGreatQuotes/~3/txwdt6RK5Gg/funny_quotes.shtml
quotations be positive improve mood happy life health and happiness
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)