Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year? Ordinary joy for me comes in moments of coding. I love those moments when I am trying to solve a problem, maybe even struggling a bit, and then fix it. That has happened several [...]
[29 Dec 2010]
Photo by Rick Austin. Found on Flickr. Also see: Part I and Part II Now since my revelation, I also fell in love with and became engaged to a man who lives in a city that I never wanted to visit, let alone live in. But visit I did. Imagine my surprise when I realized [...]
[1 Dec 2010]
Photo by Kay Gaensler. Found on Flickr. Read: “My Lost Decade, Part I” For years, I have questioned whether it was me or the city. I thought my own inability to create deep, intimate friendships or find a community was internal. But I noticed something curious when I traveled. When I am away from Atlanta, [...]
[30 Nov 2010]
There are three happiness killers — doing work you do not love and are not passionate about, surrounding yourself with people who you do not really like (someone who just fills time), and living somewhere that does not let you be you. Just stop it. Life is far too short. Also, materialism. We know that [...]
[15 Oct 2010]
His ranked-income hypothesis, on the other hand, suggests that utility is based on an individual’s rank among peers. As he describes it, “People might care about whether they are the second-most highly paid person, or the eighth-most highly paid person, in their comparison set.” Gender, age and other factors become very relevant in comparing income, [...]
[10 Jul 2010]
Money matters, but less than we think and not in the way we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude. That’s from the epilogue of Eric Weiner’s tremendously fun book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the [...]
[18 May 2010]
If you hate your job, stop doing the parts you don’t like and spend more time doing the parts you do like. The worst that can happen is that you get fired from a job you hate, and is that really a loss? The best that can happen is that you start producing much better [...]
[14 May 2010]
Finally, always remember that it’s more important to be happy than to be rich. Sure, studies show that money generally increases well-being, and there’s nothing wrong with trying to have more, but don’t make choices that sacrifice your long-term happiness for the sake of a few bucks. Don’t work at a job you hate. Don’t [...]
[16 Apr 2010]
It’s really easy to complain and point the finger and eyeroll at what’s not fair, what others are doing, and how you’re being affected by it. I made an honest effort to not just want to change things about myself, but be an active and willing participant in making that change happen. Derrick on what [...]
[6 Apr 2010]
On self-help books: They have self-design down, but somehow convince themselves that with enough self design, they can be happy in any situation. Ignore the fact that they have no passion for their job, they don’t communicate well with their spouse, and they live in a city where they hate the weather and the local [...]
[22 Mar 2010]