Mindfulness

11 Dec

Posted at 12:18h in Goal Setting, Hope, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Mindfulness, Positive person, Positive Psychology, Uncategorized, Vision by

First on Barbara Walter’s special of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009 is Lady Gaga. What makes her so positive? “I had a dream and was fearless with my ambition,” Gaga (who’s right around my age) says. “Every bit of me is devoted to love and art.” It’s all about clarifying dreams and building intrinsic motivation around those dreams. Hope = pathways + agency. Positive psychologists study this. She says she felt like a “freak” when she was younger, especially in high school (don’t I know it too…). “I want to free them [struggling young people} from their fears and...

09 Dec

Posted at 23:04h in Coaching, Cognitive, Cognitive-behavioral, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology, resilience, Uncategorized by

I do! And I'm working at silencing him. Maybe you are too?  Let me tell you - the tools from my field, Positive Psychology, are scientifically proven to help combat that.  To make us more resilient! More happy! Don't you want that? I love how this guy (ill doctrine) talks about it in terms of CREATIVITY. Take a look, by clicking here....

28 Nov

Posted at 23:47h in abundance, Action Research, Cognitive-behavioral, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Mindfulness, Positive Intervention, Positive Psychology, Schools, Social-Emotional Leadership by

I propose we attempt to set up learning organizations wherever possible to support a more positive evolution. According to Peter M. Senge, Director of the Systems Thinking and Organizational Learning Program at the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Learning Organizations are places where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. Essentially, anywhere there are groups of people that spend chunks of time together can form learning organizations –...

11 Nov

Posted at 10:02h in abundance, Action Research, Coaching, gratitude, Meaning, Mindfulness, Positive Intervention by

[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Diva Angel"][/caption] Ahemmm . . . How are you? I am so super grateful: I write this as I head to two places: (1) to my high school alma mater, where I'm meeting with students to talk about the application of Positive Psychology in the band, a group I was a part of 15 years ago, when I was "one of them." I'm co-presenting at an international band director's conference in Chicago next month, alongside my high school band director, Curt, on how bands can flourish using Positive Psychology and Social-Emontional Leadership; this is our action research and (2)...

28 Oct

Posted at 15:17h in Action Research, Coaching, Cognitive, Cognitive-behavioral, Meaning, Mindfulness, Positive Intervention, Positive Psychology, Relationships, Social-Emotional Leadership by

[caption id="attachment_166" align="alignright" width="300" caption="From hearing to seeing to speaking. Assume much?"][/caption] Aim: To become more mindful of everyday language, to create meaning. Point: What we know of positive psychology is that other people matter. <roll eyes here>. Certainly, these words have been overused so much so, they’re becoming empty. Other words we use are empty, too. For example, when someone asks, “How are you?” answers like “fine” and “good” do not have significant meaning. The argument can be made that the question has no meaning either. Challenge: To be as specific as you can be when someone asks you, “How are you?”....

14 Oct

Posted at 11:54h in Character Strength, Coaching, Efficacy, Flow, forgiveness, Hope, Inspiration, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Love, Meaning, Mindfulness, Positive person, positive place, Positive Psychology, Relationships, Vision by

Last week I had the great fortune of being with the Dalai Lama three days in two cities. The second of these visits brought me to Washington DC, where the Mind Life Institute presented an annual congress on learning called “Educating World Citizens” which brought together over 2,000 international voices. The Dalai Lama participated in all sessions over two days, which engaged western scientists concerned about the good life, particularly in regard to schooling (teaching/learning). Session topics included: Envisioning the World Citizen; Attention, Emotional Regulation, and Learning; Compassion and Empathy, and Future Directions and Policy. To sum, we discussed how to educate...

22 Jul

Posted at 09:02h in Action Research, Coaching, Hope, Inspiration, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Love, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology, Relationships by

I posted this on Facebook yesterday . . . “Relationships are hard. All types. (Am eager to know what y'all think about this as I write this week's newsletter, so speak up - please.)” . . . because I wanted to see what would happen (see below for the results). But as soon as I posted it, I realized something interesting: * Isn’t the fact that I say ‘Relationships are hard’ part the very reason they remain so? * Now, granted, I am by no means suggesting that only because I say it, I will it (Well maybe I am a little bit). There are certainly...

02 Jul

Posted at 11:02h in Hope, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Love, Mindfulness, Movie Review, Positive Psychology, Relationships, Social-Emotional Leadership, Uncategorized, Vision by

Last week I saw (from the first row, and in 3-D) Disney Pixar’s Up, an animated film about life, adventure, and friendship. The film certainly pulled on my heart string in a very “other-people- matter”-positive-psychology-kind-of-way. The film also speaks to this month’s PPND theme of fun. In it, a young hopeful and optimistic Carl Fredricksen becomes fascinated with a hero of his time, a world-famous aviator and explorer, Charles Muntz, who encourages imagination, creative play, and adventure.Up opens with young Carl playing “explorer make-believe” by himself. He stumbles upon a tomboy named Ellie playing a similar game. A few frames later,...

25 Jun

Posted at 08:19h in Action Research, Coaching, Hope, Inspiration, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Love, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology, Present, Relationships, Social-Emotional Leadership by

Given the GEC (global economic crisis) AND my traditionally poor management of money, I've been thinking a lot on this idea of really what's negotiable lately. I've come to one conclusion: everything. Financially: Think about it: you park your car on a lot on Eighth Avenue. You pay an astronomical $320 per month for the spot (extra, for a dang SUV!). You approach the lot manager and simply ask, with love and hope: "Is it possible to lower my monthly fee?" "I know that things are really tight these days, but I may be tempted to park closer to the river, where the...

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