Meaning

19 Feb

Posted at 13:17h in Action Research, Happiness coach, Life Coach, Life Coaching, Meaning, Positive Psychology, social contagion factor, Thoughts-Action by

We live in a world of doing, of checklists, of go, go, go. Especially in New York city where I live, people are running all the time: the city that never sleeps. Work, gym, dinner, party, work, sleep. It’s so easy to get caught up by this energy, but is it all so good? As a detective of sorts, I’ve been keeping my eyes open to this frenetic movement and wondering how it serves me, my life. I’ve been watching my clients and friends, too, and have observed some really interesting things about how people operate. The energy that results...

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...

04 Oct

Posted at 16:16h in Action Research, Hope, Inspiration, Life Coaching, Love, Meaning, positive emotion, Positive person, Relationships, resiliency by

She is an old soul with a young spirit who I met at a mutual friend’s cocktail party sometime last year. She and I were hanging out in the kitchen with several others talking about what we “do” – typical cocktail party banter. But when it came to Amanda’s turn to share, she had an atypical response: she told us how she was a dog-walker in Chelsea and that she loved what she did. I’ll never forget how she spoke her words with such conviction, they resonate in me still today. She was an easy pick for my newer blog...

24 Sep

Posted at 12:29h in Love, Meaning, positive emotion, Positive Psychology, Relationships, savoring by

[caption id="attachment_138" align="alignleft" width="286" caption="Me with Ariana (left) and Cruz (right)"][/caption] I spent the past weekend in Florida visiting some old and new friends. It was amazing to spend time with Joe and Terry (the old ones) and their two-month old fraternal twins, Ariana Michele and Cruz Aiden (the new ones). How amazing it was to meet these little guys for the first time – so precious and sweet and innocent. So easy to love. I admire the measures Joe and Terry took to even have these babies. Given they are two men, these measures were creative, far from convention,...

Top