Loneliness is curable. Here are some easy steps to help get you engaged: - Reconnect with family and friends.
Let go of any resentments or regrets you have. Reach out to people you
haven't spoken with in a long time and do whatever it takes to rekindle
the relationship. Spend time with them and communicate using whatever
methods work.
- Surround yourself with upbeat people. Choose your friends carefully. Happiness is just as contagious as loneliness.
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
community
exercise
happiness
learning
loneliness
relationships
volunteer
By Jim Selman | Bio
Julia Baird has a nice piece in the September 25th issue of Newsweek called “ Positively Downbeat”.
She’s commenting on Americans’ obsession with being happy and the
billions we spend to learn “the secret”. It’s all about quick and easy
fixes for life’s dilemmas and the not-so-small industry of consultants,
motivational speakers and authors that are standing in the wings to
offer answers and potions. She rightly points to the grand daddy of all
self-help offerings, “ The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale and its latest incarnation “ The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne as archetypical examples of this genre.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
creative_thinking
happiness
positive_thinking
reality
the_secret
truth
wisdom
 By Kevin Brown | Bio
It
seems that no matter where I turn these days, the search for happiness
seems to be on many people’s mind. Perhaps during this time of economic
turmoil, people are reconsidering the happiness quotient they
attributed to possessions and financial security. In the Telegraph of
London, Richard Gray and Alastair Jamieson report that “Psychologists
have found that people who spend their money on simple experiences such
as going to the theatre, dining out or taking adventure holidays tend
to be happier than those who buy possessions, regardless of how much
they spend.”[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Personal Empowerment
Tagged with:
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deepak_chopra
elder
happiness
richard_gray
ryan_howell
By David Korten | Website
Read the previous post in this series. The only legitimate function of an economic system
is to serve life. At present, however, we assess economic performance
solely against financial indicators—gross domestic product (GDP) and
stock prices—while disregarding social and environmental consequences.
We are now paying the price for years of managing the economy for
financial performance, which translates into making money for people
who have money—that is, making rich people richer.
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
Tagged with:
gdp
happiness
health
well-being
The third week of September in the U.S. is a time to celebrate the
role all 92 million unmarried Americans--whether they are widowed,
divorced, separated or 'single'--play in our society. Organizations like Unmarried.org
(the Alternatives to Marriage Project) are active in changing current
stereotypes and addressing legislation and policies that deny an
unmarried individual's equal rights in terms of healthcare access and
taxation. Bella DePaolo, a UC Santa Barbara psychology professor and Huffington Post blogger, in her book Singled Out, lists these top 10 myths and stereotypes about singles and the policies affecting them: - Married people know best.
- Single people are single-minded: they are only interested in getting coupled.
- Singles are miserable and lonely and lead tragic lives.
- Singles are self-centered and immature and have nothing to do but play.
- Singles are 'incomplete': they don't have anyone and they don't have a life.
- Single people grow old alone and will die in a room by themselves.
- Single women find out that their work doesn't love them. Also, they either don't get any or they're promiscuous.
- Single men are horny, irresponsible and slovenly scary criminals. Or they are sexy, fastidious, frivolous and gay.
- The children of single parents are doomed.
- Singles are undervalued. Better to give all the benefits, perks and cash to couples on the basis of supporting family values.
DePaolo
indicates that marriage is not a guarantee of happiness or health (even though there is a major public campaign to promote lifelong heterosexual marriage as the key to solving our social problems). On the contrary, single people are more likely to
foster and maintain intergenerational and community ties and most singles are happy. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at News
Tagged with:
happiness
intergenerational
marriage
single
The Journal of Positive Psychology recently published the
results of a multi-year study of 818 people between the ages of 18 and
94 into the origins of life satisfaction throughout adulthood. The
research team's findings indicated that:
- The key components of successful aging are not cognitive or physical functioning (older people tend to rate their happiness as high or higher than young people, in spite of medical concerns)
- Self-reported health is not a key predictor of satisfaction
- Knowledge, skills and experience required in life are not significantly associated with satisfaction
- The capacity to reason abstractly and draw inferences was a key predictor of satisfaction in younger and middle-aged adults (intelligence is highly valued when one is still in the workforce)
- Things that dissatisfy us the most remain constant
Lead author Karen Siedlecki, a post-doctoral research fellow in the
cognitive neuroscience division at Columbia University, stated that,
"The really key components of successful aging may be how happy you are
and how satisfied you are with your life, and these factors don’t tend
to decline with age.”[ Read More]
Written by eldering at News
Tagged with:
age
happiness
satisfaction
Today is the day for fools, foolishness and merry pranks played on
friends, colleagues and neighbours. Because of the abundance of April
Fools’ hoaxes in the media, many people distrust news reports and
advertisements launched on this day. No such luck here at Serene Ambition…although,
as in some countries like Britain, we do believe that jokes pulled
after noon turn the prankster into the ‘fool’. Instead, we’d like to
share a few famous insights into learning how to live wisely.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
freedom
happiness
laughter
learning
life
peace
wisdom
It seems to me that we spend an inordinate amount of time thinking
about what we want in our lives. Last week I was working with a group
of people—mostly in their forties—and they shared that this was the
prevailing question in their lives. It got me thinking that this is the
question for all ages. At 65 I still ask it, although with less of a
need for an answer than at other times in my life. What do I want? Simple enough question, but one that we seemingly don’t
answer or we wouldn’t keep asking it throughout our lives.[ Read More]
Written by Jim Selman at Personal Empowerment
Join discussion COMMENTS [1]
Tagged with:
acceptance
consumerism
happiness
retirement
As the evenings get cooler and days shorter here, summer holidays wind
down. Everyone seems to be preparing for the start of September, and
looking forward to the last real weekend before things start up again.
Most everyone I talk with has enjoyed some of the summer outside with
family and friends, and I find myself experiencing a twinge of regret.
For me, the last few months have been a blur of work indoors in front
of the computer, interspersed with a few brief moments of relaxation.
This afternoon, I am acknowledging that I have ‘missed’ this summer
altogether in my efforts to fulfill as many of my commitments as
possible. I am reminded, once again, that we cannot ‘give our best’ day in and day out unless we also give to ourselves.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Personal Empowerment
Join discussion COMMENTS [0]
Tagged with:
choice
commitment
happiness
relationship
time
I am spending a few days with a group of my best buddies. We call our
gang the ‘Old Souls’. This started about 7 years ago when nine of us
from all over the USA gathered at Vince’s farm for a long weekend,
generally to talk about whatever was on our minds to and specifically
to discuss our experiences and reflections as we entered mid-life.
We’ve been gathering three times a year at various locations ever
since. Some of the faces have changed over the years. Gary went to
India to experience and express himself spiritually: he has found Grace
and peace and is living the life of a genuinely holy man. Tom, the
youngest member, is following another path and has lost any real
connection with us. And a few new men have joined us in the last few
meetings. These
‘Old Souls’ are my friends and, more importantly, they are teaching me
friendship.[ Read More]
Written by Jim Selman at Fearless Aging
Join discussion COMMENTS [0]
Tagged with:
friendship
happiness
joy
relationship
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